Sukriti Tankha
Until Love Sets Us Apart by Aditya Nighhot (Fingerprint Publishers, Rs 199, 232 pages) revolves around four people — Rohit, Aisha, Alok and Neha and their friendship and college life.
The plot revolves around Rohit and Aisha’s love story. Both of them are poles apart but still continue to grow close as friends and eventually fall in love.
The four friends are very happy in their lives and as a reader I enjoyed all the ups and downs they faced in the medical college they were studying with them.
Meanwhile, Rohit and Aisha look, truly considered as the perfect couple by everyone around, really bring out the best in each other. They have their fights and arguments but this never gets in the way of their love for each other. After a lot of convincing, their parents finally agree on their marriage and they dream of their happily-ever-after life with much anticipation. But then some stories are not meant for happy endings, and their’s is one among these.
The happy and carefree life of the four friends gets a huge jolt one day when Aisha is raped by three drunk, rich boys. Aisha puts up a brave fight against the perpetrators of crime but ends up getting killed.
A devastated Rohit is determined to fight for bringing justice to her. The criminals are sons of powerful and moneyed people and thus months pass without any action being taken against them.
Rohit is now too exhausted to fight against the system and resolves to bring justice to Aisha on his own by killing all those involved in the case. He almost succeeds but is caught before he can complete the task he has taken unto himself.
The way the story has been ended leaves a deep impact on the readers. One wonders who is wrong? Aisha, the three men who raped her, the lawyer, the police who refuse to register cases against the accused or Rohit who picks up the gun for the love of his?
Until Love Sets Us Apart is an interesting and thought-provoking book that makes you go through all the emotions — love, pain, happiness, anger, sadness — with the characters. The characters are realistic in their actions which makes them more relatable.
Though there are some parts which felt a little stretched out and some that could have been skipped without affecting the storyline.
Until Love Sets Us Apart makes you realise how a life can change in just a few seconds; how one step, one action can forever change not just your life but the lives of all those around you. It also makes us ponder over the frailty and uncertainty of life.
The book and the issue it brings up is extremely important and relevant, especially in today’s time. It makes you think about the kind of people there are in society and the corrupt system, and how all of it needs to be changed; how we, as a society, need to be more careful and helpful to those in our surroundings.
Overall, the book gives a powerful message which leaves you with one question — whose fault is it?
