In a simple and straight Indian banking environment, author has boldly attempted to reveal some strange and strategic events in the fiction which are not so uncommon in the world of private sector banking. With the dual objective of complying regulatory guidelines and meeting shareholders expectations, most bankers make a tight rope walk and in the bargain friends & family take a back seat. Author has beautifully narrated the story of a young banker who makes a crucial decision of life by leaving the laminar flow of nine-o-five job and enters into the turbulent zone where 24X7 is not considered sufficient, at times. The series of events that unfold during May 2005 - June 2009 in the life of Sumit, main character of the novel, cannot be simply put as journey or a progression but an encounter.and who gets killed is the story. Most interesting feature of the fiction is the characteristics of Sumit which does not make him a hero. Conventional thinking provokes the idea of making a hero as a winner, as well, but the fiction takes you to a voyage with no assurance of winning the battle. While going through the book, I wanted Sumit to resist and revolt, more ferociously, at several instances where conflict was hitting him but surprisingly and understandly, he has absorbed shocks of life and moved ahead, like a person next door, could be you and me. Such endurance successfully relates Sumit with a common man with no easy patronage or blessings of a godfather.
Reader will notice that experiences are largely oriented towards asset side of banking and the types of challenges are not only informative but educative as well. Anecdotes and one-line punches used in the book will surely make the reader more inquisitive. Sometimes officers in junior management cadre are unable to understand or appreciate the orders and decisions of people coming out of the board room. The book gives a broad idea of situations with which board room becomes a war room and strategic decisions of scramble…scramble are made and reviewed. Most of the plots will attract the attention of young bankers whether it is the art of questioning during presentation or the way some baser propensities are expressed. Useful reading.