Those Pricey Thakur Girls

-      by Malvi

Anuja Chauhan's latest work “Those Pricey Thakur Girls" takes you back in the 80s era  in Lutyens’ Delhi. The author maintains a simple prose but keeps the readers engrossed in the built up to the climax of the story.

For romantic fools like me, the Jane Austenish touch to an Indian story, made me read it more avidly. I know it’s the plain old love story with its twists and turns but Chauhan brings that extra zing to the story which kept me captivated till the last page.

The story gives a strong nostalgic feeling for those who remember the Doordarshan days when Newsreaders were celebrities !  remember Salma Sultan with the customary rose in her hair, Shammi Narang, Usha Albuquerque etc??

In short, it’s a nicely roped in story involving a family saga set amid the pre-liberation era with tense political situation of that time including the Anti-Defamation Bill, the ’84 riot and the strict restrictions on the freedom of press. In those times, Doordarshan was the only channel available on TV and print media (newspapers etc) was the main source of news on the political and other fronts.

 If you want to know the story line, it’s like this: the Thakur family with a retired judge and his five daughters named in alphabetical order. The black sheep of the family, Debjani, is the protagonist and the love of her life is Dylan Singh Shekhawat, an investigative journalist. The author’s description of Dylan is the answer to every girl’s imagination of a perfect prince. Chauhan has done justice in building up the varied characters in the story including the entertaining nick-nacks and funny bickering among family members.

And the good news is that Chauhan has planned this book to be the first in series of books on the Thakur clan.

All in all, a sassily told tale with a heavy topping of wit, humour and emotions made it a really nice book to read. Mind you don’t compare it with a literary fiction, as this one’s an out and out rom-com !!