BOOK REVIEW: GENTLY FALLS THE BAKULA:-

TITLE: - Gently falls the Bakula

 AUTHOR: - Sudha Murthy

GENRE: - Contemporary romance.

“Shrikant was restless……holding a Bakula flower in his palm, he was wondering why he was fascinated by this tiny flower, that was neither as beautiful as a rose nor had the fragrance of a Jasmine or a Champaka. And yet, it was very special to him. It held an inexplicable attraction to him.”

Gently falls the Bakula, written by the Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, Mrs. Sudha Murthy, is like her other novels, deeply rooted in the Indian soil with a simple narrative and plot.

 Set in a small town of Karnataka, Shrikant and Shrimati are two very intelligent, young students, always competing with each other to prove their intelligence. As always Shrimati outsmarts Shrikant. The two children are also neighbours whose properties have been divided by a Bakula tree due to family feuds going on since past few generations. The story starts off with their childhood and then goes on to reveal the excitement and nervousness of their blossoming love, with only the Bakula tree as its witness.

The story moves on with Shrikant getting admitted to IIT Bombay and Shrimati settling for a local college to pursue her passion in history. Their love survives long distance and the two eventually, get married and move to Bombay, overcoming all the obstacles and restrictions from their respective families.

In Bombay Shrimati is struck with the fast pace of city life. She struggles to adjust in the new place as well as with her duties and responsibilities of a wife. Shrikant meanwhile starts rapidly climbing the corporate ladder. He works relentlessly and soon reaches the pinnacle of the industry leaving Shrimati alone and unhappy. She is forced to abandon her aspirations (due to circumstances) and becomes the uncomplaining shadow of Shrikant fulfilling her duties as the wife of a corporate leader. Years later, Shrimati meets an old professor of History and realizes how empty her life has become and finally decides to take a new turn. But would it have been too late already?

Gently falls the Bakula tells the tale of a marriage that loses its way as self-interest and greed for more money take their toll. Written long ago, this novel stills aptly fits into the Indian life. What makes it an amazing read is its connection to the present reality. On can find so many people like Shrikant who give more importance to material wealth and career rather than family. Although it is indeed difficult to find someone like Shrimati today, the oh -so patient, obedient wife. Another thing I liked the most was the excellent comparison made by the writer, of the Bakula flower with the nature of Shrimati in the sense quiet, shy and always less noticed- qualities which attracted Shrikant to her in the first place.

Overall I liked the book. I would recommend it to anyone who is in search for a love story set in a typical Indian society with aplenty family drama and also to anyone in need of some history lessons! I would give it 4/5..