An NRI's DilemmaInstead of "Chains", G.B.Prabhat may well have called his first novel, "An NRI's dilemma". That's the first reaction you get after gulping down the 13 chapters. What makes the book exciting is the "whodunnit" feeling that comes on immediately. That in itself, is a novelty - as most Indian (and India-born) writers have a penchant for meandering.
A story has to be well-told, and that's just what Prabhat has done. It's a welcome relief from the modern band of navel gazers on one side and chatterati class on the other. But don't get knocked off by a start that leaves you feeling, "Hey, I have been there before."
Writing fiction on a contemporary theme - return of a top-notch NRI from Silicon Valley to his home town, and making sense of how a "forward looking" industrialist works-is like walking on a minefield blindfolded. This is new territory for even the crackerjack specialists on East vs.West stories.
The buzzword is IT, and India is on the US-built expressway. But is there room for "Vaastu"? Or, for that matter, the "Wart" (doesn't every office have one?)-being the ears and eyes of the boss? Or kowtowing to the various Boards and Bureaus and the Babus?
That's where the fun lies in reading this book. There are plenty of hometruths - and even someone who doesn't know how India works, if it does at all, can't miss the wry humour. Of course, the setting is Madras -sorry, Chennai. And in a way, it's good - Ram returning to Delhi or Mumbai wouldn't give the right punch. The cloth has to fit the man, and so as the city - particularly if it's the hometown. Prabhat's style of ribbing the "neti", "neti" mindset while drooling over the dollar culture "Shangri la" is worth many a chuckle. One example: "You know, Ram, we have an ancient piece of Indian wisdom," Ravi spoke as Janakiraman watched with an unchanging expression. "Never look into the origins of a saint or a river. I extend that to companies. Never look at 'companymoolam'...Judge them not by their past, but by their future."
On the value-add side, he has turned the spotlight on a subject close to the heart of every VC (venture capital) hunter right now. And the story makes sense, irrespective of how big the pond may be - and it is a pond compared to the mega-dollar biz of US, Japanese and even Korean players.
The mechanical engineer turned computer scientist has established his credentials well, building up a paradox from rather simple blueprint. Once in their mid-forties, every NRI starts searching for his/her roots. The straight lines from the family conundrum - teenage daughter dating late night, younger son hooked to Americana, husband-wife relation falling apart.
Social engineering via fiction has mainly been the forte of the Indians writing in their mother tongue. Those Indo-English writers (like Khushwant Singh or R.K.Narayan) who did write on such topics - and very successfully, mind you - were essentially writing on vernacular themes. Their prose reflected that consciously developed style - and it did serve a purpose. In fact, still does, but not much has come from that direction lately.
In that sense, "Chains" is a welcome relief. Prabhat tries try to flesh out his protoganist, "John" Janakiraman through two strong characters - C Lakshmi Narayan who invites him back to project his LN Group of industries into the 21st century, "his (Ram's) closest friend, classmate of twenty years and yes (grudgingly), his mentor," Ravichandar. The readability factor is mainly because you identify with a whole lot of ideas thrown up - and relate to almost all the characters. The past is not all that distant-just 1974. The captains of Indian industries have taken to 1991 "liberalization" like ducks to water. Now it's 1997-98, and the world wants India to start delivering. The desperate captains want NRI whizkids like "John" to become Ram again. Well, is there a happy ending?
Who knows? The story hasn't ended, has it!
"Chains" is available on Amazon.com
COURTESY: THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, NOVEMBER 19, 2000
