Its been a long time since i wrote a book review and the reason was that i was stuck in the complexity as to which book to write about.In came the surprise and the perfect solution to my confusion - 'Gently falls the bakula' by Sudha Murthy ,the wife of the famous Narayana Murthy of Infosys and one of the board of directors of the organization (well i guess who doesn't know it). Okay now this books isn't about gardening although i wouldn't have minded if it was but then as usual the title of the book was misleading (poor me).
The bakula is supposed to be an ancient and sacred flower well known for its fragrance. According to the author it is profound in the northern parts of Karnataka.The story revolves around two people who share a bakula tree since childhood and how it unites them in spite of the odds like family feuds,ego clashes etc.But the story doesn't end there though and that's where the author creates a twist.
Shrimathi and Srikanth belong to two different families famous for their feud. Shrimathi being the smarter or rather the intelligent one excels Srikanth not only in the history essay competition but also in the board exams and becomes the state topper and him getting the second rank in the state.She chooses history as the major and he chooses science and since they ended up choosing different paths and wouldn't have to compete with each other anymore they decide to be friends (wonder what would have happened if both of them had chosen the same stream).
Time flies and so does the intensity of their relationship and they end up marrying. Shrimathi being portrayed as a calm and down to earth person bears the kind of treatment given by her in laws and sacrificing her love for history for the love she has for her husband she drops the idea of doing a PhD and moves to Mumbai with him.
Yes the fellow is in the IT field and i don't have to elaborate on that since most of us know how it is to be in this field. Srikanth's focus on career is inversely proportional to that on his wife and soon he becomes the general manager (the author covers 10yrs in 2-3 chapters..not bad though) of the organization.Shrimathi having had enough is tormented and embraces her love for history leaving her workaholic husband behind and him not paying much attention to it.
I loved the book for few reasons..one being the fact that the moral is so very oxymoronic - give your ambition the first priority /never compromise on your loved ones for your dreams.The other being the way the author had described the various historical facts of our country (the lady has truly made a great deal of research).Now for the bloopers, the story was so very sober.It had an abrupt end and lagged logic.Of course considering the fact that the book was a translated one maybe it had failed to convey whatever it had wanted to convey.I have mentioned the entire story in the blog unlike my previous ones since i really didn't feel like recommending the book although it isn't that bad or maybe i felt that way since this is the third time I'm reading a book by an Indian author (no offenses meant) and it really wasn't up to the mark.
Finally i would like to dedicate this post to that friend of mine who surprised me on my birthday with this book. Thank you Arjun for making my day and also for the silent message which reminded me not to lose out interest on my passions no matter what !!! Gently falls the bakula - not as fragrant as the bakula but worth the read !!! 
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