Hazaaron Khwahishen
Rahul Chawla
2020
Hind Yugm Blue
pp. 253
This beautifully written book centers on the love story of two young college students and how they negotiate with the world around them, together and in their own separate ways. The description of how young love matures and the impact of realities of life on ideal romanticism in relationships, in politics and in social activism is depicted well. Friendships that last, bonds that are broken and reinstated, and family ties that are difficult to move away from, provide the backdrop to the love story of the young, ambitious couple.
The prose is almost like poetry. It is a joy to read the book. I couldn’t understand what the couple decided to do in the end. At one time, however unlikely it may have seemed, books and movies always united the couple in the end. The hero and heroine lived together happily ever after. That time seems to have changed. There is some pleasure that the youth seems to find in the nebulous endings, the pain of separation is almost sweet. Relationships are no longer forever, they are beautiful for as long as they last. Young love is increasingly realistic.