Rant: Gunahon Ka Devta and Ret Ki Machhli – In the span of the last 5 days, I had the time to finish 2 audiobooks in a row, Gunahon Ka Devta and Ret Ki Machhli. And now that I am done with the books, I have this terrible feeling in my heart. It’s like, along with Sudha, something broke inside of me, but with Kuntal, I felt like my entire self was shattered. The treatment the women got in both books was outrageous. And it’s not just the guys who made these characters feel so, but it was the women themselves too, who kept themselves chained to such men.
And while we talk about Sudha, I can never forget Binti. It was utterly incredible how both the girls loved the man so selflessly that they were ready to forget their own identity, just to be accepted by a guy like Chandar, who is supposed to be an ideal man but is nothing more than a misogynist soul. I mean, I agree it was a story from more than half a decade ago, but if the girls were intelligent and gutsy enough to take a stand for their love (Kuntal), they sure should not have been so bound by a marriage of not even convenience just for the sake of “ab me kaha jaungi”.
To be honest, I have so much to say, so much rage in me for Shobhan, but words are not letting me frame what I want to say. I feel so out of words and emotions that I am starting to feel like Binti, who doesn’t have an option but accept what’s really happening around. And wait, how can I not mention Meenal? Like that’s such an entirely iconic character, that I feel utter outrage on the mere mention of her name. She TIED RAKHI LAST YEAR, CALLED HIM BROTHER AND ENDED UP HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH HIM, ALL WITHIN A SINGLE YEAR?
I am somehow surprised that I have seen so many people mentioning Gunaho ka Devta on bookstagram and never a single mention of Ret ki Machhli. And if they were just stories, I still would have somehow calmed myself, but my heart breaks even more to know that this was based on their real life? While Dharamvir Bharti wrote what he wanted to show, Kanta Bharti wrote what she felt in that marriage. I just… I really don’t know what to say and whom to say.
While listening to the audiobook, I checked some comments, and they just made me even more speechless. People listening to the book were either blaming Kuntal for staying in that marriage and tolerating all that BS, or were actually saying, and I’ll quote, “this book is a character assassination of Chandar.” LIKE DO THEY NOT GET WHAT’S HAPPENING? CHANDAR PLAYED WITH SO MANY GIRLS, SHOBHAN CHEATED ON HIS WIFE, WHOM HE CLAIMED TO LOVE SO MUCH, AND IT’S STILL THE WOMAN’S FAULT????? WTF???
It’s like I want to recommend this book to you, but at the same time, I’d like you to skip the book to maintain your sanity. But one thing is for sure, if you are going to go with gunaho ka devta, do follow it up with ret ki machhli. Because you wouldn’t want to miss what SHE had to say while he kept living his life while playing around.