Here’s a question — only for those who have never prepared for UPSC. Do you remember the name of the person who topped the exams last year? The year before that? Or the year before that? No? Don’t worry; there’s nothing wrong with you.
Do you remember that woman, a rather good-looking aspirant, who topped the exam some years ago, and that handsome young man who stood second in all India ranking? You do? Thank you for replying in the affirmative, it just proves you all are normal human beings who take notice of beautiful faces and romantic circumstances. The No. 1 and No. 2 rank holders are wife and husband today (in that order) and also a part of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS).
One is a Hindu from Delhi, the other a Muslim from Kashmir. We all know that because a section of the media is closely following them. They even reported a couple of days back that the lady in question has dropped her husband’s surname from her Instagram Bio, and has subsequently been unfollowed by him. #Facepalm.
If this isn’t ‘trending in love’, then what is?
It’s time to come back to the fictional (more like semi-fictional) book at hand — Pankaj Dubey’s Trending in Love.
Our female protagonist Sanam tops the civil service exams. Our male protagonist Aamir finishes a close second.
They meet each other at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in the beautiful hill town Mussoorie, and sparks fly.
A peep into the interesting training life of our future administrators reveals morning PT exercises, lectures, assignments, and the bonhomie among the students with varied backgrounds.
As expected, Sanam and Aamir are always among the top performers.
Their life before they topped the UPSC entrance gives a fair caricature about who they are, and what brought them here. Kashmir features generously in it.
Their initial rivalry dissolves as love takes place. Late-night chat sessions on mobile and all other things a normal couple does these days — online and offline — cement their love.
Hell breaks loose when the news breaks on social media and organisations (yes, not people, but organisations) cry foul over this match. How can a Hindu marry a Muslim? The tag of #LoveJihad gets splashed on their life and threatens to destroy their beautiful bond.
Who succeeds? Not a difficult question there.
This is Pankaj Dubey’s fourth novel published by Penguin Random House. It is a modern love story of two grown-ups finding their way together in a world where trends and hashtags rule, with simple person-to-person communication and understanding often taking a backseat.
The book is soon to be made into a web series on Voot, Viacom18. The modern romance of our young civil servants takes centre stage rather than the social media brouhaha. A sequel is certainly welcome, Mr Dubey.