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The Great Indian Wedding Conspiracy
The Puyickal family, a reputed Mallu clan based in Mumbai, is going through a huge crisis.
One of their younger scions, Neeraja wants to marry her Punjabi boyfriend.
Her father wants to hear none of it.
Her aunts would rather die than allow it.
Her uncles don’t care a damn about it.
And her poor cousin's idyllic existence is screwed by it…
Arjun never wanted to have anything to do with his distant and more successful cousin; Neeraja. However, her decision to marry a non-Mallu, an unheard-of scandal in her family, changes his life forever. Forced to take part in the family ‘discussions’ by his mother, he tries to devise ways to get out of this mess, when he finds out Neeraja’s beau’s sister is his college crush. Desiring to win her back, he realizes it can only happen if Neeraja gets married to her boyfriend. With no option left, he forms an uneasy alliance with his hateful cousin, as they work in tandem to emotionally manipulate the elders into making this marriage happen… until one day, a dark secret gets revealed that threatens to unravel all their efforts…
One of their younger scions, Neeraja wants to marry her Punjabi boyfriend.
Her father wants to hear none of it.
Her aunts would rather die than allow it.
Her uncles don’t care a damn about it.
And her poor cousin's idyllic existence is screwed by it…
Arjun never wanted to have anything to do with his distant and more successful cousin; Neeraja. However, her decision to marry a non-Mallu, an unheard-of scandal in her family, changes his life forever. Forced to take part in the family ‘discussions’ by his mother, he tries to devise ways to get out of this mess, when he finds out Neeraja’s beau’s sister is his college crush. Desiring to win her back, he realizes it can only happen if Neeraja gets married to her boyfriend. With no option left, he forms an uneasy alliance with his hateful cousin, as they work in tandem to emotionally manipulate the elders into making this marriage happen… until one day, a dark secret gets revealed that threatens to unravel all their efforts…
351 pages, Paperback
Published February 20, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 28, 2016
Family’s favourite Neeraja creates chaos in the family when everyone finds out about her relationship with a Punjabi boy- sahil. She is adamant to marry a man of her choice and her family is strictly against the inter marriage proposal, according to them inter-caste love marriages are never successful . Arjun gets caught in all this family drama when he realises his true love Snehal wants the same thing as Neeraja. Neeraja, Snehal with the help of Arjun gang up against the elders of the family. They persuade elders one by one and soon Neeraja ‘s wedding is fixed. Few days prior to engagement arjun finds a bitter truth about Sahil and Neeraja’ s relationship. Will sahil and Neeraja finally marry? Will arjun and Snehal find their Bliss? Were elders of Puyickal family right about inter caste marriages?
This book reminded me why i stopped watching indian tv soaps, just like our tv shows this book served a uncooked story with a stretched out beginning and middle part while the ending seemed rushed and unnecessary. The Twist seemed forced just to portray true love’s sacrifice. I didn’t liked the way few characters were written , I had major dissatisfaction towards Sahil’s character. To be frank I had to force myself to finish this book. Unfortunately, this book disappointed me in many ways which I cannot mention without spoiling the climax.
This book reminded me why i stopped watching indian tv soaps, just like our tv shows this book served a uncooked story with a stretched out beginning and middle part while the ending seemed rushed and unnecessary. The Twist seemed forced just to portray true love’s sacrifice. I didn’t liked the way few characters were written , I had major dissatisfaction towards Sahil’s character. To be frank I had to force myself to finish this book. Unfortunately, this book disappointed me in many ways which I cannot mention without spoiling the climax.
August 29, 2016
The title is portentous considering the importance Indians attach to marriage as an institution and the fanfare with which it is celebrated. However, the author has chosen to treat the powerful theme in a lighter tone and style. His prerogative. From a lot of Mallu bashing, humor, satire,and tongue-in-cheeks to barbs, drama, melodrama and outright villainy they all contribute color to the book. When the marriage aborts, one of the seniors was depressed for no other reason than "his brother-in law would not face further humiliation." p.311. Similarly, Neeraja will marry Sahil just to "spite" her father. p.318
Everything looked heading for a brilliant showdown as it did. But somewhere towards the end the portion appeared as if it belonged to another book, both in style and content. The conspiracy embraced the life of every young man /woman character. The goalpost was shifted. And the story meandered.For a while it appeared to be an eighteenth century melodrama, flippancy taking precedence over conspiracy.
At one point in p.338 Arjun asks, "Why do you have to make such simple things complicated?"
I put the same question to the author.
The book has its usual quota of errors and slips.
I award this book three stars.
I got it through giveaway.
Everything looked heading for a brilliant showdown as it did. But somewhere towards the end the portion appeared as if it belonged to another book, both in style and content. The conspiracy embraced the life of every young man /woman character. The goalpost was shifted. And the story meandered.For a while it appeared to be an eighteenth century melodrama, flippancy taking precedence over conspiracy.
At one point in p.338 Arjun asks, "Why do you have to make such simple things complicated?"
I put the same question to the author.
The book has its usual quota of errors and slips.
I award this book three stars.
I got it through giveaway.
July 20, 2016
'The Great Indian Wedding Conspiracy' is another version of 'Two States', with some of the errors repeated.
Some Malayalam words have been translated into English, but Hindi words are not translated. Commas are missing in some places, tenses are mixing and errors abound (possibly thinking in Malayalam/ Hindi/ other languages while writing in English?): comes my mother's siblings; pursuing a course in MBA; fear of disownment; hasn't come out of her room whole day; nod (shake head in negation); see her face fall down; just blinked her eyes (what else can you blink?) And I am still on page 31. As such I could not complete the book and declare myself unfit to comment about the plot.
I have been reading and reviewing quite a few novels (which already have 5 star reviews from gushing reviewers) by new authors, and generally find they are described as highly educated from prestigious institutions, well placed in high positions in India and abroad. But when I get to read the books and stumble over errors all over, I begin to wonder: Am I reading the same edition of the same book by the same author? Dear author, please be informed that your subordinates, well wishers, friends, relatives, co-workers and others have given you five star reviews and they wax eloquent, gushing paeans of your overflowing genius because they (a) may not have actually read your stuff (b) may be too diplomatic or want to encourage you (c) may be scared of you or (d) may be using the same style and spellings as you (e.g. 'I am sat' is used by some UK authors even in the past tense) and (e) all the above.
My general advice to these authors is: Even if you are confident that your manuscript, your bundle of joy, is pluperfect, requires no editing and will fetch you all known and unknown prizes, awards and recognitions, take it to your English school teacher for an opinion before you send it for print. After getting your teacher's opinion, decide if you need an editor, and get that editor's improvements approved by the same trusted teacher.
I thank Sreeju Sudhakaran and Goodreads for providing me a free hard copy 'The Great Indian Wedding Conspiracy' for an unbiased review.
Some Malayalam words have been translated into English, but Hindi words are not translated. Commas are missing in some places, tenses are mixing and errors abound (possibly thinking in Malayalam/ Hindi/ other languages while writing in English?): comes my mother's siblings; pursuing a course in MBA; fear of disownment; hasn't come out of her room whole day; nod (shake head in negation); see her face fall down; just blinked her eyes (what else can you blink?) And I am still on page 31. As such I could not complete the book and declare myself unfit to comment about the plot.
I have been reading and reviewing quite a few novels (which already have 5 star reviews from gushing reviewers) by new authors, and generally find they are described as highly educated from prestigious institutions, well placed in high positions in India and abroad. But when I get to read the books and stumble over errors all over, I begin to wonder: Am I reading the same edition of the same book by the same author? Dear author, please be informed that your subordinates, well wishers, friends, relatives, co-workers and others have given you five star reviews and they wax eloquent, gushing paeans of your overflowing genius because they (a) may not have actually read your stuff (b) may be too diplomatic or want to encourage you (c) may be scared of you or (d) may be using the same style and spellings as you (e.g. 'I am sat' is used by some UK authors even in the past tense) and (e) all the above.
My general advice to these authors is: Even if you are confident that your manuscript, your bundle of joy, is pluperfect, requires no editing and will fetch you all known and unknown prizes, awards and recognitions, take it to your English school teacher for an opinion before you send it for print. After getting your teacher's opinion, decide if you need an editor, and get that editor's improvements approved by the same trusted teacher.
I thank Sreeju Sudhakaran and Goodreads for providing me a free hard copy 'The Great Indian Wedding Conspiracy' for an unbiased review.
March 20, 2016
A Mallu- Punju love story reminded me of 2 states, when I read the one liner but it is nowhere similar to 2 states. There are no filmy sequences, 'no love you', 'you are my life chants', yet conveys the pure emotion of love and affection. The story is about how the protagonist, Arjun is dragged into the family drama. His initial reluctance and lack of interest gives way to active involvement in binding the two love birds in a knot. His college time fling/ crush is the prospected groom's sister. While the scenario unfolds, it took me to some movie or book with quite similar story line but I could not recollect which one. There are a lot of drama and twists in the story. There has not been a lot of books which portrays the Malayali lives. Being a Malayali myself I was able to relate with it easily. But he sarcasm was a little over the top sometime. Not all mallu's are selfish, narrow-minded and opportunists. The highlight of the book is the narration. The first person narrative of Arjun is quirky, snappy, and will glue the reader to the book.
The twist in the end lacked conviction. I have always wondered why the authors make it a point that there is atleast a single scene of love making in the story like taking a tablet. Well' I wouldn't count it as a negative but again without that part also the story would be interesting and the intentions of the female protagonist could have appeared purer.
If you are tired of the daily dose of puppy love stories, if you love drama, if you love twists, twists and more twists, you will love this book.
April 12, 2016
A romantic relationship between a Malayali girl and a Punjabi boy becomes a huge family drama as immediate relatives are dragged into it. Due to personal interests, the protagonist, Arjun takes part in a conspiracy to make the wedding happen but another conspiracy slowly unfolds.
I loved the humour. It is sassy and the punches leave you chuckling. Full review at Natasha'z Words
I loved the humour. It is sassy and the punches leave you chuckling. Full review at Natasha'z Words
March 15, 2023
Good Book.
April 15, 2017
Crisp, well paced, added with a flavor of humor- a beautifully written book. Packed with typical traditional dramas in Indian families related to weddings, the conspirators being the young generation.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews