UNNS-The Captivation

UNNS-The Captivation is a 2017 novel by Sapan Saxena.

UNNS-The Captivation
AuthorSapan Saxena
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish
SubjectFiction, romance, thriller, espionage
PublisherInspire India Publishers
Publication date
March 2017
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages244
ISBN938-57-83874

Background

Saxena had initially decided to write a sequel to his first book Finders, Keepers but was persuaded by his family to write a romance novel. He decided to write a tale between two lovers who unknowingly take a stand against each other and the love-hate relationship between them.

In an interview with Half Baked Beans, Saxena mentioned that "UNNS is an unconventional love story".[1]. In his interview with Hindustan Times, Saxena claims "Unns is a story of love beyond any terms and conditions."[2]

Seven stages of love

As per Urdu and Sufi traditions, there are seven stages of love. These seven stages are

  • Hub - attraction
  • Unns - infatuation
  • Ishq - love
  • Aqeedat - reverence
  • Ibadat - worship
  • Junoon - madness
  • Maut - death

The concept of the seven stages of love has been discussed elaborately in Hindi movies like Dedh Ishqiya and Dil Se.

Plot summary

The novel is an international espionage with conflicting romance as the theme. The story spans across three countries, India, Germany and the United States.

Atharva Rathod and Meher Qasim fall in love when they are in school. The romance is short lived as Meher abruptly breaks all ties with Atharva and leaves for Germany forever. Fifteen years later, Atharva travels to Germany on a secret mission where he meets Meher again. The mission ends up as a failure and Atharva is imprisoned for 12 years on charges of acting against the Research and Analysis Wing of India. As Atharva is freed after twelve years, his mentor trusts him with an amateur mission in the United States where he meets Meher once again.

The story is divided across three parts, each representing a season symbolizing the maturity of love between the protagonists: spring, fall and winter. Each part is further divided into seven sub-parts, each representing one of the seven stages of love as per Urdu. The chapters are named after the three seasons along with each of the seven stages of love. The story ends on the last stage of love, which is death.

Characters

The main characters of the novel are:

  • Atharva Rathod - senior secret agent with the Research and Analysis Wing, India
  • Meher Qasim - very successful entrepreneur involved in the food supply chain business in Germany
  • Dev - secret agent with RAW
  • Vasu - director of the Research and Analysis Wing, India
  • Ayaz - an orphan who Atharva sets out to protect

Reception

Noted cartoonist and creator of Super Commando Dhruva, Anupam Sinha reviewed the book before its release and commented that it "will keep you at the edge of your seat".

Indian Express covered the launch in Chandigarh which was attended by Bharatiya Janta Party MP from Meerut, Shri Rajendra Agarwal.[3] The Chandigarh launch was also covered by Daily Post India in its Ludhiana chapter[4] and Hindi daily Punjab Kesari in its Ludhiana chapter.[5]

The book received fair to positive reviews after its launch. Daily Post India called the book truly captivating[6] and commented, "Setting of the story and the sub-plots created all necessary elements." CNI Channel called the book "True to its name"[7] and called it a "chaos of shrewd mind and innocent emotions."

Richa Sharma of Lucknow Bytes said that "The storyline isn't a hardcore tale of romance. It has its own share of thrill, suspense, fight and war."[8] Samata Dey from IndiaCafe said, "Sapan has narrated the story well and managed to balance the element of romance and thrill in a perfect manner ensuring that the readers are not able to put the book down before finishing it."[9] Adarsh Srivastava from Feeble Lines said that the "story moves with a constant pace with flashbacks and current events along with the twist and suspense at the end of almost every chapter".[10] Jaideep Khanduja in Pebbles in the Still Waters said, "There are a good amount of twists in the story. In addition, it is full of suspense."[11]

References
  1. ""'UNNS' IS AN UNCONVENTIONAL LOVE STORY"- SAPAN SAXENA". 20 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  2. "Lucknowite Sapan's second fiction out on stand". 20 April 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  3. "UNNS THE CAPTIVATION (BOOK LAUNCH)". 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  4. "Sapan Saxena brings out his second novel". 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  5. "Sapan Saxena's novel UNNS The Captivation Launched". 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  6. "UNNS, truly captivating". 20 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  7. "UNNS – True to its name " Book Review"". 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  8. Sharma, Richa (28 April 2017). "UNNS: The Captivation". Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  9. Dey, Samata (28 March 2017). "Unns, The Captivation – A Review Of The Book By Sapan Saxena". Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  10. Srivastava, Adarsh (27 March 2017). "Book Review: UNNS-'The Captivation' by Sapan Saxena". Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  11. Khanduja, Jaideep (18 April 2017). "UNNS The Captivation by SAPAN – 7 Stages Of Love 3 Seasons of Life". Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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