REVIEW OF KON HO TUM BY SANGEETA PANDEY

Written in first person POV, Kon ho tum by Sangeeta Pandey revolves around Mohini, who tries to escape her sufferings and find the purpose of her mundane existence by indulging in an affair outside her marriage. 

The blurb is as follows: 

क्या होता है...... जब प्यार शादीशुदा ज़िंदगी में दस्तक देता है?

अंजाम किस हद तक ले जाता है? बर्बादी या प्यार की एक ऐसी कहानी जिसकी मिसाल दिल को छू जाए।

आसान नही थी मोहिनी के लिए मोहब्बत की डगर, पर न जाने ऐसी कौन सी ताकत थी प्यार में कि हर दरिया पार करती चली गई। पर ये सुख ज़िंदगी को मंज़ूर कहां था?

एक ऐसा पड़ाव आया... जहां, जिस शख़्स के लिए बहुत ख़ास थी मोहिनी, उसी की नज़रों से उतर गई... जो उसकी पूरी ज़िंदगी है, उसका वह एक लम्हा भी नहीं। सवाल उसकी खुशी का था तो मोहिनी ने चुप्पी साध ली पर आनंद की चुप्पी डसने लगी उसे, उसके अतीत की परछाई ने सब छीन लिया उससे। चाहत प्यार की थी, बेशुमार ग़म भर गए झोली में।

क्या आनंद मोहिनी की ख़ामोशी कभी समझ पाएगा?

क्या मोहिनी को तमन्नाओं की उड़ान मिलेगी या बिरह की अग्नि में जल जाएगी मोहब्बत?

सामाजिक बंधनों के बीच उपजा आनंद और मोहिनी का प्यार परवान तो चढ़ा लेकिन क्या समाज के नाम की बलि चढ़ जाएगा या उनके जज़्बात एक नया मोड़ लेंगे?

My Review:

Arranged marriages are considered to be a norm in our society. Right from a very young age, it is drilled into our minds that we can't marry the person we love, but rather, we should love the person to whom our marriage is arranged to. 

Though the ideologies of people are now evolving, and love marriages are being accepted, there is still a vast section in our society where forced arranged marriages still happen against the wishes of the bride and the groom. 

Everyone wants to find someone whom you can love, and also who loves you in return. But what happens when this love isn't reciprocated by your ‘Supposedly’ better half? Forget, love. What should you do when there isn't mutual respect amongst a husband and wife? How would you feel when somebody says that you were the biggest mistake of my life? Well, in such cases, the marriage becomes a burden for you and you start suffocating in your relationship. 

This was what exactly what happened to our main protagonist, Mohini. She was shrivelling and crumbling inwardly under the pressure, when love comes knocking on the door for her in form of Anand. 

Extra-marital affair can be a very touchy and extremely sensitive topic. Personally, I have DNF’d multiple books that revolve around cheating as this is a hard limit for me. Yet, this book was different. It kept my interest piqued and I found myself reading more and more irrespective of my prejudice. 

Adultery has always been a controversial subject. So, I would like to laud the author for daring about writing such a book, when there is a big fat chance that it may backfire since there are many people who don't understand that this is fiction and wouldn't think twice before trolling and self-appointing themself as the ‘Moral Police’ and bash the book. 

My Rating:

The story was very well written, and though a bit lengthy, the verses flowed smoothly. The only thing that I hated/disliked was the ending. Saying anything more would result in spoiling the book, but I'm definitely not happy with how it ended. Regardless, I'm going to give this book Four Affair Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the Author:

Follow the Author here:

Instagram: 

https://instagram.com/sangeeta_writes04?igshid=1ez2i8rh0lysx

Goodreads: 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20820206.Sangeeta_Pandey