The Three Mistakes of My Life

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The 3 Mistakes of My Life
Author	Chetan Bhagat
Country	India
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fiction
Publisher	Rupa
Publication date	May 2008
Media type	Print (Paperback)

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The 3 Mistakes of my Life is the third novel written by Chetan Bhagat. The book was published in May 2008 and had an initial print-run of 200000. ^[1] The novel follows the story of three friends and is based in the city of Ahmedabad in western India.

[edit] Description

The novel is set in the year 2000, when a young boy in Ahmedabad called Govind dreams of starting a business, and is based on real events.^[2] To accommodate his friends Ishant and Omi's passion, they open a cricket shop. However, each has a different motive: Govind's goal is to make money; Ishant desires to nurture Ali, a gifted batsman; Omi just wants to be with his friends. During the story the characters have to deal with religious politics, earthquakes, riots, unacceptable love and their own mistakes.

[edit] Characters

Govind: Govind is an ordinary guy with which anybody can relate. He has very few desires but he is obsessed with the desires he covets. His main ambition is to become an a businessman. His best friends are Omi and Ish.He also loves Vidya. Govind does not quite believe in God and is an Agnostic. Friendship, business and mathematics are the most important things of his life.

Ishant: He is a big cricket freak and also a patriot at heart. Ishant has been the best cricketer in his locality and school. He helps Govind's business by organising daily cricket coaching camps. He has a family which makes life worse for him. His father constantly nags him and his mother worsens the situation by keeping quiet. He has a younger sister, Vidya about whom he is quite protective.

Omi: He is the son of the Hindu sadhu(saint) of the local temple. His family enjoys great respect among the people. He is a bit dumb kinda boy and has not many dreams, but likes to concentrate on having a healthy body. However, he resents growing up and being a saint like his father. He is a religious person and actively takes part in his maternal uncle's (Bitto Mama) religious politics. He is however confused about his religious views which are mainly influenced by Bitto Mama

Vidya: She is Ishant's sister. She is a rebel at heart and dreams to break free the constrains of a typical middle-class family and society, to go to Mumbai and do a course in PR and be independent. She however despises maths which is required for her entrance exams. Hence, Ish had asks Govind to take her math tuition. However, in between their tuition they fall in love which is unaccepted by anyone. Only Omi figures out the relationship Govind and Vidya share and also reminds Govind about the consequences of Ish getting to know about it.

Ali: One of the students in Ish's coaching classes and a great cricketer because of a rare nature's gift. However, he doesn't play too much cricket as he gets tired really fast and enjoys playing marbles. He is a Muslim boy and respects Ish like a Guru. He too, like Ish is patriotic at heart.

Bitto Mama: He is the maternal uncle of Omi and belongs to a Hindu political Party. He follows the preachings of Parekhji, a political-cum-spiritual leader and has complete faith in him. He has locked his horns with Ali's father who belongs to a Muslim Political Party. He has a son Dhiraj and he is not fond of Govind as he is an Agnostic.