Sometimes, one lifetime is enough to show the different phases of time and impact the personality of a person into an entirely different and unique person. The fact that a person is a product of the circumstances holds true when one reads “Niyatinati- the ultimate justice of Karma” by Aruna Shaibya. Through her story, the author shows the different phases of a person’s life and all that goes into the making of his personality on the whole. It also takes the readers into the different points of time in the protagonist’s life where there are sad times and happy times and times that make them wonder about the untold stories that exist in society and the life of a person. It also raises several issues of power, honesty, the corrupt nature of people, and the innocent being a victim in a major case. In that sense, the novel rises from being a simple story and becomes a writing for a social cause.
“Niyatinati” has an interesting title that bears impressions throughout the story. Even though the readers can understand its meaning, its relevance at different levels makes sense when they read the story till the end. In one word, the title sums up the whole idea of the novel and yet does not spill the beans explicitly. This is the beauty of it. It is only later when the readers start exploring the book in depth and understand the happenings in the light of being a design of destiny that they experience the hold of destiny in people’s lives and its relevance on the whole. Although the effects of Niyatinati silently resonate in the book, they make their mark in the later phases of the novel when the protagonist resolves to finish the unfinished business of his father. It is here that the powerplay of destiny makes absolute sense.
When Shaibya’s novel begins, the readers are taken into a happy world where everything seems perfect and more of a dream life. Things begin in an ideal world where everything seems perfect and falls into place like the natural course of life. “Niyatinati” takes the readers into a world that has talented college students with big dreams and hopes to achieve the heights of success based on their educational experience backed up by support from their families. This reflects in their behavior as well as their conduct among themselves and their peers. In the midst of this, they equally experience the highs and lows of life, only to understand who is there for them and who is not, thus resulting in the filtering of the right people. Thereafter, when the plot is constructed, the author gives it a twist that would not have been anticipated by the readers anytime in the plot.
While this twist shows the characters, it leaves the readers lost in equal shock and wonder about how unpredictable life can be and how one moment is enough to change a person’s life, their share of responsibilities as well as the fact that life’s goodies may not always last for long. This holds true in the context of the plot of “Niyatinati.” The author shows how destiny pulls the strings of people’s lives and how everything that happens for a reason also has a fundamental purpose in determining the meaning of the life of any person. On observing “Niyatinati” closely, the readers also notice numerous themes and questions of relevance that the author covers in the novel. These range from personal to social issues and issues of universal relevance. Dheeraj’s troubles to adapt to different societal requirements, Vivek’s family’s short-lived happy days, his father’s and sister’s fate, and the fate of many girls like his sister, which is shown through Mrigi later and the contributing characters who also show a different side of life through them all address the different themes of ‘Niyatinati.”
In this sense, “Niyatinati” has a wider significance on a universal level due to covering different issues at the same time. It also raises the serious issue of the innocent being prey to cunning and corrupt individuals who make the lives of others miserable in order to fill their treasury. While this issue disturbs the readers, it also opens their eyes to the unspoken reality and the stories of many who do not find mention anywhere and mostly die the same way. Hence, “Niyatinati” also becomes a novel for a social cause. Since it is available in both Hindi and English, it is likely to attract a larger reader base.
This book is recommended to all readers who are interested in reading fiction and works that are of social relevance and hold a universal validity at the same time. It would also be enjoyed by people who are interested in reading books that evolve through the different phases of life and show the different sides of characters as life progresses and unfolds further.