The British Are Back! – my entry to the GetPublished contest

Basic Premise:

Karan, like many other engineering graduates fresh out of college, chose to join a software firm. When the opportunity presented itself, he was thrilled at the idea of visiting a foreign country. Days turned into months, months into years as his stay in Birmingham kept getting extended. Back home, his family became hi-tech, learning to use email, chat and then Skype. His mother had kickstarted marriage proposals for Karan. Photographs and horoscopes were traded, phone numbers and email addresses were exchanged. And then one fine day, Karan called saying he liked a girl. As Karan talked about her, his mother drooled at the other end of the phone line. She seemed to be everything Karan’s mother had wanted for him. And then he dropped the bomb. The girl was British. 

Narrated through the eyes of a sister, this is a tale of her brother’s fight for his love. Riddled by doubts about the girl’s upbringing and whether or not she would be able to fit into a traditional Indian family’s outlook, this story is about standing up and for fighting for the one person who really makes your life complete. 

What makes it Real: 
India is made up of two parts. One part that is moving along with the times, embracing the gush of cultural changes and adapting itself, albeit hesitantly. And the other part, that is made up of rigid beliefs and traditions that have been passed down through the years. As India makes its mark globally, every day, thousands of men and women travel to places new and far in their quest to realize their dreams. As interactions with other cultures, beliefs and people grow, so do the chances of finding a soulmate in a foreign land. This story is real because even today, in most of India, when East meets West, sparks do fly!

Excerpt: 

Dear Diary,

When I came home from Math tuition today, I was surprised to find Papa home. You know that Papa has never spent a single minute of the day away from his school. If Amma let him, he would love to conduct classes on Sunday too. He was pacing the living room, his eyes bloodshot and his bulging face a beetroot red. 

Amma was sitting at the corner of the room, dabbing her eyes with the ends of her sari. I decided the best thing to do was to sneak off into my room. No sooner had I closed the door to my room behind me, I heard Raghu Uncle’s voice ask my father what was so urgent that he had to be summoned from the shop. And then I heard Papa roar.

“It’s Karan. The boy has decided to marry a gori!” Amma is trying to calm him. Uncle is playing twenty questions. I’m going to hide behind the curtains and listen. Be back soon.

Love,

Kavya

Closing the diary, I chuckled. So, Bhai had really done something major this time!
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Note: This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

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