He’s only 18. He knows nothing beyond his books. His world begins and ends with Ranchi. Bingo! He’s got admission in a prestigious medical college in the dazzling city of Bombay. There begins the story of Adityaman Bhatt aka Adi.

Yup! He lands in Bombay, much against his family’s wishes, armed only with his giant inferiority complex and the will to take the big, bad city of Bombay in his stride.

After initial hiccups including the ragging episode when a bunch of sniggering seniors bring him close to tears, Adi settles down in the company of his batchmates, makes new ‘friends’ and even excels in academics.

However, life is not a bed of roses for him. Naive as he is, Adi is used by the city-bred and smart Renuka for her selfish needs. Heartbroken Adi finally finds comfort in the friendship of his classmate Isha, a girl of great principles.

After pages and pages of petty college squabbles, teenage infatuations and the fear of exams, Bombay Rains... poses a dilemma of sorts to its protagonist — a strike in which Adi has a tough choice to make. He has to choose between principles and friendship. Adi takes the road less travelled and chooses to stick to his principles, angering his friends. Finding himself all alone in his small world that revolved around his college, hostel and hospital, Adi decides to take life as it comes.

However, life throws up another unpleasant surprise for him in the form of his friend Toshi’s death in an air crash. Adi sets out to meet Toshi’s parents in the North East to offer them his sympathies. He is forced to travel with his friends-turned-foes. Does Adi realise his true self? Well, that’s the motif of Bombay Rains...

The book almost reads like the diary of a college student, offering nothing new to its readers. As you go through the pages, one by one, you realise how predictable the story is. Though it could have been intensely appealing for its subject, predictability spoils the fun.

Despite these shortcomings, on reaching the last line of the book, one cannot help but identify with Adi in his struggle to find his true bearing. Although a bit long, the narrative flows in a friendly manner.

However, one cannot help but ask the author the reason behind the title of the book. For, the book is definitely not about Bombay rains and Bombay girls. If you ask me, it should have been christened ‘College, College and College’, which is nothing but the gist of Bombay Rains...