She: Ekla Cholo Re

Intriguing title, isn't it?

Let's find out what exactly the authors got to say about 'She' and also the tagline, 'Ekla Cholo Re'.

'She: Ekla Cholo Re' has been written by 'Dr. Shayan Haq' and 'Santosh Avvannavar' and the first edition was published in October 2015. This is my first novel that I've read from these two authors. One of the best things about the novel is that it is very short, approximately 60 pages and a precise one.

The story revolves around a person named Kusum, the protagonist in the story and our 'She' from the title and the tagline, 'Ekla Cholo Re' is inspired by the famous song 'Ekla Cholo Re' by 'Rabindranth Tagore' which goes something like this:

"Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Cholo Re"

Meaning: "If no one responds to your call, then go your own way alone".

She: Ekla Cholo Re

The story is plotted in the year 1990 and it tells us about the difficulties or the circumstances Kusum(biologically born a male) has to go through while making some necessary choices in her life. Then the decision making becomes a little more difficult than it actually is, due to the love life of her's.

Kusum being born as a boy has a different set of interests and her father keeps making decisions against her. She's stuck between the brackets of the way she was born and the way she wants to be. Soon, her teenage love with Debu takes a shape which is not accepted by the society and makes things worse for everyone including their families.

Kusum's love life is full of tides and ripples that gradually made things worse.

She then decides,

"Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Cholo Re".

Meaning: "If no one responds to your call, then go your own way alone".

My View:

The way the story starts is pretty nice and normal, introducing Raj.Then Raj and Kusum's meeting. Couldn't have been better.

Well, a perfect story and a perfect message. Not just in Kusum's situation but in any kind of situation in one's life, if no one responds to your call, just keep going your own way and no matter if you are alone, just keep going!

But the only thing which kept me thinking is how can two people get so close that they start liking each other to an extent wherein they start reading each other's mind and understand that one of them is in love with the other? I'm not saying that it shouldn't happen but, it's just a question that popped out while reading :)

Authors of this book have done a great job keeping everything so simple and the way they have connected the dots is excellent. Not complicated, not questionable, just excellent!

The ending of the book has that amazing flick/twist required to surprise you and say, "That's a nice ending!!".

As the cover page of the book says, "A story meant to motivate all and sundry irrespective of their circumstances!" and yes, it is!

I would rate this book a 3.5 on the scale of 5.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Santosh Avvannavar for getting in touch with me and sending me a copy of his book at his expense to review it. Also, the review here is completely unbiased and is in the interest of the fellow readers.