Making Life Worth Living (Book Review)

Book: Mango People in Banana Republic

Author: Vishak Shakti

Publication: The Write Place

The plot of the book Mango People in Banana Republic (MPBR) authored by Vishak Shakti is similar to ‘life’, you do not know where the story is headed to. The protagonist working in MNC with awesome career prospects to kill for and in a jiffy quits the same. Leaving the urban life, he has toiled hard for, behind he heads towards the rural region – to his ancestral property. Destiny turns out to be in jesty mood, as Ravi realises that one thing he can do here is starve. Such is life!

Well, after a lot of here and there, Ravi did manage to find direction to his life which takes him to mountains, but that’s not the end of his journey.  His story encompasses life in a metro, village, jungle, jail, mountains and a lot more. His evolution as a human being is the essence of the book.  

On the other hand, we have Anand, who is in search of an answer to his spiritual quest. As far his career and job are concerned he has done that all. After leading a family life with well-paying job as a NASA physicist, he decides to go ashram hopping. After a fairly dissatisfied spiritual realisation he leaves and ashram and just vanishes… well quite literally from the story, only to appear magically again.

On a serious note, the story is very relatable to the youth. In India, a major chunk of the young working generation is running out of patience to continue with their highly paying, yet meaningless jobs; their minds wander towards making a difference in the country and improving the current state of the nation and moreover, finding a purpose to their lives. Some take drastic steps, while others wait to be lead.

Coming back to MPBR, the story is interesting because, (just as our lives), there are several twists in Ravi’s life.  The author has curated the ups and downs of his life, thoughtfully. You can feel the character’s loneliness in the narration.  Moving away from the individual lives, the author has penned down heart-wrenching details about the rural regions of the country – how poor are exploited and how their situations are further exploited by organisations, parties, etc.

Vishak’s writing style has satire, sarcasm, realism and is impactful.  The other characters which are curated in full honesty bring life to the story. The cover is weirdly interesting and creates curiosity.    

My Rating: 3 stars