Two Readomania Singles by Rituparna Ghosh - The Boy with a Guitar and The Boy with a Secret

 

Dev Bhowmik is a born musician, the boy with a guitar, who gets an offer in life that he cannot refuse. The dreams he had when he began life have dissipated, leaving him with disillusion. Until he meets Clownessa who leaves him with a warm feeling in his heart, and a strangeness that somehow seems familiar! “She reminded me of the simple joys of life. She melted the ice round my heart.”

Rituparna Ghosh is an ace romance writer, but she does create a sense of intrigue as her characters have secrets too deep to be divulged. Why does Emani, Roomani’s sister, shy away from celebrating her own birthday?

Why do Roomani and her fiancé, Nirman, have a strained relationship?

Can Dev, the drifter, outrun his past if he strode ahead fast enough? What is the huge secret that hounds him, tethering him to a past that threatens to catch up with him at any moment?

This novella, which is part of the ‘Readomania singles’ can be read in a single sitting. Not once does the interest flag, as the characters sashay across the stage, even as their lives mesh in intriguing ways.

Definitely a story to be read and savoured!

Readomania singles are the flavour of the times – short, racy and easily savoured in a single sitting. Rituparna Ghosh’s ‘The Boy with a Secret’ is no exception. In nine short chapters, the story unfolds in the words of Nirav Kamat, the protagonist, the adopted son of the Kamats who had set up home in Goa. The young boy was brought home as “a three-month-old quiet child with beautiful eyes”. Soon after, as is often the case, little Saanvi was born, a whirlwind born to rule over her adoring family.

When Nirav goes back to Goa, he is accosted by many memories that have eaten away at him over the years. Whether it is encountering the handsome, yet rugged, Ray, his childhood friend, his telephonic chats with his exuberant friend Dev, his conversations with his Amma and Anna or the diaries which reveal many truths, the rapid twists and turns keep the reader rivetted to the story.

What is the secret that defines Nirav? How can he overcome the guilt that lies buried within his heart?

‘The Boy with a Secret’ is the sequel to the previous novella titled ‘The Boy with a Guitar’ in which the earlier-mentioned Dev is the hero.

The length of a novella hardly allows the author the leeway for any suspense, and yet, Rituparna Ghosh does pull out a rabbit or two, in the telling of this engaging tale. The best compliment to her is that once the book is opened, it is next to impossible to put it down till the last page.