BOOK : TANYA TANIA
AUTHOR : ANTARA GANGULI
PUBLISHED IN : 2016
GENRE : LITERARY FICTION
RATING : ★★★★★
This book was sent to me for review byBLOOMSBURY INDIA ; THANK YOU
Goodreads summary :
Tanya Tania is a story about two young women coming of age in two countries that are coming of age. Tanya Talati in Karachi and Tania Ghosh in Bombay, daughters of college best friends, write to each other of what cannot be said to anyone else: a mother who has gone from quiet to silent, sex that has become a weapon, a servant with unforgettably soft hands and a country beginning to play with religion. When Tanya’s brother receives a kidnapping threat, she sets in motion what no one could have predicted, least of all Tania, who finds herself alone in a forbidden bazaar in Bombay, listening to the sounds of a riot torn city coming closer and closer and closer . . .
Written in letters that span six years, Tanya Tania is a story of what it means to be between childhood and adulthood at a time when two countries are struggling with what it means to be Indian and Pakistani, rich and poor, confident and lonely. A story of love between girls, between families and between countries, Tanya Tania, is, at its heart, a love story about what it means to be human.
This book was so intense yet charming.
Budding its way through conversation this book spoke so much. It revealed so much.
I never thought it would be so gripping and so touching.
It taught us a bond of friendship needs o boundaries. It never seeks any falter with politics or religions. And if it does , it was not true.
THEME
Friendship was one its prime focus.
It taught us that a mere pen and paper can create a bond of understanding.
You do not have to express your love , you just have to be there for one another when needed.
Nusrat was there for Tania , Tanya was there for all the motivation and direction Tania needed. They were far away, a shore but they were connected like no other.
This book taught me , personally to be there for one another.
Other theme it focuses on
Love beyond everything possible. It does not have to be physical to be called love. It has to be pure. It should emerge from a mere conversation and end to intense.
It should start from waiting and end up waiting.
It is not to be owned but to be felt. To be secured.
It knows no boundaries , it knows no differences of any kind.
It is just pure and it goes on.
This book through the background of riots shows the importance of one thing and insignificance of another.
PLOT
The whole story is narrated through letters. It is epistolary in nature.
This whole idea of letters itself is so adorable and authentic.
Letters are precious. Because it has so much in it.
I really loved how the narration of final chapter turned.
Also, starting with present and then adding its account with the background.
It was unique and sentimental.
CHARACTERS
The two main characters whose story revolved around others ,making them main.
I loved how the two girls shared all the happenings in just a piece of paper, crossing boundaries.
They felt real because they had their own situation and sufferings.
I felt as if I’m reading about two of my friends. I wanted to suggest them things. If only , I know that this was real because it felt real.
Though the brutal background was real and it happen ; it was quite unfortunate.
But it is through the tiny little lives shall we understand that all this is just for a time. We all have to leave one day , Everything we have.
So why not maintain peace and live these fortunate moments we own.
Please read this because its worth it.
PS I finished this in a day.
HAPPY READING!