What Young India Wants

Through this book Chetan Bhagat has made his foray into non fiction for the first time and he has done reasonably well too. This book titled What Young India Wants is a collection of essays and columns written by him in The Times of India newspaper albeit with minor changes. Through this book Bhagat expresses his opinion on the current state of affairs in India. There are separate sections on society, politics and youth. Also included are two short stories on contemporary issues written by him and his great Indian dream. Through this book Bhagat has suggested many ways to improve the condition of India. He has highlighted many serious issues plaguing the country. There is also a touch of humour though. By reading this book you will get to know a lot about the problems facing the country. I was very impressed by his suggestions on improving the country. Education, corruption, health, politics, agriculture--almost everything that is troubling the country is discussed. His ideas are very impressive. By reading this book you will also be inspired to do something for the country.

Though the book lacks in-depth analysis of problems but it makes for a good read. There are catchy titles for each of the essays. The language is also very easy to understand.

Bhagat has also raised many issues that no one else has done till yet. He criticises the millionaires of India saying that they owe their success to their connections and not to innovation. As this book has been written in 2012 issues like corruption, insider trading etc that are making headlines currently are given more importance. He has also made us remember that in India common people are not valued. How else could Warren Anderson escape so easily after the Bhopal gas tragedy? He has rightly said that people in India are cheaper than fish. The plight of the farmer has also been highlighted. I too agree with him that we must nourish the nourisher first. We have already heard of many incidents of farmers being duped by rich people and politicians.

Bhagat is very much favourable towards foreign investment. But he is not afraid to say that corrupt corporates should be dealt with strictly. He has also pointed out that had the Bhopal gas tragedy taken place elsewhere it wouldn’t have been dealt with so leniently. What happened to BP due to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?

Bhagat has a few brave ideas and has appealed to us to foster change in our country. But one drawback is that he hasn’t stated very clearly as to how to implement them.

I would recommend this book to those who are interested in politics and bringing about a change in the society. Happy reading!

The Associate

The associate is a novel about a brilliant young law student at Yale Law School. Initially he plans to study law and do public service in Virginia. But suddenly he changes his mind and surprises everyone—friends, family, professors etc. with his choice of law firm where he is to train. What his friends do not know but we know is that he has been blackmailed and so he was compelled to change his decision.

While at college Kyle McAvoy   was an editor at the Yale Law Journal. He could also have been a basketball star had he not injured his knee. After joining the law firm, he is asked to steal sensitive information from clients’ files. This is extremely difficult because of the tight security. Imagine trying to steal information with video cameras and security people monitoring you all the time. On top of this if he is caught stealing, he could lose his job and be debarred for life.

His blackmailers are masters at their trade. Kyle’s apartment and belongings are all bugged. All his conversations are listened to and movements are monitored. But the blackmailers are never quite  sure that he knows about the bugging. Eventually, the FBI comes into the picture but Kyle does not trust them completely and prefers to do things his own way.

Through this book we get valuable insights into the functioning of top Wall Street law firms. We come to know that many a times the lawyers and other employees of the firms just pass of their expenditure to the clients. A top lawyer charging $ 800 an hour doesn’t seem strange. John Grisham actually criticises the way law firms work. One more question that may arise in the mind of the reader is how as early as 2003 a phone could record long and clear audio and video only by voice activation.

Nonetheless, this book is bound to thrill those of you who are interested in stories involving crime, espionage etc. I would say that this book was definitely worth my time. And after reading this book I am longing to read another book of John Grisham.

Happy reading!

The Husband by Dean Koontz

Mitch Rafferty is a gardener who works in Orange County, California. One fine day while he is gardening, he gets a call on his cell—a call that changes him from a humble and loving gardener to man to a tactful fighter and a killer of three expert gunmen. His wife, Holly, a secretary in a real estate company had been kidnapped and he was being asked to cough up £ 2 million in exchange for her. He was given sixty hours. How could a simple gardener like him get so much money? He is also caught in a web of fake evidence planted in his home by the kidnappers. This complicates things and he is unable to approach police for help. He has to go it alone.

Confused, he wanders about till he gets help from an unexpected person who in the end turns out to be a traitor.

This book is a real thriller with a rather a tense opening and nice climax. It is bound to hold you in your seat till the last page. Lovers of crime fiction and kidnapping are surely going to have a great time reading this. The author has also taught us how unconditional and self sacrificing love between a couple should be.

One Night @ The Call Centre

By Chetan Bhagat

One Night @ the Call Centre is the second book written by Chetan Bhagat after Five point Someone.The book opens up with a train journey from kanpur to Delhi in which the author meets a beautiful girl who promises to tell him a story on the condition that he will make it into his second book.Initially the author appears hesitant but later he accepts her request.

The story is told through the eyes of one of the 6 call centre employees, Shyam Mehra.All of them work in a call centre in Gurgaon called “Connexions”. Shyam is their ad hoc team leader. Their shift begins from 10:30pm and ends at 6:30am.A cab comes to take them and the author introduces each character in detail. That night all the employees experience a troublesome shift. The story is about thwarted ambitions, lost love, absence of family affection, pressures at home and the work environment at a call centre. Shyam is very upset to know that his ex-lover Priyanka, a colleague is going to get married to a man called Ganesh Gupta who works for Microsoft in the US. He and his colleague Vroom are horrified to know that their boss Bakshi had cheated them by submitting the troubleshooting to headquarters without crediting them.  Bakshi had plans to layoff a lot of call centre workers and so they are all worried about their jobs. There are many other stories associated with each of the characters and then a phone call comes from God. God gives them advice on improving their lives, both long term and the immediate danger. The conversation with God motivates the group to such an extent that they get ready to face their problems with utmost determination and motivation. They sit together and chalk out plans to get rid of the problems in their lives. Priyanka dumps her fiancé and marries Shyam. They trap Bakshi and save their own jobs. The most catching thing in this book is when the author finds out who the lady in the train really was.

The style of narrating is very good. But some parts of the story seem way too elongated. This book would be enjoyable mostly to the young people and others can give it a pass unless they love Chetan Bhagat’s books.

The Three Mistakes of my Life

THE THREE MISTAKES OF MY LIFE

This is the third book written by Chetan Bhagat.the story is not his own but that of Govind Patel, a business man of Ahmedabad.

The story starts with a prologue in which Govind Patel sends a suicidal email to the author. And the author rushes to see him in a hospital in Ahmedabad (from Singapore!).

Govind tells him that his story is not like any hit Bollywood movies but just ordinary. but the author patiently sits beside him and listens to his story.

The story starts in the year 2000.Govind is a bright student living in the sleepy metropolis of Ahmedabad. He has two friends Ishaan and Omi who do not know what to do about their life. Ish is a former district level cricketer and Omi is the son of the priest of the Swamibhakti temple.

They are obsessed with cricket and so Govind does what he thinks best: he opens a cricket shop in the Swamibhakti temple. The rent was cheap and there was guarantee of customers as the temple was a busy area.

The business takes of very well. They have a promising future and they take a super talented cricketer Ali under their wings.

to earn extra money Govind also tutors in maths. He is also eventually coaxed in to teaching Ish's 17 year old sister. As time passes by something more develops between them.

From Ahmedabad the story has a detour to Australia. They get Ali to bat against the Australians and he is a smash hit. After a week they return to India as things do not work out.

       

Meanwhile the business does not go well. Govind has grand plans and even manages to save enough but Nature has something more in store. The triple blow that hits the three friends is a massive earthquake, 9/11 and the 2002 Godhra train attacks. The last of the three led to communal violence in Ahmedabad and the three friends found themselves in the thick of things during the communal riots. Govind's story culminates with the danger that the three friends and their protégé, Ali find themselves in just because Ali is a Muslim.

The story has been written in relation with 3 real life incidents and he does the job of inter relating the incidents well. But of the three mistakes the first mistake was not avoidable as earthquakes are caused by nature. The second mistake is alright as it deals with morality. And the third mistake is about what could have happened if action had been taken a second earlier.

Do these really qualify as mistakes? All of us lose money due to bad decisions and unexpected circumstances. Most of us fall in love (one sided at least) and at some point in our life we do think and act selfish. Not feeling anything unique about these mistakes.

According to me these do not really qualify as mistakes. Anyone may lose money due to unexpected circumstances. Most people fall in love at that age and sometimes we do think of ourselves first before rescuing others.

The book gives  a very vivid description of why students hate maths, electoral politics, Gujarat riots and the challenges one faces in life in order to succeed.

Excluding the death of two people the book otherwise has a happy ending.

The book is definitely worth your time and money. The add on is the contemporary feel of the book.

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