Rajiv Singh’s ‘The Unsolicited Billionaire’, is a definite must read. He seems to have touched upon quite a
few socio-economic factors and not to mention the political sphere, of the time
and day.
Starting from 1978, we
are pulled into the life of 11 year-old Godna, in his village, Suhagpur, getting
set to see the collector. So fascinated is he, by the collector’s livelihood that
the poor Dalit boy, wants to achieve his dream, despite all odds. He ends up
going to a village school and he runs into an entire series of events running
into more and more.
After the life in the
village, this deals with socio aspects; an impoverished life and living under
the Thakur, he moves on to a slightly better life with life at a Delhi based
school. This was a slight improvement for Godna.
For Godna, school is an
opening of various factors. Firstly, he ends up being called as Godan Ram. He
also realises he is in love with the Thakur’s daughter, but unfortunately she is
married off.
Meanwhile, Godna who has
managed to qualify for selection in the civil service examinations is on his
way to Delhi. Also, his love is now back in the village; a widow.
He ends up missing out
on the interview, due to unfortunate circumstances. He joins a polytechnic
college, instead of the IAS training academy, as he had planned to. After college,
he lands up as a junior engineer at Ayodhya. From here, he ends up joining a FMCG
and construction company. But life does not run smooth still. From his village in Uttar Pradesh, he travels to Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Udaipur, Mumbai and Dubai etc, among his travels.
The caste based
reservations, the poverty; the corporate politics are all a part of G Ram’s
story. It is a story of a single man, who wants to achieve the impossible. Whether
it is education, love, or business, he faces circumstances and situations, which
demand the best out of him and his mind. Will he survive the conspiracy against
him, will he marry his love and finally and does he achieve his dream?
The story was good,
though I felt that it ran rather long. And in spite of a few mistakes in the
grammar, what sets it apart is the storyline with its twists and turns. I would
say, give it a read for sure and make an attempt to understand the circumstances of the time in India.
Unfortunately, I cannot
say history as this seems to be a part of India, even today. Will we ever see
the back of certain parts of this story and will every Godna have his day in
the sun?
You can Buy the Book, right here
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