Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"Sensational - Stunning - Mind Provoking!!"
Never Mind Yaar by, `K. Mathur' takes the reader on a stunning journey. The four main characters are Binaifer, Louella, Shalini, and Bhagu - four close friends of different ethnic backgrounds. Set in Mumbai, India, the author communicates her love of this beautiful country by giving vivid detail when describing the surroundings. In reading this story I believe the author took great measures to develop these characters - quite realistic. Through her story, she gives the reader an understanding about what constitutes cultural identity - and how the various aspects of our worldview affect us. It is a story about true friendship, heartache, and the strong bond they share with one another. I felt a real connection with the character `Mem' (the matriarch of Shalini's family) as she represents the strength and love one must have in order to help sustain stability within the family unit. I highly recommend this brilliant work of literature, and look forward to reading more from this talented author known as, `K. Mathur'.
Reviewer: Barbara Watkins, Allbooks Review
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2 comments:
Dear Barbara, I am so glad you liked my book, "Never Mind Yaar". With your permission I'd like to add my responses to some of the questions from All Books Review, including my reason for giving my book its title. Thanks once more and regards, Khoty (Mathur)
Give us an overview of your book.
Never Mind Yaar, is an attitude - our tendency to feel overwhelmed by the scale and nature of certain problems, give up and move on with a sigh and a “never mind”. Yaar simply means “friend” in India.
When long time friends Binaifer and Louella meet Shalini Dayal at Gyan Shakti College, Gyan for knowledge and Shakti for strength, a true friendship that transcends cultural and religious backgrounds is born. Louella is a Christian and Binaifer, a Parsi. The novel’s main plotline surrounds Shalini who is from a traditional Hindu family.
On the very first day at college her eyes accidentally look into those of a young fellow student’s and her heart is lost forever. She knows she must resist as her family won’t allow a match with a mere student. Brought up to believe her parents and autocratic grandma will choose her life partner for her, she is torn between her love for Bhagu and the safety of tradition. Binaifer (Binny) and Louella (Lou) refuse to let her surrender to the dictates of her elders, playing two very unlikely cupids.
The girls go through four years of college together, facing many challenges on the one hand but also the comfort and reassurance on the other, of growing up in the cultural, political and bewildering mosaic that is Mumbai. When a series of synchronized bombs and the racial (communal) violence in the aftermath leave them feeling badly shaken, Dr. Naakwa, the astute college principal, offers words of wisdom and healing. Why do the three friends decide the blame for the carnage lies squarely with secular Indians?
In a seemingly unrelated incident Dr.Naakwa discovers that Chacha, who runs the college cafeteria, is also the local slumlord. The decisions made by the villain, grandmother, Dr. Naakwa, Shalini’s parents and friends take the tale through to an unexpected finish.
Excerpts on Amazon or my website: http://www.nevermindyaar.com
How is your book different from other books in this genre? What inspired you to write this book?
Authors bring their own personality and the sum of their own experiences to anything they write. It isn’t any different for me.
Ever since I witnessed communal (or racial) riots in Mumbai as a young girl, I've always wanted to know why secularism, or a different way of doing things, is such a threat to some people while others are totally relaxed with those differences.
I remember, when I did find out, I felt almost liberated. For the first time I felt sorry for people who were communal minded – the ones who were fazed by others who looked and behaved different. This is what I wanted to share and it went into Never Mind Yaar in the form of a debate between two students – Is Mumbai Truly Secular.
I hasten to add that first and foremost, the book is about the carefree and light hearted years of college, young love and true friendship between three girls from different cultural and religious backgrounds. I believe the problems ordinary, mainstream, middle class Indians face, alongside stories of extreme poverty, male chauvinism and superstition help to give a more fully rounded picture of India as it really is.
Where can people buy your book?
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Never-Mind-Yaar-K-Mathur/dp/0473174790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1298111173&sr=1-1
Thank you so much for that wonderful interview, Ms. Mathur!
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