Dream On: A Novel

The story is about how an Indian boy pursues his dream to do college abroad in the United States. He like other Indian students is fascinated by the American dream. It narrates his college experience, that ranges from sharing a bathroom with strangers to sharing lecture notes. It talks about his idea of Love, Dating and having a relationship to getting absorbed in issues of close friend’s. His being in awe and fascination for beautiful girls. The American idea of a typical college party is booze, women and drugs and people having a wild time. He is subjected to these culture shocks as he undergoes the standard conflicts that all the first timers or as they say ‘fresh from the boat; go through. His lure with all that is American and how he sees them through the eyes of his American Roommate; A typical American guy who brings out the distinct cultural habits and mindset of Americans, the book brings out the contrast between the American’s and Indians teenagers by highlighting his individualistic personality and his inability in handling personal relationships.

He narrates the experience of his close friend with a girl from India. How badly she wants to be with the American’s and how she looses her individuality to fit in with the American’s. He learns through these two characters by the conflicts they go through. He realizes that he was getting used to everything American in the beginning but then slowly drifts apart after knowing it wasn’t something he was comfortable with. Finally, having finished with college and sitting for placements with his friends, he gets his dream job. Then life takes a drastic turn as he decides to reject it and move back to India. He gets close to his roots in the end and decides that deep down inside he always will be an Indian with the same cultural values and ethos. He wants to utilize his learning’s in a developed country to help improve education system in India. So he dreams again, only this time, the dreams are focused on bringing about a change and making a difference in his motherland.