Prabhat Ranjan’s debut novel With You; Without You is a novel which you cannot miss if you admire the younger generation of Hindi authors who are ready to take the proceedings into their hands. Inspired by the classics of the Gurus of Hindi writing, these second-generation authors have fuelled the field of literature with newness and bold steps – they have initiated a new kind of movement by fusing many new things into their writings – they write about love in the most open form as of yet; they write about friendship and their characters (who befriend each-other) never back off from talking about the issues, which, by yet, have never been talked about in the Hindi books. So, you will find a newness as well as a shift from the older versions of the novels towards a newer version. Nevertheless, Prabhat Ranjan, in his debut book With You; Without You, has ensured that he does not lose the charm that the novel holds and he did manage to do the same; he did not give in to the modern ways of writing where physical intimacy has to be a part of the writing (whether appropriate or not).
A love story poised with the dilemma of a friendship and moving towards a relationship which is the most delicate of all among human beings, the novel has three major characters – Nishind, Rami and Aditya. They grow up together; they play together; they attend their school together and grow a friendship which is very intimate and healthy. However, when they grow up and begin to understand the limits of friendship and want to explore the freedom of love, the problem arises.
The novel has been written in first person and the author has chosen the character of Nishind to tell his story (or you can say that the author wants to settle with the Nishind’s character because he is the one who will deliver his message to the readers). Nishind is the central character along with Rami, the girl he loves but because of some confusion, he is not liked by her. He made a mistake long ago and he was the reason to separate Rami from the boy she used to love, Aditya! And Nishind does have a remorse for the act he did long ago and he lives with a weary heart. The friends are separated and their lives go on the usual track.
Later on, Rami returns as Rashmi Desai in the life of Nishind and he thinks that the only salvo for his ‘bad deeds’ can be in the form of making the ‘old lovers’ united. But this time, the fate has something else in the store – Rami begins to love Nishind and Nishind thinks that she must be the jewel of Aditya because Aditya was the one who loved her. And the love story takes a different twist altogether…. Will the lovers unite again? Will Nishind be bereaved of his ‘sin’?
Prabhat Ranjan’s novel has everything you will need to make a novel readworthy and pleasant. It has a story which encompasses the feelings that every young heart has these days. With You; Without You tries to unravel the clumsy attitude we have towards love and friendship. Moreover, you will not find the ‘necessary evil’ of unnecessary physical scenes in this novel; yes, there are the instances where Rami openly talks about sex, love and other ‘desires’ from a woman’s point of view. You will like those and you will surely like the novel. This is surely a treat to come for the Hindi literature lovers! Go get your copy now and start reading this beautiful love story with so much more than just a love saga! Happy Reading!
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