"Two and Half Years” is a novel by Dinesh Upadhyay, born on 9 March 1976, the upcoming voice in the modern world of novelists. Hailing from Didwana, Nagaur in Rajasthan, he is by profession a teacher. He is the master of his art of dramatization. The novel presents the psycho-analysis of the character of the protagonist, Diwakar. He poeticizes his situations when he is in his deep thoughts.
By nature the main character, Diwakar is a teacher who believes in scientific knowledge more than merely false assumptions of astrology; though astrology is science itself. He tastes the bitter fruit of reality and the tragic aftermath of his luck while struggling through his job-oriented career in different private institutions. Though working diligently and with dedication, he faces the shrewd reality of institutional crookedness and how it exploits the teachers and tries to get the maximum out of them, paying them a meager wage. Diwakar protests the so-called service and loses his job for so many times but in the end; he wins, for his courage as predicted by Shastri, the fortune teller. He had predicted the turning of his luck after two and half years, the total period of the coil of Saturn and the Rahu" which was a decisive remedy for the sorrows and sufferings he has been facing from the very start of the novel. The whole plot of the novel revolves around Diwakar. He is the mouthpiece of the novelist who himself is also a teacher by profession.
Intrigue plays a dominant role in the narrative; especially to confiscate of the property of the elder brother, Jagdish by his relatives which are reported to the court for justice, meanwhile his father Jagdish dies of the shock of disgrace by going to trial in court against his brother. The suspicious character of Birdichand reveals worsening moral values under the garb of highly institutional status. He makes all his conspiracy to unclothe Diwakar to cover the sins that he has made by committing vulgar activities to abduct Jaisel and her companion.
The characterization in the narrative is simple and unique in the sense it is an Indian scenario and especially in Rajasthan. The dialogues are much closer to the setting of this narrative. Some of the expressions are translated into the finer thread.
The basic thread in the story runs side by side with the effects of the stars on the human mind and their ways to dominate them at a higher level. The protagonist of the novel, Diwakar is a man of pragmatic nature who believes in his deeds rather than the prophecy of the soothsayer. Instead of going after the astrological predictions, he prefers to garner enough courage to fight adverse circumstances.
Diwakar is a man of high moral standards. He does not feel ashamed of accepting what happens in the case of the girl, Lichhma. He bears all adversities with fortitude and his sound character.
The narrative underlines the dignity of labour against the exploitation by the so-called Directors. The language and diction used in this narrative are simple yet offer a highly psychological dissection of the character. The whole story is interconnected with each of the chapters. As a novel, it is pure and simple. It is the picture of manners exhibiting the characters through which the whole philosophy of life is revealed. Here I would like to congratulate Dinesh Upadhyay for his brilliant debut.©
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