A cathartic narrative

A book about what youngsters feel about falling in love.

Despite being a rather hackneyed subject, Anubhav Agrawal’s anubhav (experience/s) of falling in love, experiencing the pangs and pleasures of it and moving on will move the readers, especially the young ones, to the hilt.

All art is autobiographical. This famous maxim applies to Anubhav’s debut book, ‘Why Not Me?’ In the 50s and 60s, heartbroken lovers would read Sahir’s poetry that captured their angst and anguish. Nowadays, poetically inclined rebuffed and spurned lovers read Ahmad Faraz’s Urdu poetry on the internet or listen to Jagjit Singh’s mushy ghazals.

They should add one more name to their list: Anubhav Agrawal. He has masterfully delineated a feeling experienced by millions and indeed written what the youngsters (in love and just out of it) feel. The relatable factor makes this book a balm for the agitated nerves and a marham-e-dil-e-bismil (ointment for a wounded heart).

A dil-e-majrooh (a bruised heart) will find solace in the pages of Why Not Me? and sing, ‘Dil bahal to jayega, iss khayal se, haal mil gaya tumhara apne haal se’ (Heart will feel a tad relieved, knowing that we both faced the same fate). In other words, the book has a cathartic effect on the readers.