If god was a banker

If God was a Banker, Ravi Subramanian
Rupa & Co. (pp260); Rs.195
Rating 6.5/10

Another one of those short books, which you can pick up at an airport and finish by the end of the flight. (especially when the flights are late and circle for atleast 20 minutes before landing at the airport)

In last few years their has been a crazy number of books written with an 'alma mater' hangover and this book is no different. The story is written on the backdrop of IIMs and the lives of its alumni.
I feel after the success of Five Point Someone, the alumni of IIT and IIM realised the hidden potential in selling their college name blended with masala stories. This helps in tapping a large chunk of audience who had heard about these 'premiere' institutes and had once aspired to study there. But the ones who have been there, realise how spiced up and extrapolated these stories actually are.

If God was a Banker is another such story which stays gripping throughout, but the perfect end is almost predictable. Its a tale of people with different background, different ambitions but tied with a common thread of the Banking Industry. It has an interesting take on the Corporate world, which has already been sold to Indian Audience in movies like Corporate and Life in a Metro. Sex, Betrayal, Board Room Tales are straight out of a hindi movie script. The Evil versus Good is also set in the manner in which Evil is glorified throughout the story but in the end, its the slow and steady Tortoise which wins the race.

I dont want to be too critical about the book because, even the author while writing this book, must not have aimed for any critical or literary acclaim. He wanted to write a story which can be easily adapted in a film script. Three Idiots, Hello and Slum Dog Millionaire would definitely give him hopes for such glory.

But truly, for someone not exposed to the corporate culture or the finer nunaces of the industry, this book works well like an induction course. The story is set in the nineties and the author makes a concious effort not to mix up the time travel. The book subtely but surely takes on the various foreign banks and the finance sector, which time and again have promised more than they can actually deliver. These books are never written with an aim of making the readers introspect but still if you try and think about the various incidents in the story, you would realise that the author tries to convey a message to the readers. He tries to highlight the importance of setting the expectations from your life right. Some people with unreasonable aims and desires end up taking decisions which might look good in the short term, but are surely not a good bet in the long run.

Ravi Subramanian’s language and recitation are smooth and simple; probably for purists the brief but brazen descriptions of the sexual escapades of the protagonist may sound a bit obscene. Nevertheless, Ravi Subramanian,a banker himself seems to have done a reasonable job in making the reader walk successfully though the world of money, power and deception. All in all, a must read for all air travelers looking for a nice masala story with real life references.

Verdict: Good one time read. Should be finished in one sitting. (Warning: Zero Literary Value)