The Homing Pigeons by Sid Bihari : Read-along Discussion 2

Hello everyone.

I hope you are enjoying the Read-Along so far...

Welcome to the Discussion 2 post. And we are going to discuss from
page 105- 202.

On page 105 we started with Radhika's POV and on page 202 we ended with her POV again.

We have already discussed previous pages on Nimi @ The Readers Cosmos 's post.

Page 105 starts with the Radhika and Aditya's surprising meet after many years. Radhika is rather starstrucked by Aditya's looks now that he have grown more handsome being tall, lean and athletic. Meanwhile Aditya is getting more indulged in his gigolo job trying to keep it under carpet, from the eyes of Birendra, his friend, the guy he is crashing with. Radhika on the other hand is trying to find her terms with the social work she likes to do. Throughout we(readers) are travelling from past to present. We got to see how much Radhika and Aditya loved each other and under what circumstances they had to part ways. And then there is Abhinav, Radhika's husband, not my favorite character for sure. Page 202 ends with Radhika's story of terminated pregnancy. There are many heart breaking moments. And if you have read many chapters at once, I bet your eyes must have got moist.

Now moving on Questions to Discussion:

Question: When Radhika told Abhinav that she isn't sure if she want to have a child and Abhinav declared that he wants a child. He demanded, he ordered. In general, is it right for one partner to pass a demand without taking his/her partner's wishes in account. When you are married, is it always a team then or it's you-against-me?

Answer: For the story, I think Abhinav should have asked Radhika why she feels the way she does. In general , I am yet single so I can't talk from my experience but I have seen many married couples around me. Many times one of the spouse is dominating sometimes both are in sync. Every family have their own story, sometimes it's a team and sometimes it's you-against-me. I believe a couple should be a team to have a happy healthy life.

Question : Radhika is worried to tell the truth about the baby to Abhinav, her husband. She is afraid that Abhinav will not understand that his wife had a past and forgive her and move on. If you were in a place where your partner told you about his/her past, what would you do? How would you react?

Answer: Now it's a really personal question and a difficult one to answer but I'll try. If my partner told me that he had a past, well I would definitely get jealous. But past is past right. I'll ask him have he moved on, if he had then I will have no problem with moving on as well. If he hadn't then I'll try to help him in moving on. Since he is my partner, I'll trust him and his words.

Question: What is your most favorite scene or incident, something that touched your heart?

Answer: These chapters made me like Radhika even more, I know I have been talking about her only but I can't help, she is occupying more space of my heart then Aditya. Don't get me wrong, Aditya is as conflicting-charming guy, someone who really confuses you and you like it. But with Radhika, there is so much is happening. Like under the circumstances she had to marry Abhinav, her strained marriage with Abhinav, her constant longing for Aditya and that sad moment when she lost her child. That moment when she mourned her lost child, questioned god for writing such a twisted destiny for her, that moment was my undoing.

Likes and Dislikes from the story:

I find myself always anticipating the next chapter, wondering if it will be about the past or the present, will it explain what really is going on? And this anticipation keeps me on edge. This feeling is the biggest plus point for the story. It held my attention throughout. The writing again is very smooth and unhurried not abrupt, not at monotonous pace, but sometimes fast and feverish and sometimes calm. I really liked the alternate POV's and almost every chapter is set in different scenarios so there are many sub-plots which keeps it interesting. All in all... It's worth re-reading it. :)

Dislikes??? Didn't find any yet.

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Now I am waiting eagerly for your POV's on the discussion held here.

I Invite my fellow lovely bloggers and readers of Read-along Sarika and Janhvi @ The Readdicts and Nimi @ The Readers Cosmos to please give their opinions on the matter.

On 15th, we are wrapping up our Read-along so do not forge to join us with Sarika and Janhvi @ The Readdicts .

To listen to the original sound track of The Homing Pigeons , check here