Author: Monica Mujumdar Dixit
Evolving love and changing seasons have a lot in common. The waning emotions and the soaring feelings of love birds are somewhat cognate with the many variations seen in different seasons. The sultry summer gives way to the auburn autumn, and after the chilly winter comes spring with its scenic greens. The same holds for love in many instances- feelings and emotions go for tumultuous turns when certain lovers after a summery embrace have disagreements which gives their relationship a rufous tinge. Misunderstandings separate them in the bitter and bleak wintry stage; and after the clouds of the arguments disperse, they understand the importance of their verdant love. But we seldom read books where relationships are compared to changing seasons. The author Monica Mujumdar Dixit comes up with such a book “A Quest for Spring”, which is a fictional romantic read.
The narrative follows Raehan and Amolika, who come from two very different worlds and circumstances. They meet in college and between classroom projects and hanging out with friends; they get entwined in a bond of pure love. Everything seems beautiful for the time that their worlds overlap and they think that it is the sempiternal spring of their romantic liaison. But unknown to both of them, there lays a leviathan of espionage that consumes the bond they share, driving them apart by force. The harsh winter in their bond of love sets in. But fate has other plans. After sixteen years, their bond gets rekindled, but this time the challenges are increased by the unresolved baggage of the past. Do the two of them get to be together again? Does the dull, grey, long-standing spell of winter rise to give way to spring? This is what forms the storyline.
The front cover of the book depicts bright yellow flowers and brown twigs on a greenish base, and has a lively feel, which reverberates with the very idea of spring. The blurb on the back cover is also well written. The narrative is an easy breeze, with the straightforward writing style and simple language, and less use of ornamented words. However, incorporation of some adorned words would’ve certainly made the storytelling better. The character formation is good, and Amolika and Raehan with their overt behaviour and covert intricacies are detailed very well. Even the supporting characters have immense significance and help steer the story into required directions leading to some twists and turns.
However, some parts of the book are unnecessarily descriptive, with the college romance of Raehan and Amolika occupying a considerable part of the story, which could’ve been done away with. Although I love to read hefty books, but some extra detailing in this book was certainly avoidable. Also, even though the book is adequately referenced, the narrative on Kashmir is not detailed much with a large part occupied by Raehan’s and Amolika’s love story. Writing more about Kashmir and its inherent issues would have upped the factual quotient of this book. Talking of seasons, winter in Kashmir is divided into three parts- the Chillai Kalan, the Chillai Khurd and the Chillai Bacch. Analogous to this, incorporating more details about Kashmir and its changing seasons- which are politically very relevant- along with the changing love scenario and emotional seasons of the protagonists- would have provided more perspective to the reader.
By Chirdeep Malhotra
