THE NAANI DIARIES BY RIVA RAZDAN - BOOK REVIEW
Radhika Anand is a young millennial at the top of her
form, a twenty-nine-year-old impressing clients at McKinley Global Consulting
with her efficiency. When she gets the chance to choose a trip to Provence in
France or good old Bombay, there are specific reasons why she opts for the
latter. Her boyfriend, Siddhant’s parents live there which makes it all the
more tempting. For her, Bombay is “the city for real romance”.
Another compelling reason is that her grandmother,
Gayatri Khurana, an erstwhile IAS officer, lives in Bombay as well. Radhika
discovers the older lady’s lace-bound diary, and once she begins to delve into
it, she is drawn into the intrigue and the romance that had been part of her
grandmother’s life. The diary reveals the routine of a twenty-three-year-old
Gayatri, who had landed up in Bombay which was her first posting and met the
debonair Jairaj Anand. Their romance fascinates Radhika who is hoping for a
similar relationship with Siddhant.
Unfortunately, Siddhant backs away and breaks up with
Radhika whose life turns on its head. Never having had a bond with her ambitious
psychologist mother, Dr. Mangala Anand, who is a fierce feminist with a ‘questioning
spirit’, she turns to the one person she considers her haven – her grandmother,
Gayatri, whom she feels will understand her predicament.
The story veers between Radhika’s tumultuous life and her
grandmother’s perfect romance, “a story so gripping and beautiful and real”
which comes out in the latter’s diary. It is this diary that gives Radhika power
and keeps her afloat even as she comes across interesting characters like the
enigmatic Zain Rajan, the nephew of Badrinath ‘Birdy’ Rajan who was a close friend
of Gayatri’s and the fastidious Dr. Kabir Sehgal. At one place, Radhika even confides
in the reader. “Friendships, on the other hand, lasted a lifetime. You were
both implicitly committed to having coffee and sharing conversations, so long
as you were within walking distance of each other.”
Radhika decides to give matrimony a chance and
immediately gets embroiled in the intricacies of the big fat Indian wedding
where she is expected to toe the line and behave like a demure bride, even though
she is not enamoured by the rites and rituals that she finds downright inane.
Especially when she is introduced as ‘the Sehgal bride’ by her overblown
mother-in-law to be, Dolly! However, she hopes that somewhere down the line, she
and her fiancé “would be able to build a loving relationship. That over the
years, there would be trust and acceptance.”
However, there is a bombshell waiting for Radhika that
makes her rethink her entire life and philosophy. As the blurb of the book goes,
”A large-hearted novel about love and family, this book has it all: from witty
banter and clever observations to a big fat Indian wedding!”
The
book deals with various issues like substance abuse, alcoholism, marital
discord and parenting pitfalls. However, there is no doubt that this is a heart-warming read from
cover to cover. The characters are etched from real life, and my favourite
person is Gayatri Khurana who is not only an adorable grandmother but very much
a woman of the world as well, with a nature that draws others towards her.
Author Riva Razdan has a writing style that seems pleasing
and effortless. The language is simple, and there is a beauty that reveals
itself, especially when Gayatri waxes eloquent on the city of Bombay.
“…during the day, everyone here seems immersed in a
rhythm of relentless life that resembles a jazz melody. It is slow and lilting
in the beginning, like the scribbling of my filles and ledgers early morning, which
abruptly erupts in a burst of saxophone-like excitement at noon when I open the
wide windows of my musty cabin, overlooking the colourful street of Kala Ghoda
bustling under the bright Bombay sun.”
‘The Naani Diaries’ is a book that entertains and instructs,
even as it maintains a style and a tempo that make it a pleasurable read.
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