‘2 States – The Story of My Marriage’ is a novel written by Chetan Bhagat and a work of fiction. The novel is based on the story of couples belonging to different states, castes and religions, and it can be of any such couples.
Coming to novel’s plot, it narrates a story of a boy and girl who meet on the IIM – A campus and how they convince their parents for their marriage. Thus, it is a very interesting novel.
The two main characters in the novel are Krish Malhotra, a Punjabi boy from North India, and Ananya Swaminathan, a Brahmin girl from Tamil Nadu. Ananya, who comes from an Economics background, is the most talked about girl on campus at IIM Ahmedabad, while Krish is an IIT graduate. Soon they become good friends and their friendship turns into love and they move in together. After completing the course both get a job in the companies of their choice, and then Krish proposes marriage to Ananya. It is clear in India that while most of the couples are ready in such union, there has always been an opposition from their respective families. Despite all this, the couple in the novel choose to convince their parents and win each other’s families.
As a part of this effort, Krish asks his company to relocate him to Chennai so that he can get closer to Ananya’s family. In the end, Krish manages to convince them. He then takes Ananya with him to meet his mother. The rest of the family except Krish’s father accept her after an incident where Ananya saves Krish’s cousin’s marriage. Krish has a very troubled relationship with his father so he tries to ignore him. Eventually everyone convinces Krish’s father for the marriage and they both get married. Soon they are blessed with twins.
The whole plot of the marriage between two individuals and their cultural differences are depicted in a very interesting way. The book questions the casteism prevalent in India and how couples like Krish and Ananya struggle to get married. Indians are very afraid to accept a girl or a boy of the other caste as here in India the marriage is not between a boy and a girl but between two families. So, the fear that the girl will not adapt to the new culture or that she may take the boy away with her is very strong. The book is thus a very fascinating read.
