Grand Initiative
We’d imagine that authoring books are best left to those who are past their mid-30s, at the least. But these are changing times, and India’s youth is setting the pace for change. The author of the aforementioned title, Nishant Kaushik, in his mid 20s, is a symbol of a youthful, emerging India. Less than two years after he completed his post-graduation in Marketing from the Narsee Morjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai in 2006, Kaushik’s written a book in the true spirit of young Indians who want to do things (including write books) which other generations before them rarely attempted at his age. So Kaushik’s written something about the tribe he belongs to—that of management graduates, and with considerable flair. He displays a keen eye for details that add value to what he writes (e.g. “Why? Aren’t you happy for Sameer?” Vandana asked, picking slices of tomatoes escaping her burger).
Kaushik’s principal character in the book is Nakul Kapoor, a young man who sweeps through the time spent at MBA classes, summer jobs, and with friends at hostel and off campus with an impressive flourish of words. It is a presentation of a writing talent that no doubt must have been honed during Kaushik’s own days spent in preparation to get into B school.
While giving us a vivid, and often gripping account of his MBA days, Kaushik, through his protagonist Nakul doesn’t fail to display a heart-felt connection with the less privileged of the world. Take a look at the excerpted passage, it leaves you wondering why man must be so apart from man. Overall, the book is a good read.
“That day, however, my attention was entirely gripped by something else. On top of that (stinking, garbage) mound sat a wiry old man, who had both his arms cut off from the shoulder. His skin was wrinkled and scarred by wounds that looked decades old…Despite all this, he showed no signs of remorse or complaint. His face looked calm and content. I watched in horror as he bent down over the heap, and picked up with his mouth one among those dozen grotesque, decayed fruits. Something that yielded an intolerable stench till more ten feet away was now being chewed happily by someone. The thought made me feel nauseous. He bent down one more time to gobble another smelly substance, but this time I did not allow him to…”
|
