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The Equals
When two talented individuals in love, living in total falsehood, discover their true faces, are they shattered? Ideally placed to be united, professionally and in personal lives, do they embrace each other, or drift apart?
A touching story of scheming property sharks, greed, passion, compassion, and survival against all odds.
A touching story of scheming property sharks, greed, passion, compassion, and survival against all odds.
269 pages, Paperback
Published March 10, 2018
1 person want to read
About the author
Ravi Bedi
12 books16 followersRavi Bedi did Chemical Engineering from BHU (1962), and joined the Indian Air Force for the lure of its blue uniform than for any patriotic fervor. But his heart was in the creative world, composing music on digital piaon being his first love. To quench his creative thirst, he became a self-taught painter with moderate success and, when his basement started filling up with all the trash (read paintings) he decided to become a writer. With his first novel, “Lovers’ Rock” (published by Rupa Publications - 2014), he has earned a pass to join the club.
He has since added seven more titles to his credit:
Seven Stories
Mail Order Bride
Perfect Imperfect,
The Roots
The Equals
Dark Chocolate
The Grand Piano And Other stories.
Ravi Bedi loves his golf, enjoys his music, runs a hotel in town to put meat on the table, and lives with his wife of 57 years in the historic city of Jodhpur.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 19, 2018
I must thank the author for sending me a paperback copy of the book so as to see what I would make of it.
I'll admit right away that I enjoyed it. From a technical standpoint, the author has an eye for detail, an impeccable syntax, and an ability to deliver punch after punch so that you're surprised that his protagonist is still standing.
Jatin Bose takes life's vicissitudes in his stride and is ably assisted by a staunch, if crude, friend, and a lovely woman of mystery - one with Madhubala looks and a stand-offish approach to Jatin's advances.
Based almost exclusively in the Delhi of yester-years, there is a romance - a clean one - and there are evil villains, wonderful allies, deceitful family members, and adventures that are guaranteed to keep one turning the pages for more.
Do read if you want a inventive account of how treacherous destiny can be - and of how love and imagination can turn things about.
I'll admit right away that I enjoyed it. From a technical standpoint, the author has an eye for detail, an impeccable syntax, and an ability to deliver punch after punch so that you're surprised that his protagonist is still standing.
Jatin Bose takes life's vicissitudes in his stride and is ably assisted by a staunch, if crude, friend, and a lovely woman of mystery - one with Madhubala looks and a stand-offish approach to Jatin's advances.
Based almost exclusively in the Delhi of yester-years, there is a romance - a clean one - and there are evil villains, wonderful allies, deceitful family members, and adventures that are guaranteed to keep one turning the pages for more.
Do read if you want a inventive account of how treacherous destiny can be - and of how love and imagination can turn things about.
July 24, 2018
THE EQUALS by Ravi Bedi
A very close friend of mine once told me that the relationships we forge outside the family are sometimes far more important than the family itself because they are based purely on trust. The book’s predominant theme is about the rise and fall of fortunes and the fickle nature of the world in general. And true love found in the most unlikely places that goes on to become the power needed to survive the vagaries of time.
Jatin Bose, considers himself no less than the super spy James Bond himself. His delusions about himself are shattered the moment his uncle takes over his father’s printing press, ousting him from his family home. In the following days as his mother falls from grace and his dreams crumble one by one, he leaves town to make his own fortune.
Jatin’s life in Delhi as a small time artist in Khan Sahib’s press and his life in a barsati is as gritty and realistic as can be. His immense talent as a wedding card designer sees him shining in the opinion of Khan Sahib, even though his prospects have hit rock bottom. The only thing that keeps him going is the hope that someday he would be able to get his father’s legacy back from his evil uncle. To alleviate some of the dreariness of his life he begins to sneak uninvited into the glitzy weddings of the wealthy people whose invitation cards he designs.
In one of those posh gatherings, he meets his dream woman, a stunning look-alike of Madhubala. Suman Rajvanshi has all the class and elegance of royalty. Jatin is smitten and pursues her hoping to find the break he needs to rise above the squalor he has sunken into.
But the elusive Suman Rajvanshi is just as inaccessible as his dreams until one day he finds that she is exactly what he is… a mirror image of him. It was indeed a match made in heaven, a gatecrasher with a freeloader.
What makes the rest of the story is the theme of the book. Together they decide to change their fortunes with hard work and talent. The love that they have for each other and their respect for their mentor and father figure, Khan Sahib, bears fruit in the end.
It was a lovely story, although not as fizzy and exciting as the other three books that I have read by the same author. But then this book was probably not meant to have the glamorous sheen as the others had. It was realistic and stark in many ways. The Delhi of the 80s is wonderfully portrayed. The difference between the snooty, sprawling upper crust residences and the lower classes living near stinky, sewer lines, is brought out in every twist of the story. A whole generation of middle class, educated, but clueless migrants lived in barsatis in the eighties.
The finest point in the book is Jatin’s friendship with his loyal friend Kishan who is his backbone and support from the time he steps into the capital city. The relationship is acerbic and bitter and completely trustworthy. Khan Sahib is the sublime binding factor who safeguards the young people’s hopes for a better life and finally proves to be a guardian angel in disguise.
A lovely read!
A very close friend of mine once told me that the relationships we forge outside the family are sometimes far more important than the family itself because they are based purely on trust. The book’s predominant theme is about the rise and fall of fortunes and the fickle nature of the world in general. And true love found in the most unlikely places that goes on to become the power needed to survive the vagaries of time.
Jatin Bose, considers himself no less than the super spy James Bond himself. His delusions about himself are shattered the moment his uncle takes over his father’s printing press, ousting him from his family home. In the following days as his mother falls from grace and his dreams crumble one by one, he leaves town to make his own fortune.
Jatin’s life in Delhi as a small time artist in Khan Sahib’s press and his life in a barsati is as gritty and realistic as can be. His immense talent as a wedding card designer sees him shining in the opinion of Khan Sahib, even though his prospects have hit rock bottom. The only thing that keeps him going is the hope that someday he would be able to get his father’s legacy back from his evil uncle. To alleviate some of the dreariness of his life he begins to sneak uninvited into the glitzy weddings of the wealthy people whose invitation cards he designs.
In one of those posh gatherings, he meets his dream woman, a stunning look-alike of Madhubala. Suman Rajvanshi has all the class and elegance of royalty. Jatin is smitten and pursues her hoping to find the break he needs to rise above the squalor he has sunken into.
But the elusive Suman Rajvanshi is just as inaccessible as his dreams until one day he finds that she is exactly what he is… a mirror image of him. It was indeed a match made in heaven, a gatecrasher with a freeloader.
What makes the rest of the story is the theme of the book. Together they decide to change their fortunes with hard work and talent. The love that they have for each other and their respect for their mentor and father figure, Khan Sahib, bears fruit in the end.
It was a lovely story, although not as fizzy and exciting as the other three books that I have read by the same author. But then this book was probably not meant to have the glamorous sheen as the others had. It was realistic and stark in many ways. The Delhi of the 80s is wonderfully portrayed. The difference between the snooty, sprawling upper crust residences and the lower classes living near stinky, sewer lines, is brought out in every twist of the story. A whole generation of middle class, educated, but clueless migrants lived in barsatis in the eighties.
The finest point in the book is Jatin’s friendship with his loyal friend Kishan who is his backbone and support from the time he steps into the capital city. The relationship is acerbic and bitter and completely trustworthy. Khan Sahib is the sublime binding factor who safeguards the young people’s hopes for a better life and finally proves to be a guardian angel in disguise.
A lovely read!
June 14, 2018
Genre: Romance amidst marriage cards
In One Line: It is the story of two people who fall in love and make a life together despite all the obstacles that hound them
Characterisation: I like it when I can pictures the protagonists – as if the story is a movie playing in front of me as I read the pages. The author manages to do so well enough. Be that the hero, Jatin; his spouse, his best friend, or the man who owned the press. It is this last character whom I liked the most because of his sheer simplicity and goodness. His daughters and son-in-law who are brought into the act towards the end seem a little unbelievable though – can’t imagine, in today’s world, the children not saying one word when you see property going off to someone else who is not even related by blood!
Language: Sometimes it feels good to read no-nonsense-not-flowery and yet a totally smooth flowing story in the Queen’s language. This story was just that. The language was easy to comprehend and yet it had a classy tone to it. Not for the riff-raffs and yet one can read it without having to keep the dictionary beside him.
Read the full review here: https://lovewordie.wordpress.com/2018...
In One Line: It is the story of two people who fall in love and make a life together despite all the obstacles that hound them
Characterisation: I like it when I can pictures the protagonists – as if the story is a movie playing in front of me as I read the pages. The author manages to do so well enough. Be that the hero, Jatin; his spouse, his best friend, or the man who owned the press. It is this last character whom I liked the most because of his sheer simplicity and goodness. His daughters and son-in-law who are brought into the act towards the end seem a little unbelievable though – can’t imagine, in today’s world, the children not saying one word when you see property going off to someone else who is not even related by blood!
Language: Sometimes it feels good to read no-nonsense-not-flowery and yet a totally smooth flowing story in the Queen’s language. This story was just that. The language was easy to comprehend and yet it had a classy tone to it. Not for the riff-raffs and yet one can read it without having to keep the dictionary beside him.
Read the full review here: https://lovewordie.wordpress.com/2018...
July 14, 2019
The Equals is a story of two individuals who come from different backgrounds and are dealing with a similar streak of bad luck. Both characters are ambitious and they find it difficult to overcome the hand that fate has dealt them. In a bid to change their destinies they resort to lies to overcome their troubles... and use these against each other and others whom they encounter. The first half of the story keeps the reader engaged and wondering how they will overcome the next hurdle and how it will impact their own relationship. The story is grounded in reality and one can easily relate to the situations that the author depicts without sentimentality. However, the narrative loses its edginess after the mid point and the story trundles towards a resolution in a predictable manner. The highlights of the story are the banter between the hero and his friend, and the portrayal of Delhi in the 70s.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews