Chetan Bhagat
Fiction books - I haven't yet found a copy of the 2012 nonfiction essay collection "What young India wants : selected essays and columns". These are bestselling popular novels written for an Indian English-reading audience, not literature. They are light and enjoyable, and I justify the time reading them as a way to understand appreciate what an Indian reader enjoys. = SPOILERS BELOW == I'm writing these notes to help remember what I read, not to spoil the pleasurable surprises for someone else.
- IIM-A: Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
- Wife Anusha
Five Point Someone (2004)
One Night at the Call Center (2005)
The Three Mistakes of my Life (2008)
Two States (2009)
Revolution 2020 (2011)
Half Girlfriend (2014)
==== Tigard Library ====
St. Stephens College, Delhi Rudna mens residence hall
Madhav Jah, from Dumraon Buxar district, 80 km from Patya, Bihar (lots of rice fields)
- raj kumar hereditary prince of oldest princely state, uncles quandered inheritance gambling
- crumbling haveli
- basketball scholarship, Sociology major
- Rani Shiba Durga Jha, teacher mother Dumraon Royal School in Nandan village outskirts of Dumraon
- friends Ashu, Raman, Shailesh
- Riva Somani from Delhi
tall 69 inches, English major, Marwari
- p33 "Wants house in Manhattan, play basketball on weekends, sing in a bar, age 12 visit, saw NBA game
- 100 Aurangzeb Road, p49 Audi, 2 Mercedes, Bentley, and BMW
- parents Mahendra and Jayanti
- Rohan Chandak 24 yo, inherited 6 hotels. family from Jaipur like Somani, Bentley
==== Spoilers follow ===
- He wants romance, she wants friendship
- p61 lemon-colored chikan salwar-kameeze
- p67 "half girlfriend" nothing more
- p75 Deti hai to de, varna kat le: fuck me or fuck off, terrible end of friendship
- p78 Silent Saint of Stephens
- p87 Wedding invitation
p92 (m15) "One year three months later" HSBC interview, turns down six lakhs/year ($24K) offer, goes home to help with school.
- p95 overwhelmed mother "everyone eats my head"
p102 MLA Vijay Ojha
- p107 (m22) Six months later, p113 Raj High School, p115 Gates coming
p116 Ojha wants Lok Sabha (lower house) ticket in next election
- p121 Samantha Meyers Gates Foundation rep in New Delhi, p123 suggests $20K grant, 8 lakh rupee
- p126 two months to speech
- p128 Patna's Pride English Learning Center on Boring Road, private classes from Verma sir
- p130 TC Train Conductor, meets software salesman Sudhir
- p133 meets Gates Foundation reps Chris and Rachel at Chanakya hotel, p134 spots Riya
- p140 Riya selling Nestle's yoghurt in Patya
- p144 20000 ($800) bungalow on Dak Bungalow road, quiet Indiranagar neigborhood of Patna
- p145 Gol Ghar grainery, 1784/1786 British opposite Gandhi Maidan. p146 Maurya Complex retail and food
- p157 Riya coaches, Steve Jobs "Stay Hungry Stay Foolish"
- p161 Riya tells mother of divorce (1.5 years)
- p168 coughing p177 cuddling
- p180 Gates arrives, p183 Riya front row, p184 Riya there at end of speech, p187 not there
- p186 Foundation Phil, $50K plus $10K/y for next five years
p189 Riya letter Lung Cancer, three months left, p191 ditches Dainik Bhaskar reporter
- p197 Riya Journal
- 1 Nov 2002 Riya birthday at 15 (father "touching" at age 12)
- 15 Dec 2005 Madhav insulting breakup
- 4 Sep 2006 yes to Rohan
- 13 June 2008 leaves
- 17 Feb 2009 mother Rani insults "desperate divorcee" at home
- 5 Mar 2009 Father dies, left big money
- 14 Apr 2009 parting note, stayover before speech
- p209 Riya left for New Delhi 17 April, day of speech
- P210 Riya took all 3.5 lakh, $14K visa for US, went to New York
- p212 Gates foundation Michael finds Madhav 3 month internship in NYC
- p214 stays woth Shailish and Jyoti 83rd and 3rd, hunts 1000 venues 10 per night
- p240 Madison Square garden Knicks vs Lakers
- p241 Senior Citizens for NYC Tourism, Daisy from Mexico, practice english for 5 minutes, brochure with Jazz festival
- p246 1105 pm "Ray" new voice at "Cafe Wha" in West Village, Bleecker Street F West 4th
- p249 1112p -20F, trains not running, 86th st 1134p starts running the 4 miles, 1144p 50th street 1156 sees cafe, arrives 1201
- p254 sees Riya, she sees him, stops singing
- p257 upper west 70th and 6th apartment
- p259 3.5 years later, Dumraon Royal School, Chetan visit, "not like this 7 years ago"
- basketball court, all equipment from the US
- three months per yer in the US, she does music, he helps at UN and markets rural tours,
- tourists stay in haveli, teach kids for day, later send gifts
- son Shyam almost 2