August, 2012 archive

The book Devil in Pinstripes takes a look at the operations of foreign banks and NBFCs in India .The main protagonist of the story Amit Sharma initially works at a bank, New York International Bank and then switches over to a Non Banking Finance Company(NBFC) NFS. An employees loyalties usually lie with the person who has selected him during the interview, who acts as a godfather,( in this case Aditya Bhatnagar) and this is highlighted throughout the book.

In the NBFC he is drawn into a power struggle with Gowri Shanker who has built the sales team . The ego clash which was caused by differences in operating styles as well as personal values, adversely affects the personal life of the Amit Sharma as well as his wife Chanda who also works in the same NBFC. The process of borrower evaluation, DSA’s , graft while both sanctioning loans as well as recovering payments is highlighted.

The book is written in flashback mode, alternating between the time when Amit Sharma is served an arrest warrant when a borrower Tulsiram (and later his family) commits suicide and his career path in the bank. The author has clearly demarcated the hero and villian in the book, every person has his positive and negative points, and balanced characters would be more believable.

Like ‘Devil in Pinstripes’, ‘Keep the change’ is another of the many books set in the Indian banking industry highlighting the work culture and office politics. However, there seem to be none set in the Indian internet industry, highlighting the ethics, value systems and their attitude towards smaller businesses.

Devil in Pinstripes
by Ravi Subramanian
Pages: 279
Published by Rupa Publications Pvt. Ltd. 2010