Love Curry – Pankaj Dubey – Book Review

Have you ever drooled on seeing a colorful palette of luscious varieties of food with the appetizing aroma wafting through the dingy air, clogging our minds with the thought of devouring every single piece of meal stimulating our hunger pangs and brightening our dull minds? Life is like that delectable palette of dishes spread out in the table offering a melange of love, friendship, trust, confidence, victory, and exacting problems.

“Love Curry”, the title of Pankaj Dubey’s new book whets our interests with its sui generis title. The resplendent cover although minimal in its look grabs the eye of the reader with its splendor. The cover designer ought to be lauded for such a detailed thoughtful cover depicting the entire story through this minimal cover without much fuss. Although the title is deceptive to be mistaken for a cookbook (with a supporting illustration of curry in the making), the cover saves the reader from misjudging. The inclusion of Big Ben, London Bridge and the iconic red telephone box in a curry explains that the story is set in London with three red petals denoting the three main characters around whom the story revolves. Kudos to the publishing team, design team and the author for such a detailed cover which will surely catch people’s eagle eyes.

The plot begins with three flatmates rather friends, Shezad, a tattoo artist who hails from Bangladesh, Ali who is a Pakistani Chef and Rishi, an Indian still looking for a decent job who live in the picturesque capital of England, London. Life goes on for the three with their depressing pasts, finding solace with their loneliness until they start loving the same girl. They fall in love with their landlord’s daughter Zeenat who has her own set of problems to deal. The story then revolves around how each tries to woo the girl and the events that transpire because of their love forms the rest of the story.

The common thread which connects this neatly woven tale of love, friendship, mystery, and laughter is their love for food which justifies the intriguing title of the book. The story which begins on a squishy note brings with it the much-needed humor and also interesting twists (although most are predictable). The characters are well etched and established in the minds of the readers with their own interesting backstories. The plot is simple yet deeply moving without any sugar coating scenes which makes this a winner.

The language is easy to understand supported by the author’s crisp writing without digressing elsewhere staying with the flow with lots of humor interspersed all along the way. The climax was an unexpected move would let the reader divulging in nostalgic thoughts of their own. Though the inception of the story would make the reader think they are into another sophomore love story in the offing, the author clearly dispels that thought with the well-etched plot as the story proceeds. The story could be a much-sought potboiler with all the necessary ingredients at hand to be made into a love oozing Bollywood movie.

If you want to read a light-hearted fiction book that would make you fall in love all over again and also with food, this book is for you. Also, who doesn’t love a book which hit the right notes with the reader? Go read this lovely book.