BANK OF POLAMPUR

by Ved Mathur, Alok Puranik (Foreword), Rambabu Mathur (Illustrator)

Kashmiri Lal Chawla joins the Bank of Polampur as a clerk and is posted to different cities and offices, where he confronts bizarre situations and odd characters. Nothing escapes him, neither the idiosyncrasies of the people he meets inside or outside the bank, nor their doings or intents; he presents these to the reader in simple, everyday language, spicing it up with his dry wit. Through these amusing anecdotes that can be enjoyed by readers of all age groups and from all walks of life, Kashmiri Lal exposes the sorry state of affairs in the bank; he diagnoses the shortcomings, contradictions and loopholes in the system and also offers solutions, without becoming preachy. As a satire on the Indian banking industry, this is possibly a first, using tongue-in-cheek humour to expose the corrupt and ineffectual system prevailing in public-sector banks in specific, and government departments at large. The author has an intimate knowledge of Indian banking, so this novel also becomes a record of the changing scenario of the banking sector in the country, over the last forty years.

Paperback

Reviews

[Namita Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the way the short stories in the book are narrated, all of them seem real and not coated with creative liberty for entertainment.

Most of them were engaging and funny but not all. As the translator said, she has tried hard to maintain the essence of the satire while converting it to English from Hindi and it shows. The book failed to hold attention for long and got boring at places. I assume the original Hindi would be better.

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[Nameali · Rating 2 out of 5]

They did a wonderful job keeping the "flavor" of the original comedy intact. Few sections are boring and routine. If you have some understanding of bureaucrat organizations are run, you don't find anything novel. It is an OK read.

[Anandh Sundar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read on psus

Excellent read on why psu banks are the way they are. Read this as a taxpayer and weep. Worth every page.

[Mohan Sri Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an excellently written satire on practices on psu banks. The narrative is so interesting that one cannot stop until reading the book completely.

[Rohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good to read

Hypocrite nature of most of indians underline in this book with good humor.
It is same not in banking but in any corporate, government office in India.

[Mukesh Pandya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banking Satire

Perhaps best in satire in banking. It feels as if we are part of story. Some of stories narrated are masterpiece in experience.