Book Review::Wedding Wallah by Farahad Zama

 

Opening lines*: Mrs. Ali could have sworn that the thief had a sneaky look in his eye as he crept close to his target.

Publisher: Abacus

Genre: Fiction

Can be picked here

The main story is about a Marriage Bureau (MB) which is named as “Marriage Bureau for the Rich People.” Run by Mr. and Mrs. Ali, the MB invites several community people who are affluent and seek a suitable bride/groom.

And, Mrs. Bilqis is one of their affluent clients. Her proposal is for their niece, Pari. Mr. and Mrs. Ali are astonished as Pari is a impoverished widow. A bright and beautiful girl, Pari lost her husband but has adopted a young boy from her hometown.

Pari lives independently and works in a Call Center. She loves her son dearly and wishes to make his life as pleasant as possible. Mrs. Bilqis is ready to accept the son and also give him a wonderful life, much to the astonishment of everybody who knows her.

Why would Mrs. Bilqis, a fiercely status-conscious woman do this? Her son, Dilawar is a handsome and intelligent boy. He accepts Pari too at the persuasion of Mr. and Mrs. Ali’s son, Rehman.

What happens next? Will Pari go ahead with such a mysterious proposition? The story also speaks of topics and subjects which are considered a taboo. But I wouldn’t tell it all. Read the book to know more.

The best part of the book is the fine detailing. Based in Vizag, the book eloquently speaks of the jargons, the culture there. If I were not a Telugu-speaking person, I would have still understood the culture of the place. The strong characters and the narration, garnished with good grammar makes this book a wonderful read.

But, the book has too many subplots and some of them are incomplete.

This is part of a trilogy. The other two are Marriage Bureau for the Rich people and Many conditions of Love. 

Excerpt (Found this conversation amusing):

‘Where is my tea?’

‘I am busy,’ she said.

‘I can see that but what is so urgent about scraping the coconut now? I have been waiting for my tea

for almost an hour’

‘Who am I doing this for?” said Mrs. Ali.

Over all, its a good read set in the backdrop of Vizag. With characters neatly sketched, the author has done a fair job.

About the author: Farahad Zama, born in 1966 at Vizag,
is a alumnus of IIT Kharagpur. He now lives in London with his family.

*-Just this one time. I liked this on Lindy LouMac’s blog