Book review – The Guardian Angels, By Rohit Gore

Author – Rohit Gore

Publisher- Grapevine india

Pages – 328

Price – Rs. 125

Sneak Preview from the book

The Guardian Angels is the epic and tumultuous story of two star-crossed lovers who weren’t just soulmates but were also each other’s protectors.

…he is the son of a billionaire,

…she is the daughter of a socialist

…he is quiet and unassuming,

…she is a firebrand and spirited.

My view

Somewhere in life, we all encounter that special someone who understands the hidden us, can read the unexplained in our eyes, can decipher the things unsaid from our silence and gets the telepathy right from miles away. S/he might be a friend, a lover, or even a sibling…a true soul mate. That’s what The Guardian Angels is all about, the story of two soul mates,  who as the title aptly explains, are each other’s guardian angels.

The story revolves around the lives of Aditya Mehta and Radha Deodhar. Aditya is the bright future of the Mehta group, while Radha is the grounded daughter of a former trade union leader. Adi and Radha’s paths cross early in life when the bold and blunt Radha saves the nervous and lonely Adi from a bunch of buffoons near the school. Her presence of mind and bold attitude has  Adi impressed in the first interaction itself, for the simple and sweet looking girl has the brains to utter a lie that drives the buffoons away.

Radha too, is charmed by the shy Adi, and pens down every bit of her feelings in her journal. She is impressed by his sudden show of courage when he takes on the buffoons all by himself when they try to harm Radha in revenge. From then on, begins a relationship of a lifetime, sans a definition or a name.

The book alternates between extracts from Radha’s journal and incidents from her and Adi’s life. Adi grows up to be a bright cricketer and is perceived the future of Mehta empire. He values his family, empire, passion for the game and the friendship of Radha. As Adi’s mother once points out to him, Radha keeps him grounded amidst the glitz and glamour of his high profile life.

The next several chapters see Adi and Radha grow up and choose their respective fields. But no matter how far or how different they are, they never fail to be there when either one of them is in trouble. Radha is a responsible girl who stands like a rock by Adi in every moment of crisis – be it his mission to rescue his sister from a bad boyfriend, the one moment that destroys his shining career in cricket, or even taking upon himself to prevent his family from falling apart.

Adi and Radha are life the tracks of a train. Apart but always for each other, and whenever needed, they cross to give that required support.

With growing up also comes confusion, for distance creates the obvious disagreements and misconceptions. Adi moves abroad for higher studies and Radha immerses herself into social activism. The two always know the affection deep inside, and it’s fun to see them struggling to admit it to their own self. Like buddies loyal to some vow, they never stop sharing the minutest of details, be it their interactions with the opposite sex. And the dash of jealousy midst the concern and hidden love for the soul mate makes for an interesting read.

Just when life begins to lose the complexity and love is in the air, a cruel tragedy shadows their happiness. Radha has a rare Huntington’s disease gene in her father’s family. Initially she laughs it away at the pretext of the famous Deodhar forgetfulness. But later, when the disease takes away her father and also engulfs her, Radha takes a practical decision – not to ruin Adi’s life with her diseased self. She doesn’t want to leave the Adi she loves with lifelong loneliness and grief after she is gone. Her decision seems to be getting right when Nicole and Adi get engaged and Radha moves away to leave them in peace.

But Adi has been Radha’s guardian angel whenever she has been in trouble – from saving her from the bullies in school, to secretly arranging for her father’s treatment without hurting Radha’s self respect. When Radha is on the verge of being raped and killed, Adi fights to save her life as if  it were his own.

Does Adi accept this final goodbye from Radha as their destiny? Or he plays her guardian angel again? To know more, grab your copy now!

The book becomes slow paced in some of the chapters. Owe it to the verbosity of the writer, as I felt some chapters could have been cut short. But overall, a nice emotional read, if you are a fast paced reader like me!

About the author –

Rohit Gore, an engineer and MBA works with the IT industry. A sports aficionado and an avid traveller, his greatest passion is reading and it inspires him to write. He is a frequent contributor to many online writing forums and is also the author of – Circle of three, A Darker dawn and Focus, Sam.

The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve.