‘RAFFLESIA –
The Banished Princess’ by Gautam is a Bildungsroman novel. Through this book we
meet Appu (Apurva Sharma) – a very silent, emotion-provoking and intense
character. The book is about him. How he grows up with his parents, the kind of
society he witnesses, his subaudition with some of the people outside his
family, and most important how he struggles to eke out his share from the world
or how he tussles to be a good fit in the hedonism of the world which is
nothing but a meaningless chase for unbridled desires.
Appu is
terrific. You will feel for him. He is naïve, honest, and inexperienced. His
favourtie tale is RAFFLESIA – The Banished Princess. Appu liked this tale ever
since he got hold of it. He had read it numerous times since his childhood.
Why? There is some strange connection to his heart with this tale of a
princess. Probably Appu tried to rise above all – everything – from all the
hues and cries that grip the soul of a middle-class family. But did he succeed?
Probably it is too affront to say anything about this character Appu.
As you read
the book, coming to its end, you will realize how the value of fate influences
the overall life of a person. Appu is brilliant at academics but gets nowhere.
He is a good man but gets no girl to love. He has a good loving small family
but it fails to make him better off in life. Why such miseries happen with Appu
only. He is an ordinary man…but there is something intangible. How would he
figure out as what’s keeping him behind in every aspect of life? The tale of
Appu is very relatable – an ordinary man with extraordinary struggles. Why he
has to slog even for basic necessities in life. You will feel sad for him, the
characterization will tear your heart apart and make you embarrassed, you will
be forced to look inside you. A strong introspection is something that you get
when you read this book. Life is not so good and kind for people who born out
of ‘silver spoon’ category. The agony and pain of Appu can be understood from
the following excerpts.
“Why it is always me, Rahul? What have I
done?” Appu tried to wipe his tears. Rahul held Appu tightly.
“Because you are very special, Baba. And god
has his own ways with the people he loves.”
Many must be
thinking that this book is about a fairytale cum fantasy novel. Well, isn’t
like. Rather the story of the book is being influenced by this tale. It is more
about subconscious of Appu than executing this fairytale in fairy land.
Being a
debutant writer, the matter of delight is Gautam’s exception writing skills. He
has made this so-ordinary-looking book into something intense and influential.
If you love silent yet powerful stories with silence as one of their prominent
characteristics, well then go nowhere and stick to it.
What a perfect
prose to sympathize with Appu – the protagonist.
“I waited for an eternity for the sunflowers
to bloom. They didn’t. And I waited.”
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