Like It Happened Yesterday

I recently finished reading this book by my favorite author Ravinder Singh.

It is a very well written book that brought alive many childhood memories. I could relate to most of the incidents he has narrated in his book except for a small town life style. It was an eye opener for me in way to know how Ravinder had to travel so far to the school and how he was always reminded of their very limited financial resources and how he was denied a lot of things which most other kids proudly owned! Luckily I didn’t have to face it as much although I have seen may parents live the “end of the month” pressure. I think most of the 80’s generation will relate to this book

Some of the parts that I liked a lot from the book are:

Green packet of Frooti:

I loved this portion of how Ravin and his brother enjoyed drinking Frooti and later on filled the green packet with air and stamped on it to make a loud bursting sound. This actually got a smile on my face because I don’t remember when was the last time I saw this green packet of Frooti! Frooti has evolved a lot ever since. I have done exactly the same thing with my sister!!

Favorite Teacher:

I enjoyed reading the portion that describes how Ravin strives to be good in the eyes of the teacher he admires the most and how the admiration slowly turns into affection and how Ravin is disheartened to know that his favorite teacher is getting married. My mom tells me that when I was in nursery (It was called kindergarten – KG school then) one fine day I declared that I won’t be going to the school anymore because my favorite teacher had got married and left the school J

Vaccination:

I loved vaccination story because I equally hated vaccinations. My mom tells me that when she used to take me to the doctor for vaccination, we had to take an elevator up to the second floor and I used to be all excited to enjoy the elevator ride but the moment the elevator doors opened to the doctor’s clinic I would start crying loudly! I am sure that my mother too must have lured with with some Frooti or something alike to get the vaccination done like a good girl 😉

The book certainly takes you down the memory lane and it’s a pleasant experience. Ravin’s narration regarding his school friends, the phase of changed behavior on account of entering puberty, annual day at school, watching television is sure to make you feel nostalgic.

What was disappointing was that this being the third book from this author, there were great expectations from him. The book is good for sure but it fails to meet “Ravinder Singh” standards. The previous two books that he has written namely, ‘I Took Had a Love Story’ and ‘Can Love Happen Twice?’ were just beautiful and the I drowned into these books completely. But this book needed some efforts to complete reading since some chapters are really boring and more than a story, it seems to be a dairy record maintained by the author from his childhood. There is no story as such that can keep the reader engrossed right till the end except for the curiosity of more incidents that may connect the reader to his childhood.

Love stories are Ravin’s forte, I would say, and I appreciate his effort of writing something outside his comfort zone

Although I didn’t enjoy reading this book as much as his earlier ventures, Ravinder Singh still remains my favorite Indian author and this in no way will refrain me from reading his new ventures in future.

Looking forward to your next book, Ravin. Keep writing!