POKHRAN- A NOVEL

𝐏𝐨𝐤𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐧- 𝐀 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥
𝐁𝐲 𝐔𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐢 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫
𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤: 𝟏𝟗𝟎
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫/ 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐


This book appears to be about the Pokhran "Smiling Buddha" project, one of India's first nuclear tests, based on its cover page and title. As readers would expect, this book describes the scientific struggles that led to the success of Smiling Buddha, but it's a bit different story.

Beginning with a flashback to how 'Smiling Buddha' came into being, the book takes you on a journey into the past. In spite of the success of the test, the nuclear fallout affected several kids born during that time, including Chaitanya. Throughout the book, we follow Chaitanya's trials and tribulations, as he was in the belly of his pregnant mother when the test was conducted. She wasn't the only one. In the immediate aftermath of the test, many babies were born with severe deformities or disabilities due to the radioactive waves that were released. There was no doubt that this was all due to that fateful test!

Chaitanya was born with stubby hands and feet. Due to this, he had a really difficult time growing up. Besides the obvious social consequences of this test, the author explores a variety of themes as well. As an example, the bond between brothers and sisters, bullying based on differences, disabilities affecting families, etc. In addition to exploring how loss affects people psychologically and how it affects their actions, the book also had a romance angle.

The characters in this book are all admirable. Even without a mother, Chaitanya's sister (Radhika) had a strong spirit and grew up pretty strong. Zara (Chaitanya's wife) is an outstanding city planner with a great dream and equally impressive intellect. Despite the difficulties they faced, their love and human spirit made this story so inspiring. There are many twists and turns in the book. The "Smiling Buddha" presses Chaitanya irrevocably down a path that he ultimately conquers, making it a slow-paced thriller. This book contains many issues related to politics and history, such as the history of the Pokhran Nuclear Test, the problems related to Yazidis from Syria, post-independence politics, etc. If you want to read a fiction book related to History and Social-Political causes, then this book is for you.

My Rating:

3/5

NOTE:   In this blog, the CONTENT and PICTURES are owned by Samayra Singh, and cannot be used or distributed without permission. Strict legal action will be taken against any infringement.