Well…..5000 hits and I’m back again! 🙂 🙂 ….life has been pretty good in the new year……a LOT of things have changed, and changed for good! :)….I also managed to catch up with a book called “The 3 mistakes of my Life” by Chetan Bhagat. I have always liked the way Chetan Bhagat writes. The characterization in his novels is very realistic, and the element of humour that he brings in makes for some interesting reading!
This book is about a young boy named Govind Patel, who hails from Ahmedabad. He is shown to be a mathematical genius, who takes maths tuitions to support his mother’s snacks business. Govind is passionate about starting his own business one day, for which he involves his two friends, Omi and Ishaan. Omi is the son of a local priest, and is supposed to be a dull-head. His uncle Bittoo mama belongs to a communal party, and despises Govind for being an antagonist. Ishaan, or Ish as he’s called by everyone, is from a slightly more well-to-do family, and is extremely passionate about cricket. He used to be a champion player in school, and is quite proud of that, but he is not in good terms with his father after having run away from military training. It takes Govind some effort to convince his friends about starting a cricket shop outside Omi’s temple, which is ultimately christened as “Team India Cricket Shop”.
Everything goes well for the Team India Cricket Shop in the beginning…..they begin to make profits very soon, and little kids come to Ish for some free cricket coaching. Ish finds a really talented ‘student’ in Ali, a 12 year old kid who has the extraordinary gift of hitting sixes at will! But things go horribly wrong when nature plays spoilsport, and the 3 budding entrepreneurs now have to face an uphill task of having to rebuild everything. When things start improving, communal riots and hardcore politics make their lives even tougher.
The author manages to bring out the dark realities that exist in Indian society. By referring to real life incidents which took place in Gujarat between 1999 and 2002, he is able to convince the reader that this book is more than just mere fiction. It is a reflection of life during, possibly, India’s worst encounter with communal riots and earthquakes. All characters are life-like, and its quite possible that you will be able to relate to one of them! The love story between Govind and Vidya (who happens to be Ishaan’s younger sister and Govind’s student!) looks a little filmy- but its cute nonetheless 🙂 ….especially the conversation between Govind and Vidya over the phone, when he goes to Australia for Ali’s training.
There are many slack points in the book too. For starters, the whole trip to Australia part is dragged a lot, just to show how much Govind and Vidya miss each other. Also, the climax seems way too dramatic and overboard. The third mistake is also far from convincing. Inspite of all this, “The 3 mistakes…” is one book you would not want to miss! 🙂 ….Chetan Bhagat has once again proved why he is the “biggest-selling English-language novelist in India’s History“! 😎
Optimistically Pessimistic :-) 
