The Namesake - The book

I didn't read this book for very long, cause i have this fear of "literary acclaimed" books..they sometimes tend to be too profound or too crazy for my tastes. So i put off reading it for a long time.

Then they decided to go make a movie about it.
And the posters and trailors kept flying at my face...
and i inevitably became aware of the story...
And it didn't seem bizarre...it didn't seem crazy.

It seemed like a simple straightforward story.
So i decided to take the plunge...

Here's my take on it.

Its a beautiful story.
Its a simple story..
And its a fantastically well written story...
It tugs at your heart strings on every single page.

Its about a boy growing up
Its about a generation gap

Its about a new born baby,
The mother telling the father, " The fingers and toes are all there...I checked"

Its about a mother playing with her little baby
Its about learning to feed the baby and change the nappies
Its about stepping out of the house with the baby for the first time
Its about strangers smiling at you when you walk with your baby.

Its about a little boy holding his tiny baby sister for the 1st time.

Its about eating payash and sweet yogurt ( mishti dahi) as dessert when guests come over
Its about loochis and rice and potatoes

Its about when they come to India,
A younger sister holds her elder brother Gogol's hand
and says, "I'm afraid, Goggles"

Its about grandparents deaths
Its about visiting relatives houses
Its about sitting with the kids watching TV while the adults talk outside

Its about wanting space and independence
About living in 3 different houses in as many years...
but never being quite sure which home is

Its about...
No matter which country you live in
Or which school you went to or which language you think in....
Or no matter how much you grow up or how far away you live..
Some ppl will always remain Ma and Baba

Its about that guilty feeling when you live far away
And cannot do anything when someone back home falls ill or dies.

Its when your mom lives alone at home
And you are too busy to make it there on weekends

Its about realizing that many of things you mocked and made fun of while growing up
Sometimes are the only things that make sense

Its about being separate from your parents lives
Its about your mother having all your phone numbers and addresses written down in her diary.

Its about detesting your pet name
But missing it every once in a while...

Its about wanting to be a part and yet be apart

Its Gogol Ganguli's story
Its your story and mine...

Just a Clarification: The above is about the book, not the movie. Though the movie is good too. But I'm a bookslut. So that was my take on it.
Recommendation:Read the book before you watch the movie. It'll help you appreciate the movie better.