Unbankable realities!

Book Review: Fiction/The Suicide Banker by Puneet Gupta, Rupa Publications/2011, 279 pp; Rs195 {Paperback}
The modern corporate runs with uncertainty and asymmetrical rewards. Here, mind is bound to be in fear and counted on top from the bottom-line positions. In such unnatural scenarios, Marx again appears as wisest man with his immortal quote, “Material position determines ones being and not vice-versa”… that he referred for the peak of capitalism, there he could figure out the self destructing elements within this very unfair system. No doubt, we are living in a high time of capitalist supremacy where moral justification of any act considered as awkward tuning of moralistic running commentary.

This book is written by a person, who as insider of top shot banking knows the maligning corporate culture from close angles. His writing is shaped through realistic understanding and a self imposed ethical that makes his fictional debut a complete success. The Suicide Banker is endowed with the quality of flowing narratives and without subscribing any extra-curricular hitches of lingual over display. As the book has more closer affiliation to the realities rather with the aesthetics of puritan literature, so it seems good that both targeted and general readers will read this book with high proportional delight.

Fortunately, Puneet never went to any of Ivy League institutions, not even to IIMs itself though he burnt his midnight oil for a mythical MBA at less hyped academic place like Jammu, which made him a tough man rather a virulently mechanized manager with all greed and no senses. To an extent, his protagonist, Sumit resembles him with modest beginning but remarkable achievements ahead despite remaining at odd with fraudulent mass culture in his organisation. Within organisational limits, he follows the much essential conservatism with maintaining a righteous virtue that gathers a plethora of impulses finally destined to expose the fraudulent practices of banking sector and counter action in terms of empty policy follow-up. The inside gamut of frugal innovation that promotes the half-measured “Microfinance& Agribusiness banking” among the reckless private sector banks leaves nothing but horrific end for genuine stakeholders. Moreover, a stint with multilateral organisations often considered perfect for leadership position, which is simply a dangerous and unsustainable trend. For the nonsense flashes of power point slides, ambiguous model of Muhammad Yunus may be an easy available choice but lastly results imperfect in a not so wretched economy like India. Except Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and few Co-operative/Public Sector banks, Indian banks have to still learn the basic rural banking and compliance of constitutionally mandated Priority Sector Lending as very humane welfare gesture.

This novel also unconsciously carries the sociological investigations on family which is passing under the consistent stress amidst very unhygienic imbalance of work and family life. A short interlude of distraction and its ramification over protagonist’s familiar life shows the sinful lure of extended professional engagements and here finally ousting toward normalcy juxtaposes the prevailing practices but not totally uncalled off.

Lot of inferences could be drawn from The Suicide Banker, which will be of immense help for the aspiring and established finance professionals to find proper ground beneath their feet. This will be best out of this book, if few baseless macro policies too will be corrected out of sentimental overtures, though it sounds not less than hyperbole as the shackles of misdeeds are globally integrated and induce its all participant for a homogenous puppet living, without even a tint of remorse for their ethical winding up. Spirits of reform must be channelizing an atmosphere of sustainable business; unfortunately regulations are not properly addressing the challenges which are indeed very compelling and needed cure. Until that will happen, bad guys with altered professional dreams will be continuing with wining, dining and marrying Mary’s…only for few, it will be unbankable proposition!
Atul Kumar Thakur
December 05, 2011, Monday, New Delhi
Email: summertickets@gmail.com