“Ineligible” by Bijaya Kumar Mishra is so Indian in its look and feel, that it perhaps is a brainchild of the partly orthodox Indian way of thinking.
Eligibility is a
scary thing. Eligibility snatches opportunities, makes us smack down headfirst.
But eligibility also unlatches the lock of hidden chances, and elevates our morale.
Saahil and Varsha
are madly in love. But Varsha’s overprotective, wealthy brother Mr.Dev isn’t ready
to give Varsha’s hand in marriage to an orphaned, unemployed man like Saahil—who
doesn’t have any asset of his own. To test his determination, he puts down four
eligibility criteria for Saahil. To marry Varsha, he must have a monthly income
of one lakh rupees, a house, a car and a bank balance of ten lakh rupees. In
the course of his venture, he stumbles and fails, and interacts with many interesting
people. Will he be able to emerge victorious before Varsha is married off to
someone else?
This book serves
as an extension of the middle-class Indian way of thinking. Heavy with
unfulfilled desires and broken promises, it advances in huffs and puffs—just like
life does. To enhance this ‘lifelike’ quality that it possesses, the characters
seem very simple and next door. Saahil perhaps upholds the plight of the
unemployed youth of the modern metropolitan society. He has degrees, numerous qualifications
and is kind at heart. But we see him struggling even to get a decent salary at
the end of the month. Heavy with hopelessness and betrayal, he communicates the
failure of the degree-based education system. Varsha, on the other hand, seems
to echo the suppressed feelings of the women in the household. She suffers due
to the male dominance and has a lack of fierce opinionated affirmations. She longs
to help Saahil to pass the eligibility criteria, but is often weighed down by
her protective brother.
The conditions
that are put to Saahil in order to make him suitable for the marriage, is showed
to be very materialistic and superficial. Mr.Dev acknowledges the generosity of
Saahil’s heart, but is reluctant to believe that he will be able to survive in
the complex societal jungle. The added restrictions therefore symbolise the cruel
game of money-making and asset acquisition. As Saahil climbs up the financial ladder
and acquires experience, we are made familiar with the imperfect, makeshift
operating procedures companies often undertake. We see people not keeping their
word, backing out due to economic constraints and in all, a glimpse of the
ordinary life of the middle-class youth is shown.
The author’s diction
is jerk-free and plot-driven, without resorting to any literary splendour. Simplistic
and fluid, the story progresses at a consistent pace with barely any lag. Due to
the incorporation of occasional comparative metaphorical details, the book
carries the essence of a true, prolonged novel. There is a balanced division of
role to the minor and major characterisations, and they keep on adding to the primary
storyline effortlessly. A little more complexity was expected in the mindsets
of the protagonists, and so their actions were often very predictable. To avoid
this kind of monotonicity, the author could have intertwined other sub-plots to
the story and connect them to the main flow. The plot, in an overall sense, was
honestly very flat and monochrome. I was looking for more crises, more intense
turn of events and a good climax, but my expectations weren’t met. I felt as if
the author was trying hard to tone down the adversities in the characters’ lives
and in doing so, he was missing upon the engaging aspect that makes the readers
hooked to the story. More unprecedented incidents, more conflicts and more spice—could
have all improved the feel of the book to a great extent.
Even with all
this, if you’re looking for a simple tale of compromise, determination and unconditionality
of love, then this book is a good option to go for. Recommended to people who
enjoy such unconventional romances, which harps on both social and familial
themes.
Nice review 👍
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Well done
ReplyDeleteThat's a really detailed review.
ReplyDeleteAdded to TBR!
ReplyDelete