Plot and thematic Analysis of the novel “Everyone has a story”

“Everyone has a story” is about a young girl, Meera, who is an HR manager though

she is always inspired by storytellers and also she has to write her own novel. Meera has the

habit of sitting and listening to amazing authors at cafe Coffee at every weekend moreover

she has interest on bring out others story from their own point of view so that she may get

clear view towards her writing and diction. “what’s my story? I didn’t want to be ‘normal’,

just like so many people I had met in life. Being only twenty-six, I wasn’t exactly sure what

the meaning of my life would really be, and where I could find it”(Sharma EHAS:01) in these

lines Meera shows her passion towards writing and also search towards meaning for her life

by exhibiting her ability of writing.

At that time Meera meets Arjun Mehra, an author, who encourage Meera to begin her

writing and by that mean time she will get her story automatically from her surrounding and

universe will start helping her. Kabir, the manager at Coffee shop, is the friend of Meera, who

also encourage her to begin her writing “Kabir, the manager, paused in his duties and

addressed me. ‘When are you going to stop dreaming about being an author, Meera, and

finally write a book?’ ”(Sharma EHAS:06). Vivaan, the assistant branch manager at Citibank

and also a traveller, who starts his relationship with Meera as a stranger and at the end of the

novel they both convey their love. Nisha, a young beautiful girl, who strongly hide her

feeling to everyone but often visits cafe Coffee to come over from her sad part of life. But her

story will be revealed by Kabir at the middle of the novel and she finally becomes wife of

Kabir and also friend of Meera and Vivaan. Savi Sharma spotlight on all these main

characters and plot is about how these people meets one another and how Meera is going to

conclude her writing with the help of these people’s help and she too becomes an author as

she dreams.
 In “Everyone has a story” we can clearly observe many themes that suits in our day

to day life and also in our surroundings. Throughout the novel we can notice the characters

go in search for meaning of life and we also note other themes like travelling around world,

beauty of nature, secrets, hope, escaping the reality and help of universe to achieve our

destiny. And also we can include a quote of Aristotle “Well begun is half done” as a theme of

this novel.

Meera, who is inspired by storytellers, she has the habit of interacting with different

people from different places by that way she use to get many different stories. According to

her life is something that is filled with disorder struggle that makes us think where we belong

to. “ ‘But I don’t know what to write. I am inspired by the world around me, but I am still in

search of a story that can change the lives of people’ ”(Sharma EHAS:09) these words show

her thirst to change someone’s life. At that time in authors meet Meera meets Arjun Mehra at

the end of his speech he uttered these words with confidence.

“Don’t let your dreams die within you. Trust me, your struggle, your fight,

will be worth the risk in opening yourself up. Get up. Inhale the air of passion.

Start your journey. Grab your dreams. Enjoy your mistakes. Dance to the

rhythm of your heartbeats. Smile. Laugh. Love. Live.”(Sharma EHAS:08)

When Meera speaks to him in personal Mr. Mehra encourage her to begin her story as

story is a lie in itself and also he says that “ ‘But your lies are good lies. They change people

and mostly for the better. I wish you the best’ ” (Sharma EHAS:09). At that author’s meet

Meera gets introduce to a strange man who is a travellers and he is also in same mind set of

Meera and during interaction session he says to Mehra that he has money, status and success

but still he is not sure what is his purpose of living and also he says that to escape the life he

often grab bags and just travel according to that person his price for life is freedom so that he
can chase his dream. On hearing his words Meera got inspired and start writing her story and

that story is also about a traveller. Kabir asks Meera’s permission to read her story that gets

just started after reading “He broke into a huge smile.‘It’s lovely, Meera! I think it will touch

millions of hearts’, Kabir said enthusiastically”(Sharma EHAS:15) at that time a young girl

approached Meera and gives her a folded napkin and “It had just one word written on it in big

capital letters: BEAUTIFUL”(Sharma EHAS:15). Before Meera noticing that stranger he

walks away through the dusty wind. Meera gathered information about him from Kabir and

she also says that he is that traveller whom she is writing about. Kabir says that his name is

Vivaan and gives some details about him.

Vivaan feels disappointed when Meera did not notice him but during her conversation

with Kabir “I want to spend hours beside a rushing river, feeling the wind in my hair and

listening to the secrets hidden in the waves”(Sharma EHAS:22) these lines show us that how

Meera and Vivaan admire the beauty of nature.

The next day Meera leave the office at evening at that time her phone got buzzed and

she receives message from Kabir that her traveller is in cafe Coffee. On seeing this message

Meera send him reply “ ‘Keep him engaged, I am coming.’ ”(Sharma EHAS:28) this shows

Meera’s interest on getting know about that traveller. On reaching Vivaan she introduce

herself and says him about his last time disappearance “ ‘But you never stayed. You escaped

every time’ ”(Sharma EHAS:29) hearing this Vivaan replies “ ‘I love to travel. Don’t you

know that?’ ”(Sharma EHAS:29) in this conversation we can clearly understand that both of

them trying to escape the reality of life and want to involve in some other activity that they

like the most.

And then Meera force Vivaan to tell his story so that she can continue her writing but

Vivaan says that he don’t have any story that’s worth writing as a novel. Meera insist him to
say his story by quoting “ ‘Everyone is a writer. Some are written in books, and some are

confined to hearts.’ I was proud of my answer”(Sharma EHAS:30) the word proud used by

her shows her confidence as a writer. But Vivaan hides his story and so Meera left the cafe

before him. When Vivaan reaches home his Priya Aunty asks him about his daily routine that

he is doing present days and also asks that he goes to any new place as he is a traveller but he

replies “ ‘You know I want to travel. I need to explore the world, see the Grand Canyon, the

Great Wall of China’ ”(Sharma EHAS:37) his reply to Priya Aunty shows his passion

towards travelling around the world.

Meera don’t want to give up her hope, to become a writer. So with self

confidence she thinks “I need to know more about him. I needed this time to discover myself

in someone else’s story”(Sharma EHAS:41). Vivaan asks Meera that for what reason she

chooses him as his story teller. On hearing this Meera whispers “ ‘I don’t find stories

everywhere. The only time I found the one I wanted to explore, it was in your eyes,’”(Sharma

EHAS:46). Vivaan suggest Meera to look into Kabir’s eyes and so she may get some story to

write. At first Meera hesitates and then asks kabir to tell his story. On Meera’s request Kabir

starts to tell his life story and also by that flow of saying story he also says his dream and love

to live with Nisha.

Even Nisha has her own story to tell but she hide that from everyone at first

and then her story too will also be reveal by Kabir as he is going to get marry with Nisha.

Kabir himself says “ ‘I want to start my own cafe,’ Kabir responded. ‘It had always been my

dream, and now, it is more critical.’ ”(Sharma EHAS:58) Kabir uses the term critical because

he is financially very week to achieve that dream though he is a hard worker and also he has

to achieve his dream as soon as possible then only he can get marry with Nisha. On seeing

Kabir’s pathetic condition Vivaan gives him a cheque of rupees fifteen lakh and encourage

Kabir to start his own shop “ ‘Get started with it. The rest will be deposited soon in your bank
account’ ”(Sharma EHAS:59) this sudden help shows us that universe will always help us to

achieve our dream the only thing we have do is working hard for that to achieve success. And

now Meera is also going to write a novel by hearing Kabir’s story. To encourage Meera,

Vivaan brings her an empty book and a letter from an author Mehra. On seeing this letter

Meera got surprise.

To my fellow author,

I hope I inspire you to be able to venture out on your journey as a writer. Your

friend told me a lot about you and I cannot wait to be in a cafe some day, listening to

you speak, as you did for me.

Remember that a great writer doesn’t just put his heart into his book but his

reader’s heart too.

Best of luck,

Arjun Mehra (Sharma EHAS:64)

After starting a Kafe Kabir both Kabir and Nisha get Married and four of them

become very close friends. Merra is exited to know the relationship between herself and

Vivaan but at that night Vivaan send her a poem in a message but after that he doesn’t comes

to meet Meera. When Meera and Kabir went to Vivaan’s woking place they says that he

resign his job by saying that he is going to escape from life. Meera and Kabir doesn’t expect

this from Vivaan. Meera starts to crying and Kabir tries to console her but she can’t come out

of that as everything around her remind her of Vivaan but she is clear that life is full of twist

and turn and also unexpected things can happen at time. Meera has the fear that what would

happen if she never see Vivaan again. Kabir and Nisha try to bring out her from that situation

by diverting her mind towards her writing.

 At the same time Vivaan starts his adventure in China. He walks part of the Great

Wall and tastes delicious food which makes his mouth watering. He also goes to blue waters

of the Peacock Riverbed in Jiuzhai Valley and later to waterfalls in the park though he has

some kind of bother in his mind. Next he went to Tokyo and got amazed on looking parks

there. The parks in Tokyo has zoo as well and it also has lake where people can paddle boats.

Vivaan sees sunrise from Mount Fiji and says that it is breathtaking and then from his hotel

he went to Yoyogi Park and later to Hamarikyu Gardens and he notice that the city is much

busy.

Next Vivaan goes to Italy to explore Mount Vesuvius and later toured the ruins of

Pompeii and he also has shiver about great volcano erupted. He tour Isle of Capri and he

enjoys the beautiful view of island rising out of the ocean in front of him though he doesn’t

opt to take gondola ride to the top of the island but enjoyed the scenery from below. He also

goes to Alaska and see aurora borealis.

“During the day, I saw animals and birds I could have never imagined existed.

I was overwhelmed when I saw my first moose; there was something oddly adorable

about the brown, long-legged animals, but their sheer size was awe-inspiring. I

couldn’t help but grin as one looked up from the bog where it was eating. The water

draining from its mouth dripped off the vegetation that it was munching contentedly. I

had focused my camera carefully, hoping to capture the awkward beauty of

it”(Sharma EHAS:94)

By these lines we can come to know that Vivaan not only admire nature but also

beauty of animals and birds at the end he says ‘awkward beauty of it’ which means we can

admire beauty in everything though it is a awkward creature that also has some kind of

beauty that can’t be replaced by other animal.

 Vivaan goes to New York City because it is called ‘Gateway to the World’ as the city

is too busy even in night time and also in early mornings. He takes flight to admire the

thunderous spill of water that is Niagara Falls and admires it’s beauty on the Prospect Point

Observation Tower and watched the multi-coloured lights illuminating the rushing water.

“The next morning I donned a plastic blue poncho and took a ride on one of the small boats

that skitter up Niagara River to the bottom of the falls”(Sharma EHAS:95) this shows that

Vivaan also enjoys boating. After admiring Niagara he goes to Grand Canyon to see if it is as

beautiful as he expected.

He goes back to east coast and decided to spend few days in Boston “I wasn’t sure if I

was ready for the press of people there, but I was drawn to the rich history of the area. It was

one of America’s birth cities, and I looked forward to learning a little more about the

culture.”(Sharma EHAS:97) by saying this Vivaan conveys that he is not only admiring

nature during travel but also he likes to learn new culture and history of the area he goes

around. He also mingles with different kinds and thoughts of people. He meets a little girl “

‘You have a pretty smile,’ the little girl said innocently. ‘Want to come to the pool with us?’ ”

(Sharma EHAS:98) this shows his loving nature towards unknown people. Little girl’s father

ask him that when will he return back to home. Vivaan replies him that he don’t know and

also says him “ ‘I would never go home but I will have to eventually. If travelling was free,

they would never see me again.’ ”(Sharma EHAS:99).

Finally Vivaan sits in the Promenade Planteea Park in Paris there he meets an old

man dressed in the business suit ask him about his purpose for travelling and also about his

personal life. This makes Vivaan to remember Meera and also his friends Kabir and Nisha.

He goes to Cape Breton Island before he return back to India as people refer that place as the

edge of the world.

 Meanwhile Meera is furious with Vivaan for his abrupt departure. She doesn’t even

utter his name to Kabir and Nisha. This shows her anger towards Vivaan. She starts to have

strange habits like walking down in street alone at night. “Sometimes, I would creep in the

shadows if I saw someone approaching on the sidewalk, but when I was alone, I treasured the

solitude, the quiet, the dark.” (Sharma EHAS: 112) this line shows us that how unsafe is our

nation for women even though we have many good men. As Meera also hears Nisha’s past

she is very much worried about her life.

Meera tries to heal herself. She wants to come out of Vivaan thought and so she goes

to one of Pune’s spas. To relax herself she opts for aromatherapy massage and also went for

shopping. So that by healing herself she can get back her hope and continue her writing. To

get back her hope she has a long talk with herself.

“You need to be real and true to yourself. Don’t run away from yourself, your

dreams or the life which you deserve. Yes, you can still live more, learn more and

love more than you’ve done so far. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Wake up and run towards the beautiful life you deserve.”(Sharma EHAS: 123)

Kabir and Nisha encourage Meera by saying that they too are happy for her. And Nisha calls

Meera for treat but Meera objects and says that she is going to continue her writing and so

she has to headback to her apartment as she leaves her writing things there.

Vivaan reaches India very next day and directly comes to Kafe Kabir in search of

Meera. But Nisha says him “No, You just missed her. She went with Kabir to the publisher.

We are all hoping that they like her book.”. Nisha explains Vivaan how they missed him

when he disappears without announcing them and how far Meera remember him and tries to

come over from that.

 When Meera meets publisher, publisher appreciate Meera by saying that the book is

fascinating and well-written. Though Meera has no experience in this field something has

inspired and touched her heart in deepest way to write this book and also made readers to

admire. Publisher on seeing Meera says “You showed us that sometimes the smallest changes

in life are where the largest impacts come from. You created this mysterious man who falls in

love with a girl who loves to write. I am stunned by the plot line and love it beyond

words,”(Sharma EHAS: 130) all these appreciation from publisher shows us that every hard

work gets its success.

But publisher asks Meera many questions like “What happens to Vivaan? Does he

embark on that world journey? Does he ever return? If he doesn’t return, does Meera begin to

love someone else?”(Sharma EHAS:130) and he says that they cannot publish an unfinished

book. At that time Vivaan barged in quickly and says publisher that Vivaan has come and it’s

the time to complete Meera’s book. On seeing Vivaan, Meera burst into tears and tries to

leave that place. But Vivaan held her hands and says “ ‘May be we should go to Kafe Kabir

and have a cup of Coffee so we can all know about my exploration’ ”(Sharma EHAS: 131)

Vivaan wants to share all his past and feelings to Meera.

The next day when Meera and Vivaan meets, Vivaan explains Meera that why he left

her without saying anything before that. Before that Vivaan placed his marriage card dated

for 2012 and it is written that ‘Vivaan weds Radha’ this gives Meera the great shock and

anger. Meera gets twist and ask him why do you hide this secret from me and from us Kabir

and Nisha too gets shock. And now Meera don’t want to hear his story anymore but Vivaan

forced Meera as he has to show his feeling to someone and he knows Meera is the correct

person to explain his feelings and past life and also he has to say why he tries to escape the

reality of life.
 Vivaan continue his story by saying he had been in love with Radha as every lovers

do. They use to go to college together and also exchange their number and their relationship

blossoms and finaaly they both fall in love with each other and they decided to get married.

Even their wedding arrangements have done. On the day of wedding Vivaan goes to Pingale

Garden where their wedding was planned but Radha didn’t came there on that day “My voice

become flat, even to my ears. ‘She was raped and murdered’ ”(Sharma EHAS:135) on

hearing this Meera screams as she already have such fear during her night walk.

Meera comforts Vivaan but she wants to escape now and process the story that he

says to her. To get back her hope and to escape the reality of life Meera goes a long ride

taking her car “Suddenly, I realised I was in Gunjawane. Somewhere above me was Rajgad,

an ancient fort. I hadn’t been there in years, but the old stone paths were calling to

me.”(Sharma EHAS:141) and in this condition Meera can clearly understand the situation of

Vivaan and also why he tries to escape reality of life. This shows that both Meera and Vivaan

eascape reality because they have get back their hope often by travelling, so that their mind

gets relax and also helps them to live in present situation.

Meera climb to reach the fort, on clibing her lungs starts burning but anyway she

reaches the fort “Reaching Rajgad, a soft rain began to fall, cooling my overheated body. I

stopped at one of the water tanks and took a long drink of water before I went

forward”(Sharma EHAS:142) this shows that she is new to this kind of travelling activities,

though she has to do that. While returning back she felt down and lost her conscious.

Suddenly Nisha rushed Kabir and Vivaan to go to hospital as she gets a phone call.

Nisha says that Meera is in an accident when she tries to get back from Rajgad. Vivaan

mumbled “Tragedy surrounded those I loved and I couldn’d help but wonder why”(Sharma
EHAS:150) sadness in Vivaan’s voice show us that how hard he tries to come over from all

the tragic fate of his life.

Doctors said that her brain is working but for her better improvement someone has to

talk with her. Vivaan takes that task to bring back Meera

“I shook my head. ‘No, but the doctor still says there is brain activity. He

thinks that she listens to me when I read to her. I hope that is the truth. I am going to

read her story out loud, and I hope before I finish it, she wakes up’ ” (Sharma

EHAS:166)

But at the end she doesn’t gets back her conscious and again Vivaan tries his best. At last

Vivaan felt tears for Meera as he conveys his feelings for her. At the end he hears the word

‘Beautiful’ and stunningly he sees Meeera as she gets back her conscious.

Finally Meera get cures and stand in front of everyone in authors Meet and says “My

name is Meera and I am the author of this book, Everyone Has a Story”(Sharma EHAS:173)

she starts her speech like this and speech gets end with Vivaan’s words saying “ ‘We are

going to travel the world together and continue to write about our journeys’ ”(Sharma EHAS:

174) this shows us that dream of both Vivaan and Meera comes true as per their destiny.