The house that BJ built by Anuja Chauhan

I have not read Anuja’s any book before this but I had heard great reviews for them. Not to forget that my mother likes the show based on Thakur girls , so I was overjoyed when I got a chance to review “the house that BJ built”. First thing that I realized when I started reading the book was that people are people. There is no rich / classy / poor / crass kind of attitude. We all are just human having a hell lot of qualities which are too hard to explain. Though this is the story of Bonu ( Bonita ) and Samar ( her step cousin ) , the generation after The Pricey Thakur girls ; I got a good amount of background story and character analysis on the sisters and the Thakur clan as a whole. The story set up in Delhi has all the necessary ingredients of a well-crafted story with strong characters , the cunning relatives and the human greed that has made blood thinner than water. Plus the plotting by powerful agencies like builders , self declared mafia and likes. 

The book also touches upon the dramas and entertainment of a family that has people from different backgrounds and how their current situations shape their mindsets. There was a particular scene where Bonu’s uncle wonders about ignoring her while trying to save the world through his news channel. That is exactly how I feel about a lot of people who are fighting for bigger causes. We somewhere ignore and forget the people who are closer to us and who need our love just the same.  I could feel Bonu’s loneliness , her strength , her will power and anger all perfectly well in the story that picks pace with the grandfather BJ’s death and his brother filing a case for the eviction of the house where Bonu and his aunts had once spent their childhood. Following Bonu’s and Samar’s adventures through Mumbai and Delhi , Anuja has created a wonderful book that doesn’t let you stop reading without a tiny bit of irritation. The characters are somewhat very real and I found identifying in them a few friends I know. 

 I now want to read the first Thakur girls novel soon since I loved this one a lot. 

My rating : 5/5

Battle For Bittora - By Anuja Chauhan

BATTLE FOR BITTORA: From the Best Selling Author of The Zoya Factor which is soon to be a Major Motion Picture by RED CHILLIES ENTERTAINMENT.

AUTHOR: Anuja Chauhan

BEST SELLERS: The Zoya Factor. Battle for Bittora is Anuja's Second Novel. 

SYNOPSIS (From Back Cover): Twenty - Five year old Jinni lives in Mumbai, works in a hip animation studio and is perfectly happy with her carefree and independent existence. Until her bossy grandmother shows up and announces that it is Jinni's 'duty' to drop everything and come and contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from their sleepy hometown, Bittora. Of course Jinni swears she wont. But she soon ends up swathed in cotton saris and frumpy blouses, battling prickly heat, corruption and accusations of nymphomania as candidate Sarojini Pande, a daughter of the illustrious Pande dynasty of Pavit Pradesh. And if life isn't fun already, her main opposition turns out to be Bittora ex-royal, Zain Altaf Khan - an irritatingly idealistic though undeniably lust worthy individual with whom Jinni shares a complicated history...

EXCERPT:

"Didn't you mean any of the sweetest things you said to me last night?"

I stopped giggling abruptly.

"I meant some stuff." I wrote.

"Good." He wrote back. "I mean some stuff too. Now go away and let me think about how I'm going to crush you."

"In your arms?" I couldn't resist typing.

"No, you maniac. In the elections." 

MSM Speaks:  I had read a few contemporary (female) Indian writers and this woman is extremely brilliant! Anuja Chauhan managed to make me laugh from the very first page. The story begins with an urban set up where the protagonist works in Pixel Animation Co. Ltd. And yes, she has a gay colleague who is also a good friend. (I swear! He was less gay than the gay men portrayed in a cliche'd manner in other gay books. I loved and hated him at the same time. :D Oh, and his name is "Gai"man :P) So, she enjoys designing ads for Harpic and Domex, when her life is totally flushed down the toilet when her Grandmother Pushpa (Anuja's or Jinni's description of her grandmother is hilarious!) turns up and asks/invites/coerces and finally drops the bomb on her to help her with the election set up in a very small town of Pavit Pradesh, called Bittora. 

Now, the book covers Jinni's transformation into Sarojini Pande who has to suddenly stand up for election and she has absolutely NO idea (Like most of us) what goes into making of a politician and politics. She is merely 25 and has chopped hair, like a guy! She wears heels and sexy saris. Not too old, I say. And then blame her hormones, when she meets her childhood, adolescent and sweetheart from the past Zain (She calls him Maruti Zen). Tragically enough, he is her opponent and she knows she (and he of course) is in love. I loved the conflicts of heart and mind and money and how Anuja never fails to deliver her raunchy, punchy one liners. One of my favorites was: "He looked a little startled. (Lean, taut, chiselled and honey gold)...'You dropped clean out of my life and out of my mind." He grinned, 'I bet you did.' 'I bet you did'. I returned. He laughed so hard that he spluttered sherbet all over the railing. (Lean, taut, chiselled and honey gold)."  Jinni is so smitten by Zain that this Lean taut thing keeps going in her mind, making serious conversations light and funny, which would otherwise have turned out to be boring. 

The book tends to get repetitive at few parts, especially during the middle part, when I was like, come on, finish it already, however, my attention was still going strong, with her clear and crisp style. Very Humorous and Very Very Fresh. MSM votes for Bittora! 

A must read to know that being a young leader is so not easy, especially when you are a woman and the target of the hottest guy in the constituency to stand up against. Sexy Romance and Wicked Humor. MSM Recommends!

My rating: 4/5

Battle for Bittora: HarperCollins Publishers 2010 ISBN 978-93-5029-0022-6

Landmark Bookstore Online Price (Special Rate): 222/- INR
List Price: 299/- INR