Almost Single by Advaita Kala

Be it Bhatinda or Kerala, the mothers of single women nearing 30 speaks almost the same language. They want their daughters to get settled. But the daughters are not ready just because they fear that they will have to compromise their independence ( not making a generalisation here. I wrote it just because this is the point on which 'Almost Single' rotates)

To my surprise, ‘ Mama Bhatia ‘, the mother of Aisha Bhatia, the protagonist resembles my mother too strongly that there are times I had to pinch myself to make sure that it was not my mum speaking.
I chanced upon this book in a bookstore which I frequented just because it's a bookstore. I did not have the intention of buying anything. When I am a bit flurried, usually a library or a book shop calms my mind. The title ' Almost Single' was catchy.  and the price was so low that I thought I would give it a chance.

To speak about the book, I would definitely not call this a masterwork or great piece of art. It is a book which has been written in a simple language and absolutely apt for casual reading. There is no plot as such. It is the story of Aisha Bhatia from Bhatinda along with her two friends who are on a groom hunt, to be precise, it would not be wrong if I say ‘ NRI groom hunt’. ( One friend just got a divorce from her husband and the other is on a search ).

Unlike her friends, she did not want to flow with the age old tradition of groom hunting whether it be through social networking sites or by conventional methods. Her faith eventually triumphs at the end as she falls for Karan, an NRI. The story concludes with hero and heroine coming together just like a typical Bollywood movie.

It would definitely grab your attention till you end it. That's it. There's nothing to ruminate and not my kind of book. But you just can't ignore a book which has made you sit all through.

If you are somebody who needs food for thought after reading a book, Almost Single is just not for you. You won’t get anything serious out of it. Keeping all those seriousness aside, if you need a light reading while you are travelling or mired in depression, this could be a perfect remedy.

Ends