THE THREE MISTAKES OF MY LIFE : WORTH A READ

An amateurish yet enthusing tale of three people (yet again!) by Chetan Bhagat.When I asked some of the guys who had read this book if I should read it they told me it was not in the same class as Chetan's earlier creation FIVE POINT SOMEONE.But after reading the book I thought I should beg to differ.This book is as interesting as Chetan Bhagat's earlier offering.In fact, intertwining of the main plot with real events makes THE THREE MISTAKES OF MY LIFE even more appealing.

THE THREE MISTAKES OF MY LIFE is the story of three close friends Govind,Ish and Omi.Govind loves business,Ish loves cricket and Omi is taken by religion.Govind wishes to start a business with Ish and Omi as partners.Together they establish a cricket store on land that belongs to Omi's family who own a temple in the vicinity.The shop rakes in good profits thanks to Ish's cricketing wisdom and Govind's business acumen.Govind decides to make his next big move by establishing a posh cricket store in an upcoming mall in the next city.Meanwhile Ish spots a Muslim boy named Ali who has exceptional talent as a batsman and wants to train him to be the next best thing that ever happened to Indian cricket.What follows forms the crux of the story.Ish's sister Vidya provides another twist to Govind's turbulent life.However it is the portrayal of Omi's religion fanatic uncle that steals the show.

What impressed me most was the way Chetan Bhagat combined fact and fiction.Govind's dreams of establishing a posh cricket store in an upcoming mall in the next city are crushed by the earthquake in Gujarat on the 26th of January,2001.The setting of the Sabarmati Express on fire by miscreants is also used by Chetan Bhagat and sadly the incident consumes Omi's cousin.And of course Chetan gives an interesting take on the memorable Kolkata test at Eden Gardens when Ganguly's men grasped victory from the jaws of defeat against Steve Waugh's world beating squad.Communal riots form a very important part of the story and ultimately lead to a gruesome climax.The conversation exchanges between Ish's sister Vidya and Govind that lead to their falling in love with each other are very fresh and captivating until the point when the author takes things a bit too far in the name of romance.

Overall if you enjoyed FIVE POINT SOMEONE my suggestion is that you should definitely give this book a try and dont be too surprised if it does impress you.

FIVE POINT SOMEONE:And Life Goes On..

This is a story about the life of three youngsters who get into IIT(Indian Institute of Technology),Delhi.The most casual and brilliant of the three is Ryan whose parents are never with him and always abroad worrying about their business.Alok is the sincere guy whose father is paralyzed and he bears the burden of getting his sister married and becoming the sole breadwinner for the family.Though his Mom's a teacher her meagre salary is not enough.Hari is the narrator of the story and he is anything but extraordinary though he manages to attract his Head Of Department's daughter Neha.These three guys first get to know each other when they are ragged by seniors in the Kumaon hostel.After the ragging incident they stick together almost as if by instinct.Their GPA stands at five point something at the end of first year after which Alok decides to back off and goes behind a class topper.But somehow fate brings him back into the group again and the story goes on till the day they graduate and a little more to mention how and where they settled after graduation..

I really felt light after reading this novel.This is no Jeffrey Archer or Paulo Coelho stuff.It is different in its own way.Chetan Bhagat has written what cannot be termed as 'great' but 'heart rendering'.To put things straight its about life but seen through the eyes of a teenager exposed to all sorts of influence good or bad.At the end of the novel its a case of AND LIFE GOES ON..which happens to be more often than not the REALITY.

For those aspiring for the IITs, this book in no way tells you how to get there.It merely follows the lives of three students failing to cope up with the pace of the IITs and the wrong moves they make to bail out.

From a personal point of view,I should say that in a way the book has opened my eyes to embrace what is reality and carry on.As a high school student(I am in second year of college now) I did not attempt the IIT-JEE(Joint Entrance Examination).Coming from a top city school which is well known for producing people best suited for IITs, I always had the regret of not even taking my shot.I am now in another top college but you could never compare institutions with the IITs could you??I used to think that IITs are the place where innovation rules and people keep inventing things.

BUT HEAR! HEAR!

I realised after reading this novel that in the IITs too it is the same old story of mugging to get good GPAs and not worrying about being innovative.So the big lesson I learnt was that it doesn't matter where you study.You still have to think on your own and be innovative on your own accord to make a difference..The institution where you study can only make people turn or not turn their heads to notice but if you want to reach the top its you and you alone who can make the difference.

BOTTOMLINE:This book will take you through the experiences of three youngsters who do everything that ought not to be done at an IIT.