The Three Mistakes of my Life

THE THREE MISTAKES OF MY LIFE

This is the third book written by Chetan Bhagat.the story is not his own but that of Govind Patel, a business man of Ahmedabad.

The story starts with a prologue in which Govind Patel sends a suicidal email to the author. And the author rushes to see him in a hospital in Ahmedabad (from Singapore!).

Govind tells him that his story is not like any hit Bollywood movies but just ordinary. but the author patiently sits beside him and listens to his story.

The story starts in the year 2000.Govind is a bright student living in the sleepy metropolis of Ahmedabad. He has two friends Ishaan and Omi who do not know what to do about their life. Ish is a former district level cricketer and Omi is the son of the priest of the Swamibhakti temple.

They are obsessed with cricket and so Govind does what he thinks best: he opens a cricket shop in the Swamibhakti temple. The rent was cheap and there was guarantee of customers as the temple was a busy area.

The business takes of very well. They have a promising future and they take a super talented cricketer Ali under their wings.

to earn extra money Govind also tutors in maths. He is also eventually coaxed in to teaching Ish's 17 year old sister. As time passes by something more develops between them.

From Ahmedabad the story has a detour to Australia. They get Ali to bat against the Australians and he is a smash hit. After a week they return to India as things do not work out.

       

Meanwhile the business does not go well. Govind has grand plans and even manages to save enough but Nature has something more in store. The triple blow that hits the three friends is a massive earthquake, 9/11 and the 2002 Godhra train attacks. The last of the three led to communal violence in Ahmedabad and the three friends found themselves in the thick of things during the communal riots. Govind's story culminates with the danger that the three friends and their protégé, Ali find themselves in just because Ali is a Muslim.

The story has been written in relation with 3 real life incidents and he does the job of inter relating the incidents well. But of the three mistakes the first mistake was not avoidable as earthquakes are caused by nature. The second mistake is alright as it deals with morality. And the third mistake is about what could have happened if action had been taken a second earlier.

Do these really qualify as mistakes? All of us lose money due to bad decisions and unexpected circumstances. Most of us fall in love (one sided at least) and at some point in our life we do think and act selfish. Not feeling anything unique about these mistakes.

According to me these do not really qualify as mistakes. Anyone may lose money due to unexpected circumstances. Most people fall in love at that age and sometimes we do think of ourselves first before rescuing others.

The book gives  a very vivid description of why students hate maths, electoral politics, Gujarat riots and the challenges one faces in life in order to succeed.

Excluding the death of two people the book otherwise has a happy ending.

The book is definitely worth your time and money. The add on is the contemporary feel of the book.

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