Ashwina Garg’s “Spicy Bites of Biryani” – Review by Sankha Ghosh

Urban life – glamorous, socialite – US returned millionaire bachelor – are the areas that can grab maximum eyeballs and too can provoke a read. From Shobhaa De to Karan Johar – from novels to celluloid, rarely anyone has worked without keeping any of them. And, lately, urban lifestyle has been ‘the thing’. That is ‘the thing’ that attracts Indian youth – the main target group of India, be it paperback or films. And, all the tested and proved ingredients have been carefully chosen by the author for her “Spicy bites Of Biriyani” – her debut novel.

And, when a debutant author chooses a path much traversed by the others – a challenge automatically creeps in. The automatic comparison begins with the authors who already have tasted success at this. And, the names that come instantly are Preeti Shenoy and Ruchita Misra. And, to compete with them or to pose unique – some differential quotient has to be incorporated. Mostly, in any format, if it concerns dealing with relationships and romances – the differences emerge from the creation of unforgettable moments or perfect characterizations. And, the writer has managed those decently well. And, if not enough moments – the one liners and witty conversations have made up that front.

The book talks about relationships. The author has excellently picturized the characters and their issues. The complications of a married couple – the tale of a marriage-phobic girl and issues faced by a on-to- marry eligible bachelor are well established by the plot. Though, the plot has nothing new to deliver – the beautiful narration worth a read.

The author has nicely touched upon some aspects of life. The moment when on the verge of getting on to motherhood – a seven-year married wife expresses her wish to explore the wild side, it touches the right chord. But, when the ‘bucketlist’ ends by just some open-air sex – it hurts. It misses a scope that required at least some more explorations and imagination. At least, it deserved a few more pages

The sub-plots are merely cheesy. Be it the case of Sheetal or Sharad – the parts are not up-to-the -mark. It has become a chronic problem of the Indian paperbacks – that subplots are not much paid attention to. And, they remain half-baked, if not unbaked. And, in this case, when the rest of the book is dealt with utter care and maturity – these could have been nurtured well too. The author has nicely balanced the fun and thought-provoking scenes throughout the book. And, this has played a major part in making this book an entertaining read.

The novel has a pace of its own. It goes correctly with the plot. The lucid language and easy framing makes it a nice read altogether.  The author has excellently framed the characters, Aditi being the best. She has taken her time to unleash the character and has fantastically explained Aditi’s journey as an author – her thinking and imaginations. Her change of boyfriends has unnecessarily been tabooed here. May be it has been done to establish her whimsical nature or to prove her a glam-queen(though at thirty plus age) whose boyfriends range from cricketer to psycho-paths or to justify the climax – it has been overdone. Jayashree and Mayank’s characters are also well- defined. But Jayashree’s character could have been much more impactful has it been explored a bit more and not amputated.

The climax is far from the main plot. Though it brings in a momentary pace and tension – it does not come eventually. The turn comes completely from out of the blue. And, it also ends abruptly. Ms Loveleen would have shown her prowess as a counselor at her own crisis.

But overall, this book with a unique name and a refreshing cover worth a read mainly, because of excellent characterization done by the author and witty conversations. When I compare her writing with the others who have typified the path of woman writers – I could rate her not less.

But, in this book, the show stealer is Hyderabad. The passion with which the place is described – be it the lake on the way to the airport or the over-crowded roads – steals heart !!

• About the Author

About Sankha Ghosh

Sankha Ghosh was never born in that 'City of Joy', never was a banker, never watched a Godard, never loved Kafka, never fell for that Solitary Reaper, never danced on a friend’s wedding, never fought for human rights, never had a crush at college and never ever aspired to work on a novel! Never was he as simple as this! #He wishes