Homecoming | Book review: ‘The Girls From Patna’ by Surabhi

The comfort of a small town, family members lingering together, lazy sips of tea and gossip and worried relatives discussing delayed marriages of the girls in the household. This is what a usual day in the household of a small-town family gathering together after a long time looks like.

When two sisters Neha and Priyanka (protagonists of Surabhi’s book) return to their hometown after their grandmother’s passing, nostalgia hits hard and old wounds re-appear as life takes on a new turn. Life changes for Neha, an adopted child, when her cousin Priyanka’s parents pass away and suddenly the family members start pampering Priyanka to make up for the love of the parents she lost. Neha, in the process, feels alienated especially from her grandmother who is obsessed with her cousin. Life moves on and Priyanka settles in her seemingly perfect life after marriage and Neha continues to work for a living and leads an independent life. However, when life brings them face to face with each other after years, the story progresses.

In debut author Surabhi’s homecoming work The Girls from Patna, the author takes the readers on a trip to of Patna. The author writes in details and uses a colloquial approach towards her readers. Breaking into the small-town mindset, Surabhi emphasises the obsession with marriage and the pressure on Neha to find a suitable match before she turns 30. However, living out of Patna for a couple of years as an independent woman, the author leaves no stone unturned to state the fact that Neha has outgrown the men in her hometown.

The author makes the reader feel as if she is on a cultural trip to her town. The author, who hails from Patna, has explored the nitty gritties of the closest relationships, the struggles of those hailing from small towns and making it big in metros and the book makes for a light read with a glimpse into the author’s own self as well.

The Girls From Patna
Surabhi
Locksley Halls
Pp 225, Rs 350