Girl From Fatehpur/ Book Review
Girl from Fatehpur is a sweet and melodious romance about Sanjana, her past crush and her present suitor. Who is better for Sana?
Author: Sarita Varma
Pages: 122 pages
Published: by Indireads
“Sana, you are only a kid…you will soon forget all this. Besides, don’t you also love Shahrukh Khan?” That was Rajan’s reply when Sanjana had bravely opened up her heart and proposed to him. What would happen when these two meet again? Well, a definite romance, spurred on by old feelings and new ones.
Sanjana, a girl from Fatehpur, had a crush on the guy-next-door, the charismatic and kind Rajan. When he left for US as a teen for higher studies, Sana gathered all her guts to confess, only to get rejected. That is a decade ago. Now, she is working in Mumbai and has a guy following her tracks… Krish Chauhan. He proposed to Sana and is still waiting for the reply. Can Sana forget Rajan and accept Krish?
To clear her mind and to find answers to the dilemma of Krish’s proposal, Sana escapes him and flees to her hometown, in the ruse of attending her cousin’s wedding.
The story revolves around the small town of Fatehpur and around Sana’s family and most of it happens in Renee and Jatin’s wedding. I loved the elaborate paintings of the Marriage and wedding ceremonies in North India and fell in love with the way they get married. It is a big and fussy process, but an entertaining one. As a girl from South, I’ve seen my shares of southern weddings, which were not this loud and buoyant, so of course, I loved Renee’s wedding.
It is the marriage where Sana meets Rajan the second time and she realizes that she still has feelings for him. And then comes the storm (of course, we need him now), Krish, who decides to glue himself by Sana’s side and create misunderstandings, but how can the story be anything without him? 😉
Sana’s character is developed with care and the author did justice to the small-town girl who lives in a big, bad world. I loved Sana. Coming to Rajan, yes, Rajan is considerate, compassionate and what not. A perfect gentleman… who hates the commitment of marriage.
A small town girl at heart who wishes for marriage and an American guy at heart who thinks marriage is not everything… Their match is, well, a match made in heaven.
Krish is hardheaded and obstinate and he needs to achieve everything he wants — in this case, it is Sana. Though, Krish is added as an anti-hero (or is he just a distraction?), I couldn’t really hate him. What is really wrong in fighting for his love?! Yes, he is little annoying at times, but he is okay.
In fact, the two characters that stayed with me after I finished reading is Zoya and Krish.
Rajan and Sana’s love story was very fleeting; maybe because it is a novella, but still, it felt kind of inadequate to me. They meet, they have some time together… for Sana, it is kind of fitting, since she is already in love, but for Rajan to fall that easily… it seems a little forced and pressured. The story came to halt before I can fully connect with the characters. Again, it is a Novella, so I don’t know…
What I loved is the author’s narrative and her good language flow. It is crisp and leaves an impact. The wedding descriptions – though it took a major portions in the romance novel – are beautiful and the big Indian family connections… Oh, and the cute cover.
What I disliked is the unnecessary details at times. It could’ve been avoided to make more room for Rajan and Sanjana and to develop their relationship. Family played a big role – which, I loved – but it kind of outshone Sanjana and Rajan’s track. Their love seems so abrupt. So rushed.
I will give 3.6 out of 5 for this light hearted read, without major twists or turns. A best companion in a winter evening, you will enjoy it.
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