Book Review - Dalal’s Street by Anurag Tripathi

Dalal’s Street by Anurag Tripathi

Publisher: Niyogi Books Pvt. Ltd. (Under the Imprint: Olive Turtle)

Pages: 212

Price: Rs. 350 INR(Paperback), Rs. 295 INR(Kindle Edition)

ISBN: 978–9389136159

Buy here: https://amzn.to/2l45Oxd

A group of young Indian business School graduates are attracted to jobs in a high paying trading company. This batch of hardworking, intelligent and ambitious friends is focused on success in the fast paced, hyper competitive world of stockbroking where greed, use of cunning and wealth are the stepping stones to survival and success. The survivors are the winners. A financial thriller of dark humour where friends become competitors in their struggle for survival, threat lies in every wry smile and Superfast action to tip the scales of finance and fortunes in a bid to achieve quick wins is the order of the day. Dalal’s street explores the complex interplay of human relationships in a world ruled by the rise and fall of share prices and etches out the emergence of the protagonist through a test by fire.

About the author:

Anurag Tripathi is an alumnus of the Indian School of Business with a course in Advanced Creative Writing from The University of Oxford, Department for Continuing Education. A keen observer of people and a master raconteur, he draws on his vast reservoir of life experiences. As an erstwhile investment banker, he previously led the retail equity business for a financial company in India. This novel, his second, is a fictionalised no-holds-barred account of what goes on behind the scenes in the financial advisory business in India. However, that still hasn’t deterred him from continuing to invest in the Indian stock markets for the last twenty years. His debut novel on the art market in India was nominated for the Raymond Crossword Book Awards in 2017. Dalal’s Street is his second novel. A member of the Singapore Writer’s Group, Anurag now lives in the ‘Lion City’, along with his wife. Both are keen scuba divers, who like travelling and exploring the worlds lesser known.

My take on this book:

Varun, Pooja, Anil and Devika passed out from a business school and except Anil others have a job offer at a textile company. But they come across another organization TBB who have a new format of interviews, for campus hiring. Intrigued by the easy hiring process and the money involved in this sector, all four of them are initially elated to have been selected and are excited to be joining a stock brokerage co. Their happiness is short lived as being relationship managers for inexperienced clients, with extreme pressure on monthly revenue targets makes work life difficult for all four of them. 

Pooja who is inclined towards her values and ethics than her career growth shifts to compliance section; while the other three stay on and encouraged by their seniors and bosses at work, resort to all sort of wrong practices in a bid to meet their sales targets. In parallel runs the story of Reddy Oil and Gas Co which is struggling to stay in business and how with help from Salil Bhai try to manipulate share price and fool the markets to boost their investment. How this job affects Varun and his friends’ careers, their personal lives and equations with people around them forms the rest of the story.

Stock markets as an avenue of investment are highly rewarding but come with high risk quotient, and is a field where even the most experienced souls cannot guarantee the results. Dalal’s Street is that magnificent piece of work which gives the reader a 360 degree view of stock markets in a fictional setup. Since the jargon is smartly used by author through fictional characters, those who are reading about the markets for the first time will not find it theoretical or overwhelming. And for those who love finance and investment related reads, this is a must read. The book is an absolute page turner, and the author has kept the narration very engaging through the entire story. 

Just when the story seems to be getting a bit flat, there is one more unexpected twist which keeps the reader guessing. The characters are well developed and have a good mix of grey shades making them interesting. Overall, a completely entertaining read in the backdrop of stock markets, I highly recommend Dalal’s Street, as I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My rating:

5/5.