The Youth Blog

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Have you ever imagined what it would be like, if your every move was watched, your every thought was discerned, your every action was accounted for, and your existence itself was at the mercy of someone else? Gives you the creeps, doesn’t it? Well, George Orwell did give us the creeps.

A book that’s hailed as the most effectively written literary science-fiction, 1984 (written in 1949) is a dystopian novel depicting a virtual fiefdom in the year 1984, where society is constantly under surveillance by the Party, and real happiness is a thing of the past.

Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984, is a civil servant and works for the Ministry of Truth, whose job is to further the Party’s propaganda. And to achieve this, he erases and modifies historical records, thus changing history itself.

His life is as prosaic as can be, with a screen watching him day in and day out.

The lassitude of his life irks him to such an extent that he thinks of revolting against Big Brother-the elusive head of the Party, whose eyes follow everyone.

And then he meets Julia, a co-worker in the Ministry, and in her presence, he relives all those great moments of life he ever desired or cherished. In the year 1984, he longs to get back to his childhood days, and at the same time he remembers the struggles his mother had to go through to make ends meet.

Eventually, he realizes the present is not as smooth as he had thought after meeting Julia.

As things start to unfold, he experiences what it is like to be tortured and coaxed, and how one can never run away from the Party, no matter what.

In projecting the dystopian year 1984, George Orwell has so effectively portrayed the struggles of the proletariat and the elite that one cannot but feel immense pity.

Nineteen Eighty Four gets one thinking and makes one shudder, at the possible influence that a government might have on the society. Thus, it is very important to have the right ideology and to think on the right lines, and not blindly believe what’s made to be true by someone.

George Orwell-whose real name is Eric Blair-has also earned an eponym, Orwellian, after writing 1984. An Orwellian state refers to a totalitarian regime where the government gives no freedom to its citizens, and scrutinizes their every move. It’s a word with a very negative connotation.

Hats off to Mr. George Orwell.

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!!