Book Review: Colorful Notions: The Roadtrippers 1.0

Book: Colorful Notions: The Roadtrippers 1.0

Author: Mohit Goyal

Publisher: Srishti Publishers

Genre: Fiction| Travel

Pages: 200

Price: 175 INR

Blurb:

Would you give up your high-paying job and comfortable personal life to drive ten thousand kilometers across India? Just for fun!

Three twenty-somethings dare to do just that! While the two guys take turns to drive, the girl gives voice-over as they record their entire journey on a handycam.

Ab, Sasha and Unnati are ordinary youngsters, rendered special by the feat they accomplish. As they recount their adventures, I crave to live their journey all the more. They look at each other with a glint in their eyes, as if refurbishing those memories, as they narrate their spooky time at Bhangarh Fort, strange escapades at Wagah Border and Sundarbans, car breakdowns, wild animals, near-death experiences and highway robbers! It's nothing less than crazy.

Colorful Notions is a journey of three young hearts on the Indian terrain and into the inner recesses of their souls, giving a new perspective to relationships, love and life. 

My Rating

Plot: 4/5

Writing Style: 4/5

Character Sketch: 4/5

My Review

"Colorful Notions: The Roadtrippers 1.0" is an adventurous journey of Abhay, Sashank and Unnati as they take a crazy road trip to travel 25 iconic places in the country over a period of 3 months.

Abhay (AB), the narrator of the story dreams of making a documentary movie on the crazy road adventure. He resigned his job in an advertising agency to fulfill his dream. His best friend, Sashank (Sasha) took a 3 month sabbatical from his family business for the road adventure. The thing that attracted him most to the road adventure is his love for food. Sashank's girlfriend, Unnati (Unns) is an assistant RJ who said yes to the adventure because Abhay told her to give voice-over as they will record their journey.

As I love travelling, I was thrilled to travel along with these three characters to the beautiful destinations. They started their journey from Delhi to the Jim Corbett Park, then they moved to Haridwar and then they traveled to Leh & Ladakh. 

The ambiance and beauty of some destinations were so beautifully written that I felt I could see those places. However, if you read this book as a travelogue to experience the 25 places they traveled, you might be disappointed as the author has not described all the places in detail. Visiting Alwar's Bhangarh Fort at night, Sasha proposing Unnati in Kanyakumari, the adventure in Sunderbans and meeting the Lama at Bodh Gaya are my favorite sections of the book. 

Travelling is a great teacher. It changes our perspective and makes us better human beings. Here is a beautiful quote from the book on travelling:

"Travelling teaches you to live in the present, in the moment. You only think about the place you are currently at and the meal you will eat next."

It was enriching to see how the three characters evolve to become better human beings at the end of the trip. When they started their journey, all of them were somewhat confused and they were battling their inner demons. The way they conquered their demons and understood the purpose of their life in those three months was beautifully projected by the author. It was heartening to see that they were rewarded for their crazy road trip as a famous producer agreed to sponsor their documentary.

Overall, this book was a great reading experience. The narration is fast paced and once you start reading, you won't feel like taking a break. Gripping and captivating, the book will tempt you to go on a crazy trip with your friends soon. 

I will go with 4 stars. Highly recommended to the dreamers and the travel enthusiasts. 

I received a free copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.'