Gautam Rajrishi, the poet and shayar of Neela-Neela fame, returns with a thrilling Hindi novel set in Bihar. In 2018, he published his short story collection, Hari Muskurahaton Wala Collage. That collection focused on the lives of army men, on and off the battlefield. This time, and for the first time, Gautam Rajrishi has come up with a full-length novel. It is titled Hashtag – something that instantly attracts the eyeballs of contemporary readers. Also, like everything Gautam has written, the book is in Hindi. Hashtag is a story that promises to offer many shades of life… in this case, the life of a soldier. A look at the novel’s premise provides everything a reader would love to know about the book. Take a look at the translated version of the novel’s blurb as available on Amazon India:
“A father like the scorching sun. A mother like the gentle shade. A shy boy. A bold fair girl. And a strange love story. A story in which love is neatly organized, but the narrative spreads chaotically from one place to another! From the chemistry lab of Patna Science College to the Chettwood Parade Ground of the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. From the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections to the Indian Army’s surgical strike. From Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ to Salman Khan’s ‘Sultan.’ A story that rises with ‘We laid our hearts on the edge of a knife’ and then falls with that brutal gaze dropped me right in the square.”
In Hindi, the blurb also offers an insight into everything that Gautam Rajrishi stands for – an experimental style of writing that mixes the old with the new, the traditional with the modern:
“कड़कती धूप-सा पिता । नर्म छाँव-सी माँ। एक सकुचाया-सा लड़का । एक धक-सी गोरी लड़की । और एक अजीब-सी प्रेम कहानी । एक ऐसी कहानी जिसमें प्रेम तो तरतीब से सिमटा हुआ है, लेकिन कहानी बेतरतीब-सी जाने कहाँ से कहाँ तक फैली हुई है ! पटना साइंस कॉलेज के केमिस्ट्री लैब से लेकर देहरादून इंडियन मिलिट्री एकेडमी के चेटवुड परेड-ग्राउंड तक । बिहार के विधान-सभा चुनाव से लेकर भारतीय सेना के सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक तक । शाहरुख़ ख़ान की ‘दिल वाले दुल्हनिया ले जाएंगे’ से लेकर सलमान ख़ान की ‘सुल्तान’ तक। कहानी, जो अपनी तरतीब सी बेतरतीबी में ‘हमने कलेजा रख दिया- चाकू-की-नोक-पर’ से उठती है तो फिर ‘ऐसी-नज़र-से-देखा-उस- ज़ालिम ने चौक पर ही जाकर गिरती है।”
Regarding the novel, readers from Bihar and states nearby should be more interested as the story revolves around Bihar’s legislative election. Nevertheless, it has many things to offer to readers across the country. A soldier belongs to the nation, and so does this exciting story! Are you ready for Gautam Rajrishi’s debut work in the fiction genre? Hashtag will be launched on 22 October 2024 or around this day. You can pre-order your copy of this novel from Amazon India right now. Click the link below to secure your copy and get a chance to read it as soon as it drops.
We will share the review of this novel once the book is launched officially.
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