The Youth Blog

English singer Robbie Williams best known for his single Feel has prosposed to his girlfriend Ayda Field. He proposed to her on an Australian radio show – and initially everyone thought it was a joke. Robbie Williams is 35-years old.

Robbie was appearing in the Australian radio station 2Day FM, when breakfast show host Jackie Henderson told him that Sydney had a reputation for celebrity proposals. Ayda Field was present in the studio. At this William proposed to Field,

“Ayda Field, I love you so much. Do you mind being my betrothed for the end of time?”

To which Ayda Field laughed before she replied: “I would love to be your betrothed ’til the end of time.”

Once this was done for the remainder of the show Robbie Williams was pre-occupied accepting congratulations from his fans. These fans phoned him at the show.

Even after the show many were not sure whether Williams had seriously proposed to Ayda or nor. It was not until Robbie’s mother Jan Williams confirmed it that people were sure. Apparently, Robbie had unvieled his proposal plans to his mother almost a week back.

This is what the future mother-in-law had to say,

“I’m very excited. I’m really pleased. They’ve been together for nearly three years, so it’s about time.

She’s a great mate, as well as a lover. She’s got all the qualities that he needs in a girl. It’s a lovely match.”

Chetan Bhagat - Two States

He entered the literary world as a refreshingly new face in Indian writing. He struck back twice and now Chetan Bhagat’s back again, with a bang. This time Rupa Publications brings to you 2 States-the Story of My Marriage, a sequel to his first book, Five Point Someone, with a lot more to offer.

With Five Point Someone, Chetan Bhagat introduced a neo-liberal style of writing, which opened the gates for a slew of Indian authors to follow suit, though not one claims to have met with half as much of success.

Through 2 States, Bhagat builds upon that humour-ridden colloquial style of writing, so distinctly characteristic of him, and at the same time adds a dash of maturity to the characters (The name of the protagonist, though, is Krish and not Hari). The story begins in medias res(much like Five Point Someone), with the desolate, unkempt, suicidal protagonist finding himself in a psychologist’s office where he’s coaxed into narrating his love story and how his present state came to be.

Kudos to Bhagat on how he’s begun his romantic narration in a place as unromantic as a college mess, the college being IIM, India’s premium B-School. It takes some time before Krish, an engineer from the state of Punjab and Ananya, an economics graduate who belongs to Tamil Nadu, move from strangers to ‘just friends’ to a couple and before  you know, they start living in!! They work hard, slog through college, decide to get married and get placed in reputed corporate firms. So far so good. And then it’s utter chaos, as Krish and Ananya deal with the fact that in India, to get married, there are many more complications. The guy should love the girl, the girl should love the guy, the guy’s parents should like the girl, the girl’s parents should like the guy, the girl’s and guy’s parents should like each other, and so on. And relatives do sometimes play spoilsport. Stuck between 2 cities, 2 families, an estranged father, a possessive mother, and cold in-laws, 2 lovers trudge on rocky turf to get together. Brimming with real-life situations and interspersed with situational comedy, the novel is a 3-4 hour exhilarating read.

Also, this book is a classic satire on the stereotypical Indian parents–how they want the perfect son- or daughter-in-law, who should be of the same cast, same tastes, same this and same that. It also plays on the global fact that parents assume their children to be perfect, downplaying any achievements others might’ve acquired.

2 States is definitely worth a read for its bold style of writing and the witty guffaws, if nothing else.

Do read it, folks and Bhagat, well…Keep it up!!