Name: Under The Mango Tree
Writer: Bina Pillai
Publisher: Bigfoot Publications Pvt. Ltd.
Publication date: 08 November 2019
ISBN-10: 8194302420
ISBN-13: 978-8194302421
Pages: 236
Price: ₹ 325
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★★
Blurb:
New Delhi. September 1975.
Diya Nair is eighteen, a diligent student, hopelessly in love with Aditya. Married against her wishes to Rajagopal, ten years older than her, Diya is exposed to an orthodox family where they follow archaic customs that are alien to her modern upbringing.
Despite this, Diya adjusts to her life in Rajagopal's ancestral house, winning his family over and even changing some of their regressive practices. But she is not able to understand Rajagopal.
She gives her all to the marriage, and is blessed with two wonderful kids who become her world. Only Rajagopal's erratic, abusive behaviour is a constricting thorn in her side. He continues to break her spirit.
Her thoughts keep returning to Aditya and the mango sapling they had planted together as proof of their love. Eating the fruits of the tree together seems a distant dream, an impossibility. Made resilient by repeated tribulations, will Diya overcome her biggest problems and find peace? Will Aditya and Diya ever reunite? Will Rajagopal mend his ways? Will her confidence help her find the balance in turmoil? And will life come a full circle for Diya under the very mango tree she had planted?
Writer: Bina Pillai
Publisher: Bigfoot Publications Pvt. Ltd.
Publication date: 08 November 2019
ISBN-10: 8194302420
ISBN-13: 978-8194302421
Pages: 236
Price: ₹ 325
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★★
New Delhi. September 1975.
Diya Nair is eighteen, a diligent student, hopelessly in love with Aditya. Married against her wishes to Rajagopal, ten years older than her, Diya is exposed to an orthodox family where they follow archaic customs that are alien to her modern upbringing.
Despite this, Diya adjusts to her life in Rajagopal's ancestral house, winning his family over and even changing some of their regressive practices. But she is not able to understand Rajagopal.
She gives her all to the marriage, and is blessed with two wonderful kids who become her world. Only Rajagopal's erratic, abusive behaviour is a constricting thorn in her side. He continues to break her spirit.
Her thoughts keep returning to Aditya and the mango sapling they had planted together as proof of their love. Eating the fruits of the tree together seems a distant dream, an impossibility. Made resilient by repeated tribulations, will Diya overcome her biggest problems and find peace? Will Aditya and Diya ever reunite? Will Rajagopal mend his ways? Will her confidence help her find the balance in turmoil? And will life come a full circle for Diya under the very mango tree she had planted?
To know more, undertake this nostalgic trip with true incidents, happenings and emotions interspersed with a dosage of fiction.
My thoughts:
Plotline:
The story revolves around the life of Diya Nair, an eighteen-year-old brilliant student, who falls in love with Aditya. She is forced to let go of her love and education when her marriage is fixed with Rajagopal, the son of a family friend, who is 10 years older than Diya. Aditya and Diya try to survive this hurdle by eventually speaking to Diya’s mother, but her mother Lalitha remains adamant, and their love fails alas.
Against her will, Diya gets married to Rajagopal and moves to his village. Having lived in a modern family, she is shocked to face her orthodox in-laws. Diya is required to tune in with a family where the toilet is outside the house, the women cannot sit in front of the men and the elderly, and eat the leftover food from their husband’s plates. Although a little hesitant, she decides to adjust to the family.
he only hurdle that doesn’t seem to clear the path remains her husband, Rajagopal, who is an arrogant, self-centered and careless man, and treats Diya like his personal servant. Since his job requires him to travel very often, Diya decides to travel with him, in order to spend more time with him. But this turns out to be a bad decision since she realizes, she is trapped in an abusive relationship.
Amongst all the hatred and the chaos, her mind wanders back to the moments she spent with Aditya, the mango sapling they had planted together, and all the love she was showered with.
She spends years trying to live a peaceful life with her husband, and in the meanwhile, is blessed with two kids – Anamika and Vihaan. Watching Diya focus more on the children, Rajagopal craves her attention and physically torments Diya for the same, in front of their kids. Realization strikes Diya and she decides to move out with her children as soon as possible. She looks for a job, attempting to earn and live independently.
Diya has already spent an endless amount of time and energy, trying to keep her broken family together. Will she ever find happiness again? Will Diya succeed in finding a job and taking care of her children? Will love ever bloom in her life? Read to find out.
Language and writing style:
The author has done a beautiful job with the narration style. The storyline is absolutely heart-warming. The blurb gives an illusion of a cliché love story, but this book has exceeded all my expectations. Diya’s life is extremely similar to the lives of various young ladies who are forced to get married due to peer pressure. The parents don’t bother enough to realize what mess they’re pushing their daughters into, but ultimately, many women like Diya spend years trying to survive an abusive marriage. With no parental support, things don’t always work out for everyone. Diya, unlike others, decides to change her destiny through determination and love for her children. The description of the beautiful scenery of Kerala and the life lived in a traditional South Indian family was an absolute candy to the eye. The writing style was expressive and I could feel all the scenarios happening right in front of my eyes. The character development of Diya Nair was splendid. Mothers often devote their entire lives to their children and the same was conveyed in this book rather skilfully.
Title and book cover:
The title and the book cover very well suit the overall plot. It depicts the mango tree that has bloomed like the love story of Diya and Aditya.
Recommend?
Yes, definitely. It was unexpectedly, a great read.
TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, CLICK HERE.
My thoughts:
Plotline:
The story revolves around the life of Diya Nair, an eighteen-year-old brilliant student, who falls in love with Aditya. She is forced to let go of her love and education when her marriage is fixed with Rajagopal, the son of a family friend, who is 10 years older than Diya. Aditya and Diya try to survive this hurdle by eventually speaking to Diya’s mother, but her mother Lalitha remains adamant, and their love fails alas.
Against her will, Diya gets married to Rajagopal and moves to his village. Having lived in a modern family, she is shocked to face her orthodox in-laws. Diya is required to tune in with a family where the toilet is outside the house, the women cannot sit in front of the men and the elderly, and eat the leftover food from their husband’s plates. Although a little hesitant, she decides to adjust to the family.
he only hurdle that doesn’t seem to clear the path remains her husband, Rajagopal, who is an arrogant, self-centered and careless man, and treats Diya like his personal servant. Since his job requires him to travel very often, Diya decides to travel with him, in order to spend more time with him. But this turns out to be a bad decision since she realizes, she is trapped in an abusive relationship.
Amongst all the hatred and the chaos, her mind wanders back to the moments she spent with Aditya, the mango sapling they had planted together, and all the love she was showered with.
She spends years trying to live a peaceful life with her husband, and in the meanwhile, is blessed with two kids – Anamika and Vihaan. Watching Diya focus more on the children, Rajagopal craves her attention and physically torments Diya for the same, in front of their kids. Realization strikes Diya and she decides to move out with her children as soon as possible. She looks for a job, attempting to earn and live independently.
Diya has already spent an endless amount of time and energy, trying to keep her broken family together. Will she ever find happiness again? Will Diya succeed in finding a job and taking care of her children? Will love ever bloom in her life? Read to find out.
Language and writing style:
The author has done a beautiful job with the narration style. The storyline is absolutely heart-warming. The blurb gives an illusion of a cliché love story, but this book has exceeded all my expectations. Diya’s life is extremely similar to the lives of various young ladies who are forced to get married due to peer pressure. The parents don’t bother enough to realize what mess they’re pushing their daughters into, but ultimately, many women like Diya spend years trying to survive an abusive marriage. With no parental support, things don’t always work out for everyone. Diya, unlike others, decides to change her destiny through determination and love for her children. The description of the beautiful scenery of Kerala and the life lived in a traditional South Indian family was an absolute candy to the eye. The writing style was expressive and I could feel all the scenarios happening right in front of my eyes. The character development of Diya Nair was splendid. Mothers often devote their entire lives to their children and the same was conveyed in this book rather skilfully.
Title and book cover:
The title and the book cover very well suit the overall plot. It depicts the mango tree that has bloomed like the love story of Diya and Aditya.
Recommend?
Yes, definitely. It was unexpectedly, a great read.
TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, CLICK HERE.
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