Review of The Runaway Bridegroom by Sundari Venkatraman

Having read all the books of Sundari Venkatramanan, I realised that her books not only contain romance but also some important social issues. In Double Jeopardy, she talked about gay relationships, in Malhotra’s bride the topic was arranged marriages and freedom lacking from females’ lives and this time she has talked about the issue of child marriage.
Even today when India has made so much progress, there are still parts in country where little kids are being married off and their lives are entangled with each other even before they get a chance to understand the meaning of marriage.

Runaway Bridegroom is the story of Veera and Chanda who are married when Chanda was just eight and Veera thirteen years old. Veera was adamant not to get married but no one listens to him. Such is the irony of situation that the reason he is told that he does not have a say in the issue is because he is a child but that doesn’t mean that he can be married. Finding no way out to escape from the marriage, Veera runs away after the wedding ceremony is completed. Chanda is left alone without a husband and in their society it is a very bad and shameful thing.
Her family moves far away from the village to the city of Jaipur. Her father makes sure that all his children are well educated including Chanda too.
Now after so many years, Chanda and her siblings are still unmarried and have a successful career. Chanda gets a job at a IT company and its owner is none other than but her estranged husband, Veera.

Unaware to each other’s identity both fell in love with each other but before they can have a future together they will have to face their pasts. Now to know how does that turn out for them, you will have to read the book.

Some would pity with little Chanda for being left by her husband on the wedding day. But I would say it was a good thing. If Veera wouldn’t have run away, both of them would have stayed uneducated and would have not got a chance to experience the life to its fullest. Even Chanda’s brothers also got a chance at the good education and to make decisions about their careers.

I loved the way the book was written with giving importance to not only the main characters but all the others too. Every character felt like an important part of the book. The book had an uninterrupted flow with an interesting twisting once in a while. Even the story of Shikha was interesting and funny. You would be pitying with her and feeling angry at the same time.
Over and all its a good book and I enjoyed reading it.

I would especially like to thank the author for writing about the child marriage. I am hoping that next time too she would write about some important social issue with a twist of romance.

Author: Sundari Venkataraman

Publisher: Flaming Sun

Genre: Romance