Of writers blocked

I must confess to being consumed by jealousy, the green-eyed monster, and the target of my envy is none other than Chetan Bhagat. No, not because he got into IIT and I didn’t. Well actually, ‘couldn’t’ would be a more appropriate word, because I cleverly opted for Humanities after passing school, thereby putting paid to all fond parental and sibling hopes that I’d become an engineer or doctor. But I have digressed as usual from the main point, so I come back to this vexing problem of why a sunny disposition like mine should harbour a grudge against Mr. Bhagat, when I did not compete unsuccessfully against him either for an IIT/IIM seat, or for the love of his life. Well, the answer is simple— I consider myself a rival for the affections of the Times of India. Sadly, TOI treats the articles that I enthusiastically churn out and coyly mail to them, in a true Mr. India manner, in that they simply vanish and are neither acknowledged, published, nor returned, whereas Chetan’s views are always (sniff) on the edit page.

And so it has come to pass, that inspired by the Priyanka- Kareena loving exchange of pleasantries, I, too, have been making catty comments about the one I envy. In fact, I came perilously close to penning an open letter to Chetan, asking for some useful tips on ‘How to write the right stuff.’ It is quite the fashion these days, for well-known individuals to write purple prose to each other, but since they are busy and absent-mindedly misplace the recipient’s address, the letters are dispatched to the media, which then very helpfully does the needful. But the catch here is, both must be prominent personalities and thereby hangs a tale, bringing me back to the original lament of being an unseen and unknown yours truly.

But what do you think; I have had a change of heart. Yes, jealousy the green-eyed monster has been conquered and only because I recently finished reading Chetan Bhagat’s latest novel, ‘Two States’. The book is a heart-warming narration of a simple problem and its complex solution. The deft style of writing and lightness of touch where it could easily have degenerated into heavy-handed melodrama are the reasons why it is a best-seller. I particularly like the bit where he talks of states dividing us all and since I belong to neither of the two concerned states, I thoroughly enjoyed all the jokes at their expense—which proves his point really. 

Chetan knows his numericals; whether it is ‘One night...’,’Two states’, ‘Three big mistakes...’ or ‘Five point someone’, and is sure to go laughing all the way to the bank this time round too, because this book is certain to become yet another Bollywood blockbuster!