TWISTS OF FATE

When I first saw this book ,I was intrigued by the cover.The hourglass has always fascinated me,as an early form of recording time and the three butterflies trapped seemed like a perfect imagery for those caged in the vestiges of time running out.Also it had mumbai's queens necklace as the backdrop and that prompted me to read the book blurb,which in turn led me to pick up this book.

This story is about three friends,Sharwari Joshi,Nandini Muzumdar and Parizaad Sethna who  being from disparate backgrounds have a bonding of the soul.Sharwari comes from a middle class background and aspires to be a writer.Nandini comes from a high class socialite family where the parents are too busy to participate in a kids life and Parizaad is raised by a strong and kind single mother.They are soul- sisters.Typical teens with their own set of problems and guided through it all by the kindly Mrs Sethna who plays a surrogate mother when she is not indulging them with the most delicious food from her cafe.But despite the promises of being together till the end,they have to part ways as life throws curve balls their way.Everyone is shocked when Parizaad along with her mother suddenly disappears from their lives.The same Mrs Setha who helped Nandini when she was grappling with a serious disorder.A decade passes with total disconnect and then fate decides to intervene once more.However everythings changed over time. Sharvari is dealing with her own demons.Nandini has some bitter memories she is running away from and Parizaad is dealing with the catastrophy which made her run away in the first place.How they reunite after a decade and how the picture falls back in place is what this story is all about.

My Views:This story was a very refreshing read.It chronicled the lives of the three friends from their teens to adulthood.What I loved about the book is its simplicity.It succeeds in reminding everyone of all that they once used to be,it takes us back to those care-free childhood days.It managed to evoke a bitter-sweet nostalgia in me.Friends are the family we get to choose.However in this mad rush of life how many of us even endeavour to keep the friendship alive?!Life almost never turns out the way we want it to be but there are greater bonds like friendship which keep us sailing even during turbulent times.There are various thought provoking lines throughout the story which gently nudge you to think.Parental guidance,Friendship,life and its responsibilities and how it all comes full circle somewhere along the way is portrayed beautifully.Some medical issues are blended seamlessly and reflect the authors professional background.The writing is very lucid and the characters well-etched.The innocence in the teenage years is complete with teenage angst and teasing.In contrast the time leap of a decade and the change in the characters personas makes the story even more interesting and fast paced.The end was very apt for a story like this.I enjoyed this book.
I rate it a 4 out of 5