#536 - Now or Never
by Ramendra Kumar and illustrated by Agantuk
“Now or Never” by Ramendra Kumar and illustrated by Agantuk. Published by Ponytale Books. A compelling tale of a beautiful father son relationship.
The story starts off with thirteen year old Rajat waiting for his father Shiva to return home from work. It is Shiva’s fortieth birthday and Rajat has arranged a surprise cake for him. Shiva works as a bouncer in a bar. Rajat’s mother had passed away when he was just two years old. When Shiva came home late and in a drunk state, Rajat gets very angry. He accused Shiva of not caring for him. Witnessing all of this, Shiva’s friend Zaheer came to talk to Rajat. Shiva wasn’t like this always.
Zaheer explained to Rajat why Shiva was in his current state. It was because of his love for Rajat. He told Rajat the story of Shiva’s past and how a champion boxer like him had ended up with a bad reputation due to the cruel twist of fate. He had resorted to losing a match to get money for a surgery that Rajat had to undergo to be saved. Rumours of this had spread and he had to give up boxing and start life afresh in a different city. The guilt of having betrayed the sport and the sadness of having given up what he was so passionate about had made Shiva a shadow of his former self. When Rajat gets to know this, he feels sorry for having behaved badly with Shiva and wants to make amends. Rajat and his friends Tony, Avanti and Shahnaaz chance upon an opportunity which can help Shiva redeem his past and restore his lost reputation. Will Shiva agree to take up boxing once again and clear his name? Can Rajat and his friends help Shiva get back to being the boxer he used to be? Read the gripping book to know what happens in this thriller of a story.
The book was an interesting and absorbing one for me and my almost ten year old son. It was our first book featuring a boxer and we got a glimpse into the nuances of this sport. The bonding between the characters be it friendship between the children or the father-son bonding or the friendship between Shiva and Zaheer has been portrayed so nicely. The themes of determination, grit, courage, sacrifice, friendship, hard work, passion, strategy, teamwork and perseverance have been deftly interwoven into the story beautifully. The suspense and mystery as the story progressed kept us hooked till the last page wondering what would happen next. It was heartening to see the support that came in for Shiva from various quarters thanks to the efforts of the children and his friend Zaheer. Rajat trying to figure out how his mother had been as a person and trying to revive Shiva’s broken spirit was so endearing. The pencil shading illustrations added a nice touch to the narrative. We found this lovely book when we attended a storytelling session by the author at Funky Rainbow bookstore a couple of months back.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 10 and above.