Cricket is one of India’s biggest crazes and is considered a second religion by many.
Not many books have been written on the subject in India. Even the few which are still in print, are biographies of cricketers.
The Zoya Factor written by Anuja Chauhan, with a colourful cover and an exciting blurb, promised to be “zara hatke” because it is a comedy with cricket being its central theme.
The main plot revolves around Zoya Solanki who was born at the exact moment India lifted the 1983 Cricket world cup and is discovered to be a lucky charm. India is guaranteed victory if they eat breakfast with Zoya before a match. But the Captain, Nikhil Khoda doesn’t believe in luck and vouches for pure talent. Internal politics, humour, drama and romance are blended into these pages.
The language is free-flowing and mighty colourful, if I may add. Certain choicest terms added flavour to the scenes making them hilarious and absolutely lovable. The use of “Hindi” and “Hinglish” words/phrases gives you more than just a reason to connect with them.
Since this is a pure work of fiction I cannot say how relatable the instances are – but the situations and the characterization make them come alive.
Anuja’s writing is absolutely fresh; her sense of humour quirky, and her thoughts are out of the box. I laughed even while reading the “acknowledgement”. I highly recommend this one. An extremely refreshing read.