It was just yesterday afternoon that I finished reading this book -- '3 mistakes of my life' by Chetan Bhagat. The story is about Govind Patel, a small time buisnessman in gujarat who has made 3 big mistakes in his life and failing to redeem himself from these mistakes has attempted a suicide. The story revolves around three basic themes - Gujarat earthquake, the riots post Godhra and the love of Govind's life ... each of which supposedly leads to a mistake!
Essentially the story is not just about Govind ... it's about every human being. After I finished reading the book, I must admit, I felt like W..T..F.. what does it mean after all. Reflecting back on the book I realised I had missed an important thread which was 'How can one seek redemption from his wrong doings?' 'Who forgives you?' 'Who decides what is your punishment?' and 'How on earth would you know if the person affected by your wrong doings has no qualms against you? ' I guess these are extremely difficult questions to answer which the book tries to address in a subtle way.
The book also got me thinking about all the mistakes I have made in my life. As a kid I have been disrespectful to my elders, as a grown up I have abused friends, my word sometimes have led to broken relationships, my actions have made other's sad at times, my anger has made people indifferent towards me, my grudges have never let me see beyond hatred ... how will I ever make up all these. How on earth would I be able to figure out if people have forgiven me or not? ... I guess you forget a lot of things with time. I had also forgotten my mistakes, however I know I am due for punishment some time ( i dont know when).
Being willfully wrong means making a mistake and I have been willfully wrong a several times... I can only wait for the day my soul forgives me for all those mistakes. For Govind, things turn well in the end ...its a happy ending after all. Govind forgives himself for all his mistakes, he gets back his girlfriend... he saves a muslim boy during the riots .. he helps this boy play Cricket again (for the boy's hand got injured due to Govind's mistake). For me though, I still continue my journey on the path of exoneration .....
(Actually the theme was used in one recent movie as well - 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' )
For Now and Forever
2 years ago
1 comment:
HP... Given your understanding nature and intellectual spirit, I cannot imagine you possibly hurting anybody for no apparent reason.:) However if we do hurt someone with our words, it is not that we must get punished. For all you know, that might be the punishment God wanted to give him for his own wrong doings in the past! Hmm... this book sounds a rather depressing read.
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