Book Review: Marriages Not Made In Heaven, by Vathi Agrawal

A South Delhi mother of three daughters of marriageable age is a special creature and Nita Chopra runs true to the stereotype. Her three daughters are as different from each other as chalk and cheese and chai, with just one thing in common - all three, Payal, Simran and Nisha, are very keen to get married, just as keen as their parents are in getting them married. Anand Chopra, the father, works for the Mittal Group of companies and the Chopras are well-off, though not filthy rich and they have the money and wherewithal to spend on the desired weddings. Vathi Agrawal definitely believes in ‘getting on with it’ since the marriages happen in quick succession, atleast for two of the daughters, and the last one doesn’t take too long either, but that’s because the story moves fast. Agrawal’s characters are real-life ones and many run true to stereotypes, though a few don’t. Nita Chopra is ambitious, but also realistic. Nisha is the prettiest of the lot and ‘it was an unacknowledged aspiration of Nita, that her youngest daughter get married to the young scion of the Mittal family, Sidaarth Mittal. After all, aren’t rich business tycoons always marrying beneath them, so long as the bride is young and good looking.’ However, for the eldest Payal, an old maid who had crossed thirty and who took after her father in looks and brains, broad of shoulders, neck and waist, she did not harbour any extravagant ambitions and is even willing to shell out a substantial dowry to get a half-decent groom.

Marriages Not Made In Heaven is definitely not a politically correct novel, though it gets its characters and their settings correct. There is nastiness and jealousy, pettiness and greed, love and longing, sacrifice and benevolence. Each character is vividly drawn. Was it Mark Twain who said that human beings show their true colours when they are dating, getting married or getting ditched? Actually, I made that one up, but after reading Marriages Not Made In Heaven, one would find it difficult not to agree.

Agarwal’s debut effort is such a romantic (or rather unromantic) thriller that I read it in one go – I think I took around five hours to read the 198-page page-turner on a warm Saturday afternoon, not needing a single cup of coffee while doing so. Agrawal writes well in simple, everyday Indian English, the sort of English which the Chopras and their neighbours, the Grovers, would speak. Agrawal’s use of ‘will’ instead of the more common ‘would’ threw me initially, but I soon started to enjoy the usage. For example: “He knew Nisha had a steady boy friend, but was naive enough to believe that if he displayed his steadfast unshakeable devotion to her, she will fall in love with him sooner or later.”

I highly recommend Marriages Not Made In Heaven. Go on, do pick up a copy and read. Actually, its fine even if you don’t read it because it is very likely to be made into a TV serial soon and you can watch it on screen.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Thanks to Nita Chopra’s quest for sons-in-law from the get-go, despite the title of the book suggesting otherwise, I ended up looking (in vain) for Jane and Elizabeth and Lydia, Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham in Marriages Not Made In Heaven.  In India, with its patriarchy and dowry, dyed-in-the-MCP-wool men and steeped-in-tradition women, many marriages, unlike the marriages that take place in Austen-land, don’t have a happy ending, even if both horoscopes had been matched before the M boat set sail. Payal, a marketing executive in a technology firm, does have a few things in common with Jane, but not in the looks department. Second daughter Simran, a doctor to boot, ‘attractive and unapproachable’, the official snob of the family who has a high opinion of herself, has nothing in common with Elizabeth Bennett. As for Nisha, the youngest and the prettiest, she is as head-strong as Lydia, but not as lucky.

Marriages Not Made In Heaven is as different from Pride and Prejudice as pride is different from prejudice, or are they really? Don’t pride and prejudice have a lot in common? If Jane Austen were to write Pride and Prejudice today, wouldn’t the Bennett sisters also be career-minded? Actually, unlike her two elder sisters, Nisha isn’t very career-minded, but she is pushed into working for an investment bank and she does pretty well, effortlessly stealing credit from her colleague Ananya and sleeping with a key client. Wouldn’t Lydia have done the same?

ONE MORE SPOILER

By the way, I did find Mr. Darcy in Marriages Not Made In Heaven. Actually, Nisha’s colleague Ananya found him for me. No, I’m not going to tell you more. Please read this potboiler to find out more for yourself.