2 states

Being an IITian it was very difficult for me to like Chetan Bhagat's earlier books. Maybe that was the reason I did not complete "5 point someone", took weeks to complete "One night at the call centre" and gave "The 3 mistakes of my life" a total miss. So when I got "2 states" as a birthday gift I could not help but show a little frustration. Only because this book was about 250 pages and that I had some really pressing issues which I did not want to think about, I buckled up and started the book mainly as a distraction from my worldly troubles. I thought "how bad can a real life story about a love marriage be".

Well to say the least it was awesome, totally awesome. Every page has that subtle humour which you will appreciate if you belong to a punjabi family or if you are pissed off easily by south indians. Some would call the book racist, but I think Bhagat has made fun of both the states without actually making anyone mad. Punjabis are projected as outgoing, happy chaps but too concerned about their image in the society. Tamilians are projected as down to earth people with such a simple lifestyle that they tend to get boring most of the time. For me the highlight of the book was the troubled father son relationship and how they come around in the end. Another good thing about the book is that at no place does it talk about IITians being Gods or superhumans.

Give it a read, you will definitely smile a lot (if you manage to get the humour) and if you really connect you might shed a tear or two.