MEN AND DREAMS IN THE DHAULADAR
AUTHOR – KOCHERY C. SHIBU
GENRE - TECHNICAL FICTION, THRILLER, CLASSIC
PAGES – 397 (KINDLE EDITION)
PUBLICATION – NIYOGI BOOKS
PUBLISHED – SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
MEN AND DREAMS IN THE DHAULADAR gives you a ride through the lives of Nanda an engineer and a martial artist running for his life, hiding from the law, Khusru - a Kashmiri youth hired by Pakistani terrorist group to blow up the dam and Rekha - a kathak dancer by passion and doctor by profession in search for the love of her life, chase their dreams in the village of Dhauladar.
The 3 individuals oblivious to each other’s existence but end up intertwining their lives together with a surprising twist will totally have you shook. It revolves around a hydel project in the Himalayas – a dam construction and terrorists planning to blow it up.
The book had its own share of highs and lows. However, there’s not much that I liked or enjoyed about this book.
Starting with the goods, I was quite skeptical to read this book in the first place but was glad to read a book by an Indian author as I haven’t read much of them and he has done a not impressive but good job to sum up elements of emotions and trying to make the reader live the world of Dhauladar through the lives of the protagonists, considering the fact that this was his debut.
The fact that modern world is taking over the villages and their traditions is well emphasized and highlighted. The way the locals struggle to fight the rapid changes and development showcases the reality of our world.
The way the author has described the emotions of people and portrayed the authenticity of their characteristics makes the world of Dhauladar a reality.
However, the things that disappointed me are many more than the positives.
The mishmash of languages made the reading queer for anyone who even knows Indian languages or doesn’t. I felt the over description of the incidents made me lost interest in the book and I somehow had to drag till the end of it.
Also the ways jargon were just cramped into plot, it made to lose the essence of it all.
There was no particular sequence to the story. The switch of scenes back and forth messed up the story-line tad bit. Not to mention the back stories of the protagonists’ ancestors seemed unnecessary.
It would have been a good book if the author could work on shaping the plot rather than spending so much time on the characters that dint matter to the story at all.
Nonetheless I really admire the research done by the author is commendable and his efforts are evident in his work.
Although I wouldn’t recommend this book that strongly to all but I do feel the author can do really great job in his upcoming work.
Rating :- ⭐⭐