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Narmada
This novel is a poignant depiction of life of a beautiful girl ‘Narmada� who belongs to valley of Baitul in Madhya Pradesh, India. Protagonist ‘Babu� is studying engineering from IIT, New Delhi. His parents want him to get married to his childhood friend ‘Varsha�, a highly educated and sophisticated girl.
When Babu in summer vacations reaches his home in Bhopal he falls in love with Narmada at first sight. Narmada is grand daughter of leader of laborers who works at construction site of Babu’s father in Baitul. Babu forgets Varsha. Narmada also gradually seems to be in love with Babu, while on the other side Varsha is not in the state to marry any other guy except Babu. She is quite jealous of Narmada.
Meanwhile, Narmada’s relatives fixes her marriage to a man named Govardhan in their own caste. When Babu comes to know this, fear of losing his love Narmada starts flourishing in his mind.
Now Babu is in a dilemma whether to fight for his love or to marry Varsha whom he doesn’t love. What will Babu do? Read on to find out.
When Babu in summer vacations reaches his home in Bhopal he falls in love with Narmada at first sight. Narmada is grand daughter of leader of laborers who works at construction site of Babu’s father in Baitul. Babu forgets Varsha. Narmada also gradually seems to be in love with Babu, while on the other side Varsha is not in the state to marry any other guy except Babu. She is quite jealous of Narmada.
Meanwhile, Narmada’s relatives fixes her marriage to a man named Govardhan in their own caste. When Babu comes to know this, fear of losing his love Narmada starts flourishing in his mind.
Now Babu is in a dilemma whether to fight for his love or to marry Varsha whom he doesn’t love. What will Babu do? Read on to find out.
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
16 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Laxman Rao
74books45followersLaxman Rao, the author of 30 Hindi books, completed his postgraduation in M.A. (Hindi Literature) from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). He has been awarded by various trusts and organizations.
Also, he was invited to the President House to meet
former President of India Smt. Pratibha Patil along with his family on 23 July, 2009.
In addition to his achievements, he has also been invited to many schools, universities, educational institutions, corporate seminars and NGO's as a guest lecturer.
Born to a farmer in a village in the western state of Maharashtra, Laxman Rao left for Delhi in 1975 to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer. He worked as a labour, washed dishes at restaurants and finally managed to open a shop in 1977 to sell paan (betel leaves), beedi (hand-rolled cigarettes) and cigarettes on Vishnu Digamber Marg, near ITO in New Delhi. After a few years, he started selling tea as it was more profitable.
He worked hard to publish his books, but all his meetings with publishers ended in disappointment as nobody was willing to bet their money on a book written by a roadside vendor. Undeterred, he saved up enough to self-publish his first novel in 1979. Turbulent lives, the struggle to rise above grinding poverty and the ordinary pleasures of life are the themes on which Laxman Rao's novels, political essays and plays are based.
His best-selling novel ‘Ramdas� which was first published in 1992 - explores the complexities of the teacher-student relationship through the story of a young, wayward student from Laxman Rao's village who drowned in a river. The book now in its third edition, has sold more than 4,000 copies till date.
In May 1984, Laxman Rao met the then Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi. She appreciated his work and encouraged him to write more. When Laxman Rao expressed his wish to write a book on her she insisted that the book should be on her work rather than a commentary on her life. Enthused by this meeting, Laxman Rao wrote a play based on the tenure of a Prime Minister titled 'Pradhan Mantri' (Prime Minister) but she was shot dead before Laxman Rao could present it to her.
The tea-selling author has won many awards and also received recognition from former Indian President Mrs. Pratibha Patil.
"His books are doing very well on our site. We are happy that authors like Mr. Laxman Rao have found a platform such as ours to sell his books," a spokesperson for Amazon India told the BBC.
Also, he was invited to the President House to meet
former President of India Smt. Pratibha Patil along with his family on 23 July, 2009.
In addition to his achievements, he has also been invited to many schools, universities, educational institutions, corporate seminars and NGO's as a guest lecturer.
Born to a farmer in a village in the western state of Maharashtra, Laxman Rao left for Delhi in 1975 to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer. He worked as a labour, washed dishes at restaurants and finally managed to open a shop in 1977 to sell paan (betel leaves), beedi (hand-rolled cigarettes) and cigarettes on Vishnu Digamber Marg, near ITO in New Delhi. After a few years, he started selling tea as it was more profitable.
He worked hard to publish his books, but all his meetings with publishers ended in disappointment as nobody was willing to bet their money on a book written by a roadside vendor. Undeterred, he saved up enough to self-publish his first novel in 1979. Turbulent lives, the struggle to rise above grinding poverty and the ordinary pleasures of life are the themes on which Laxman Rao's novels, political essays and plays are based.
His best-selling novel ‘Ramdas� which was first published in 1992 - explores the complexities of the teacher-student relationship through the story of a young, wayward student from Laxman Rao's village who drowned in a river. The book now in its third edition, has sold more than 4,000 copies till date.
In May 1984, Laxman Rao met the then Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi. She appreciated his work and encouraged him to write more. When Laxman Rao expressed his wish to write a book on her she insisted that the book should be on her work rather than a commentary on her life. Enthused by this meeting, Laxman Rao wrote a play based on the tenure of a Prime Minister titled 'Pradhan Mantri' (Prime Minister) but she was shot dead before Laxman Rao could present it to her.
The tea-selling author has won many awards and also received recognition from former Indian President Mrs. Pratibha Patil.
"His books are doing very well on our site. We are happy that authors like Mr. Laxman Rao have found a platform such as ours to sell his books," a spokesperson for Amazon India told the BBC.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 2, 2017
My rating would be 3.9.
I have never come across anything like this book. It is a rustic, raw, heartfelt and honest novella. It was an extremely different experience as compared to what I have been having for a long time, reading. Let me break it down to you.
First of all, I finished this book in a single sitting. The entire plot played like a docudrama in front of my eyes. It felt like I had somehow discovered somebody's old journal and had to devour it at warp speed lest I should be found out sneaking.
It was only after reading this book that I realized how much I had missed the good old Indian writing. I am glad that people like Laxman Rao are still carrying on the legacy and doing it so brilliantly. That brings me to the author himself. I literally had goosebumps reading about his life struggles.(Yes, I like to know my authors.) It also felt like this story was a part of him, and not just something he conjured up in his mind one fine day because he decided to write a book.
*SPOILER ALERT*
The name 'Narmada' has been so profoundly branded in my heart, that there's no going back from that again in my life. The story is seasoned like the tales of the Retro or the Jazz era. I wish the author had mentioned it somewhere in the book. The tale attacks social stigma and dogmas throughout. The funny thing is, I kept on rooting for Babu and Narmada hopelessly till the very last paragraph and was disappointed when they could not be together. But, I let it sit in my mind for a while and realized, had it been the fairy tale I had wanted it to be, it would have withered away from my memory eventually. The reason this story comes off so strong and stirring is that it is realistic. The very fact that they never meet reveals so many things about love. There is nothing such as a successful or a failed love. It cannot be gauged by the fact that the two people get married or spend a life together. As long as there is that same warmth and respect in the heart for each other, love prevails and flourishes, no matter what. There could be a marriage with no love. That is also illustrated very well in this book. This, indeed, is my greatest takeaway.
**
My only grievance is that the translation was bad. I wish I had read the original Hindi version. I would suggest anyone who understands Hindi, to put down their English texts for a while and immerse into this. Trust me, you will feel good about it.
I would definitely look forward to read more from the author in future.
I have never come across anything like this book. It is a rustic, raw, heartfelt and honest novella. It was an extremely different experience as compared to what I have been having for a long time, reading. Let me break it down to you.
First of all, I finished this book in a single sitting. The entire plot played like a docudrama in front of my eyes. It felt like I had somehow discovered somebody's old journal and had to devour it at warp speed lest I should be found out sneaking.
It was only after reading this book that I realized how much I had missed the good old Indian writing. I am glad that people like Laxman Rao are still carrying on the legacy and doing it so brilliantly. That brings me to the author himself. I literally had goosebumps reading about his life struggles.(Yes, I like to know my authors.) It also felt like this story was a part of him, and not just something he conjured up in his mind one fine day because he decided to write a book.
*SPOILER ALERT*
The name 'Narmada' has been so profoundly branded in my heart, that there's no going back from that again in my life. The story is seasoned like the tales of the Retro or the Jazz era. I wish the author had mentioned it somewhere in the book. The tale attacks social stigma and dogmas throughout. The funny thing is, I kept on rooting for Babu and Narmada hopelessly till the very last paragraph and was disappointed when they could not be together. But, I let it sit in my mind for a while and realized, had it been the fairy tale I had wanted it to be, it would have withered away from my memory eventually. The reason this story comes off so strong and stirring is that it is realistic. The very fact that they never meet reveals so many things about love. There is nothing such as a successful or a failed love. It cannot be gauged by the fact that the two people get married or spend a life together. As long as there is that same warmth and respect in the heart for each other, love prevails and flourishes, no matter what. There could be a marriage with no love. That is also illustrated very well in this book. This, indeed, is my greatest takeaway.
**
My only grievance is that the translation was bad. I wish I had read the original Hindi version. I would suggest anyone who understands Hindi, to put down their English texts for a while and immerse into this. Trust me, you will feel good about it.
I would definitely look forward to read more from the author in future.
October 12, 2015
इस उपन्या� का कथान� 1975 के सम� का है. उस सम� मै� भोपा� मे� ही था और एक भव� पर का� कर रह� था. श्या�-सवेर� एक बहुत ही सुन्दर लड़की सै� के लि� अपनी कोठी से निकलती थी. मुझे लग� कि वह लड़की उस कोठी के मालि� की ही बेटी होगी. परन्तु धीरे-धीरे उस लड़की के बारे मे� मुझे और जानकारी प्राप्� होती गयी तो पत� चल� कि वास्तव मे� वह लड़की उस कोठी के मालि� के बांधका� पर का� करने वाले एक मज़दूर की बेटी थी और उस कोठी मे� वह कु� दि� के लि� मेहमान बनकर आई थी. कभी-कभी कोठी की मालकिन भी नर्मदा के सा� टहलन� जाया करती थी और उनका नर्मदा के प्रत� व्यवहा� देखक� ऐस� ही प्रती� होता था जैसे दोनो� मा�-बेटी हो�.
धीरे–धीरे मुझे नर्मदा के विषय मे� और जानकारी मिलती गयी और उसी आधार पर मैंन� यह उपन्या� लिखा. इस उपन्या� का प्रथ� संस्कर� सन 2001 मे� तथ� दूसर� संस्कर� सन 2014 मे� प्रकाशित हु� और पाठकों ने इस उपन्या� को बहुत पसंद किया.
- साहित्यकार लक्ष्म� रा�
धीरे–धीरे मुझे नर्मदा के विषय मे� और जानकारी मिलती गयी और उसी आधार पर मैंन� यह उपन्या� लिखा. इस उपन्या� का प्रथ� संस्कर� सन 2001 मे� तथ� दूसर� संस्कर� सन 2014 मे� प्रकाशित हु� और पाठकों ने इस उपन्या� को बहुत पसंद किया.
- साहित्यकार लक्ष्म� रा�
January 9, 2016
I got this book as a giveaway..
A snail walks faster than this book!
It took me more than 6 months to complete this book. Towards the end I started using it as sleep inducer!
Wats wrong with this book?
Everything!!!
1. The pace is irritatingly slow. If it's a movie I would have put it in 3x speed and watched!
2. The plot is shit! There is absolutely nothing! I mean this. The protagonist loves a girl and then marries another!
3. By reading the title, I thought there would be something about social awareness! I was wrong! There is nothing.
4. There is no explanation to what happens in the book! Seriously! Some people come to protagonist home and tell they want their daughter to marry him, then they spend money to renovate their home, they clear their loan, they clear their pending court case also give money to him to start a business! No explanation whatsoever about how they came to know about protagonist or why would anybody wants to spend money like that! etc.
There are lots like this. But I'll stop here. The bottom line is this book is not worth the money or time!
A snail walks faster than this book!
It took me more than 6 months to complete this book. Towards the end I started using it as sleep inducer!
Wats wrong with this book?
Everything!!!
1. The pace is irritatingly slow. If it's a movie I would have put it in 3x speed and watched!
2. The plot is shit! There is absolutely nothing! I mean this. The protagonist loves a girl and then marries another!
3. By reading the title, I thought there would be something about social awareness! I was wrong! There is nothing.
4. There is no explanation to what happens in the book! Seriously! Some people come to protagonist home and tell they want their daughter to marry him, then they spend money to renovate their home, they clear their loan, they clear their pending court case also give money to him to start a business! No explanation whatsoever about how they came to know about protagonist or why would anybody wants to spend money like that! etc.
There are lots like this. But I'll stop here. The bottom line is this book is not worth the money or time!
January 29, 2015
Very emotional and lovely romantic novel.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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