9. Review of “Destiny of Shattered Dreams” – Nilesh Rathod

Review of “Destiny of Shattered Dreams” – Nilesh Rathod

With his debut in the field of fiction writing, Nilesh Rathod takes you inside the inner workings of the boardroom. With a forced backing of political black money, Atul Malhotra, the budding entrepreneur, along with his team of equally able friends, works to make a mark of with the exponential expansion of his telecom business. Caught between personal responsibilities, a marriage going down the drain, expanding business, funding issues, political pressure, incognito mediators, CBI raids, unintended but unavoidable murders, and the likes, Atul strives to make ends meet. Aarti, a management fresher brings a breath of fresh air to his otherwise unstable relationship with his wife. He falls for her while she, who idolizes her boss, too succumbs to his charms and intellect. What follows is a risky affair both in corporate and personal life leading Atul to heartbreak and jail term, which is where the story starts. He recalls his life to his cell mates and in retrospect revisits his actions and devils from his past to find out that he too has become one.

The best thing about the book is that emotions like love and hate are touched upon very finely but with a profound impact. In between the boardroom mumbo-jumbo, it is essentially the story of a man’s rise to glory and his fall due to choices he made to attain that glory. Personally, I’ve read many authors writing tomes on love as an emotion, but in this book, I especially like a few paragraphs written on hate, its meaning and its impact on Atul’s life as told to him by his father figure and lawyer Qazi. The icing on the cake is that the state of mind of the protagonist is beautifully described using Hindi poems along with their equally exquisite translations.

The writing is smooth and makes you drift away easily between the pages. I am thankful to the author for not using Hinglish in dialogs (as it is very popular among writers these days) because that just makes it seem forceful upon the reader. Using one language, I think, makes it easier to maintain the flow and avoid unnecessary repetitions. After having read my share of a few corporate sagas, this brings out a point that when faced with a dilemma, if you take an alternative route, it doesn’t mean the end of the journey, because in your quest to reach the sky you will again reach an impasse and will again need to make a choice. It is rightly said by the author, “Itne unche ude ke wapas na aa sakey, aasmaan chhune ke aibh mein wapas na ja sakey…”

8. Review of “The Sialkot Saga” – Ashwin Sanghi

Review of “The Sialkot Saga” – Ashwin Sanghi

Though set in the backdrop of political and economic clashes in India post-Independence, this tome is a story which started way back in 250 BCE when Ashoka reined most of the Indian subcontinent. Ashwin Sanghi, the Dan Brown of India, weaves a saga where secrets are passed on from then till the present day India. The front story is that of Arvind and Arbaaz, different religions, different upbringings, different people altogether; but with a single aim of making money. Arvind, a true blue Marwari, in the aftermath of breaking up with his childhood sweetheart, delves into business and uses his acumen to conning people into parting from their money. Arbaaz on the other hand, uses his intelligence to reach to the very top of a mafia and diversifying into high profile politics. Both of them are however at loggerheads with each other throughout but manage to be together at the end.

The Good: The relationship shown between the past and the present is commendable and that is exactly what the author is known for. Comparing him to Dan Brown may be a bit if a stretch, but he is definitely on the right track there. We have seen better works than this one before, so the expectations were obviously sky high. The fact that the book ended where it began was remarkable. The story is paced well and major events are incorporated to support the timeline.

The Bad: A few minor plots seem to be stale and lifted off motion pictures or literature. There is one too many clichés, specially used as punchlines while ending little sequences. The ending could have been a little more dramatic than mere stating of facts. There were portions which I feel could have been done without and were there just to add to the volume.

The Ugly: It is disheartening to find little big mistakes in a work of this stature. The direct/indirect involvement of the protagonists in each and every disaster in history gets on your nerves.

Verdict: Read it for the sake of curiosity. Till you reach the last 50 pages or so, you’

Book Courtesy: Vivek Tejuja (Flipkart)