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Tale of two different worlds
Where East Meets West is a novella by Manjari Narayan. It is an intriguing tale about a young girl Sara and how she grows up in the atmosphere of contradictions and complexes of the East and the West.
The author has obviously taken her title from the Kripling’s famous work ‘Oh East is East and West is West and and never the twain shall meet.’
The story of Where East Meets West, set up in contemporary times, gathers momentum right in the beginning when the author tries to relive the excitement of Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Australia and how disappointing it was for the two young magicians Sahir and Atiq living somewhere in Old Lucknow.
The two youngsters are music freaks. One of them a percussionist and the other one a vocalist. Their patron in the city Renu Di introduces them to Dilip Bharadwaj who wants the duo to teach tabla to his daughter Sara.
Sara however has a little respect for the traditional art and she was in a clandestine manner also learning how to play the keyboard.
This disappointed Sahir as once he caught her coming back from her secret mission.
The book in a very interesting manner deals with Sara’s life as she enrolls herself for FRCS in London and how Nick enters her life, her strong demeanor is often challenged by the roots of East struggling with stems of the West…she finally takes a call to accommodate both, Justifying the last line of Kripling’s same work:
But theirs neither East nor West,
Border Nor Breed Nor Birth,
When two men stand face to face,
Though they come from the ends of the Earth.
Manjari has managed to keep Sara's character alive and interesting till the end and you never get tired reading about her.
The book is a tale that is simply told and the transition from one chapter to another happens very smoothly…if you pick it up…chances are that you’ll only put it down after reading the entire book.
Verdict: It’s an easy read go for it …you won’t regret your decision.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Manjari Narayan studied psychology at Sophia College, Mumbai. She is a writer by choice.
Her debut book ‘Musings’ was a collection of short stories and her second book Where East Meets West is a novella.
She is a keen reader and traveler. She lives in Lucknow with her family. Her husband is a senior bureaucrat in the UP government.