3 out of 4 stars
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Ena are you okay? by Prosanto Kumar Sinha is a book in the romance genre. The protagonists, Partha and Ena, grow up in the same village, since their fathers work in the same colliery of Talcher. Friends since their childhood, Partha and Ena’s friendship evolves into a romance. This love deepens, as they grow older, unaware of what future holds for them. Fate intervenes when they’re on the brink of their adulthood. Ena’s father passes away and her family has to shift back to her uncle’s village for subsistence. Partha, meanwhile, has to focus on supporting his family financially and cannot think of marriage for the next few years. Thus, the two lovebirds are separated only to meet many years later and face what destiny has decided for them.
The novel is reminiscent of typical, old world romances, with a simple storyline, and replete with metaphors and similes. The author has relied heavily on the use of imagery to convey the emotions felt by the characters. For example, “‘that cloud should kiss the apex of the hills. Might be or might not be. Did the cloud love the hills?’ she philosophically murmured, ‘their love, a selfless devoid of possessiveness.’” or when Partha said, “had we been birds living freely having no caste, creed. Once they love, they never split unless a hunter take away one or die in the process of decay.”
The storyline doesn’t follow a fixed timeline throughout most of the novel, and shifts back and forth between the childhood, adolescence and adulthood of the primary characters. There are certain moments in the story which are heartwarming like how Partha searches for Ena in almost every woman he meets, or how religion is used as a cloak for poverty (which is the main reason why Ena’s mother disapproves of their alliance), or the irony of their situation many years later.
The only problem with this book are the technical errors. I could not figure out whether they were grammatical errors, or a result of poor translation. Either ways, better editing could have solved the issue. While I could grasp the flavor of this book, since its set in India, I doubt that international readers would find it easy. Without more appropriate translation the essence of the writing is lost for global readers.
Ena are you okay? is a touching story of platonic romance, and readers who like emotionally heavy romantic tales, should definitely try this one. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars.
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Ena are you okay
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