The Love Story of a Parantha and Idli


“Yeh shaadi nahi ho sakti…” how many times have you heard this ghissa-pita dialogue in movies and also in real life? Well Indians love drama and Chetan Bhagat has put up a dish north-meets-south masala mar ke in the cook book of love and family drama called “2 States” for his readers. The jarring red outer cover with a classless silhouette-graphic might’ve scared a few but the colour red is perfect for the book since it suggests both attributes i.e. love and that marriage is a bloody-affair.
Chetan Bhagat has shown the complexity of a love story very simply on his back cover:



The storyline of the book is predictable from the feel-good titling itself. Two protagonists – Krish Malhotra (a punjabi) and Ananya Swaminathan (a tamilian) are classmates at IIM Ahmedabad. A rendezvous at the college canteen bonds them together, and in a matter of weeks (or rather days) the duo are sleeping together in hostel rooms. Love blossoms, and by the time they pass out of college, they’ve decided to get married to each other. The hurdles seem insurmountable in the beginning since there were jarring differences between their parents, their cultures and even their languages. Krish gets himself posted in Citibank Chennai, where Ananya is working with HLL, and sets the ball rolling. Their carefully-crafted plans suffer occasional hindrances and at one point in time, the entire affair goes topsy turvy but things magically (I repeat, magically) get sorted out with the typical, happily ever after climax.

The pace of the book is perfect and there is not one boring moment in the book. Once you start reading you can only put the book down when you are done with it. One can enjoy the book since it is very easy to read. He is an author liked by a common man because of his ability to weave his stories through his diction and subtle observations. Bhagat has done a splendid job in capturing the characteristics of Chennai’s conservatism, obsession with Carnatic music and The Hindu, Tam Brahma household, and how they live life by the ‘rules’. Their priorities in life i.e. foreign degree, US-based groom, IIT-IIM if studying in India - in that order- is well portrayed. He does an equally great work in depicting the Punjabi household, their ostentatious lives, the high-drama that rules the weddings and how much importance is given to paneer and DJ.

Chetan on his website says, “Writing 3 mistakes became too heavy for me. A story about riots, manipulative politics and the impact on the younger generation made me quite disturbed after writing the novel. Also, my strength is humour and many of my readers felt the books becoming more serious. So, I am back doing something light and fun – but still has a message.” Hence, in the book “2 states”, he has played with colloquial humour taking constant digs on Punjabi and Tamilian communities which “are not to be taken seriously” as instructed by him in the acknowledgements of the book.
Few snippets from the book:

If there’s nothing as attractive as a pretty girl, there’s nothing as repulsive as a cocky chick.

The oiled hair, geeky face and spectacles made him look like an IITian embryo.

The only nakshatram we (Punjabis) think of is the division of petrol pumps when we have to see the girl.

All the ladies in the room had a mini orgasm (on listening to Harish’s academic achievements).

Marble flooring is to a Punjabi what a foreign degree is to a Tamilian.

It is amazing how much closeness two men with a laptop in a closed room can achieve in five days.



The book “2 states” is the most endearing work published by Chetan Bhagat. He has actually tried out an entirely different layout for the book, quite different from the usual crop.

The book is written like the script for a drama or even a teleplay, for that matter. The chapters are divided into Acts I, II, III, IV and V! The book is light and breezy and the language is simple and can be read like a modern fairy tale. I as a reader and critic, would strongly recommend this book. It would be a proud addition to your library, and for Rs 95/-, it’s very much affordable and worth every pie. I loved it for the chemistry between the protagonists, the endearing moments, the tongue-in-cheek humour, the simple-yet-poignant ‘Bhagat-logic’, and of course, the central theme – Love!

(Book (reviewed by Khushnum Mistry)