Two Roses and Water

 Two Roses and Water by Navya Sahay ( Amazon / Kindle version / Rs 49/-)

My comments in 2 parts.

In the first part I take the role of that self-important critic who thinks he/she knows everything and has the God given right to trample even the best of works.

And these folks give a 1.5 out of 5  rating to a book/movie and try to justify it by ripping it apart.

A book or a movie is a work of  fiction and why should it always have to meet the lofty standards of these self-righteous critics, I do not know.

The second part is the good part and I had fun writing this one!

So here we go !!!  Two Roses & Water.

It took me all of three days and a lot of determination (and enduring some bit of mild torture as well) to finally read thru this book and finish it without abandoning it midway.

It was real challenging to read this mushy love story and the 10 plus long sad poems it contained.

And I did not give up.!

I read it all !!.

Why did I take all this effort to read?

 Because it was written by a young writer from Sobha Palladian.

And why was it so challenging?   Multiple reason ..

For one, I am not a big fan of love stories.

Long winding descriptions with lots of English and fancy phrases, loads of super sentimental emotions and tear-jerkimg situations, altruism and sacrificing for others does not go well with my taste. And the elaborate scenario created to describe the first kiss between two young girls is sort of ‘yucky’ to me. And this book has loads of such scenes.

There are too many disconnects with (my) reality and it jolts me each time . 

I am unable to appreciate why Rahul has to go to Cornell university to study political science after his 12^th and then come back to Bihar to join politics.

And I cannot imagine for a moment how a group of Young/12^th  std girls can go off on their own, to a lake in Bihar woods and have a swim and have fun the whole day.

And many more…

And me being male & 64+ old and coming from a conservative background, the theme of the book, which is based on Homosexuality (between two girls/women) , is quite a challenge to appreciate.

At 15 years, the young author has made a very bold attempt to explore this sensitive subject. And in my opinion, she has been successful and has done a good job! 

Kudos, Navya!!

However, she has overreached herself and it shows in her choice of words, expressions and in her earnestness to demonstrate her understanding and general awareness of the subject.

And the last part where the successful Bihar politician sacrifices his career for the sake of 2 women (who are in love with each other) will need a lot of Digene to digest!

All the poems are great. They have originality, a lot of depth and meaning and I enjoyed reading them.

And now before I go to the second part, I must give you a gist of this story.

Rahul & Meghna are twins and they study in one of those elite schools in Bihar.

A third of the book is devoted to describing the close relationships between them and the concern and commitment they have for each other.

Meghna discovers her preference for girls and falls in love with a classmate, Khushi.

Khushi’s dad discovers this and pack her off and they all move to Mumbai. Where in due course of time Khushi can be married off to some unsuspecting boy.

Meghna and Rahul complete their 12^th and move to the US. Rahul to Cornell to study Political Science and Meghna to Columbia to major in English.

And in this free and unrestricted land Meghna goes all out-dating girls, visiting various gay bars and becomes a Gay activist. She writes articles and supports the movement. She also becomes a successful writer.

And thankfully her parents in India and all her friends & relatives including Rahul are blissfully unaware of Meghna’s  sexual preferences.

Both twins decide to return back to Bihar. Rahul becomes a successful politician and makes it to be the Chief Minister of the state. Meghna continues as a successful writer.

Until their Mom, Mrs Varma pesters them, to get married.

When Meghna reveals her preference to her mom, she goes bonkers.  The family  doctor comes in to give some advice and explains the perils of being declared a homosexual. And Meghna finally relents and agrees to marry her school friend.

Soon after marriage, Meghna gets into a serious relationship with Meera, whose parents have been more forward looking and understanding. She then divorces her husband in order to live with Meera. But in order to shield them from social stigma & boycott and other challenges, Rahul makes a agreement to ‘marry’ Meera (formally on paper) and then  all the three live together happily  and pursue their preferences.

Rahul becomes a very successful CM of Bihar and brings significant improvement in the state and pulls up Bihar into prosperity & out of quagmire. The opposition party tries to unearth some dirt on him so that they can oust him and drag Bihar back into its quagmire once again.

So they catch Meghna & Meera kissing each other on camera. And they plan to expose these two and in the process brihg Rahul down as well.

Rahul's altruism and his deep caring for his sister kicks in. He wants to protect these two women (his sister and her lover/his wife) from embarrassment and social vendetta.
So Rahul, the CM sacrifices his career and his life. He negotiates their privacy by proclaiming himself to be a homosexual, which is a much bigger expose' for the opposition 

And that is the climax of this story.
 Followed by a convenient reason that Rahul had some terminal disease and had only a few months to live. And hence this drastic action.

And so on.

And all this this is narrated by Meera to her daughter on her 16^th birthday. 
And all this, in response to her daughter’s question, “who is my dad??”

Part 2:

If I was Karan Johar, I would be super thrilled with this book and will rush to Navya and sign up a movie contract!

This story has all the right masala for a Dharma Production block buster!!

And this would be far far better than Dostana, you bet.

A multi starrer production to start with.

Shah Ruhh Khan in the lead role as Rahul and John Abraham in a supporting role as Meghna’s short term husband.

Kajol as lead actress supported by two more Vidya Balan as Khushi and Rani Mukherjee for Meera. We will also have a tall foreign US blond actress to play as Rosaline, Meghna's daring room mate in Columbia

Some great location shooting in Bihar in its pristine forest areas and waterfalls. Some bikini clad girls frolicking in the waterfalls to add some OOHs and OOMPHS.

A few good coverage of an elite school in Bihar and some classroom scenes, teenage romance and a song thrown in s well.

Many of the poems in the book can be turned into great songs. A few melancholy songs by Kailash Kher. The first kiss scene background song by Sultan Khan in his lustrous voice.  And a couple of sad ones from Bhupen Hazarika as well.

Some foreign location shots in Cornell & Columbia, a few footage on those colorful Gay marches and the movement in the US. Coverage of Gay bars will also add to variety.

The Mom, Mrs Varma:  Rohini Hattagadi fits this role best. She can display all her attitude, her hysterics and her sobbing dialogue wonderfully.

And the Doctor? Let’s get Amitabh Bachchan in a guest appearance. He fits the role as a caring doc and has the right seriousness and the perfect voice to articulate the harsh realities of life.

The marriage scene would be one of  Karan Johar’s standard ‘classics’. Bright colors, lively music and choreography by Farah Khan will do the trick.

The Bihar press conference scene, the media frenzy on hearing that CM is gay and the aftermath can get some wonderful coverage too. Maybe we can throw in a riot scene too and get some gory footage of two Bihar political parties fighting??

And the multiple opportunities for the hero, heroine, supporting roles breaking down, sobbing and reciting sad and heavy dialogs are sure to melt the hearts of the masses

And Shah Rukh Khan does best! and so does Kajol!!

And the final hospital scene, and the hero’s  last dialogues can all take inspiration from Rajesh Khanna’s ‘Anand’. Many extended dialog by everyone present, multiple pan & zoom shots of people's tear-stained faces, the patient monitoring equipment and the ECG monitor and all the leads from the hero's arms,  the grim faces of white robed doctors can all add to this glorious melodrama.

And the movie will be a mega box office hit!
You cannot go wrong with a Karan Johar / SRK / Kajol / Rani Mukherjee / Amitabh Bachchan combine!! 
And for another month at least thy all will be giving TV interviews, take part in talk shows and discuss seriously on this sensitive subject of homosexuality. 

So, a good book for the Indian movie going crowd. And I am sure a few of you may also enjoy reading this in its current form.

And a good choice for the Book club too.

Krish..