Dec 20, 2005 03:55 PM
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(Updated Dec 20, 2005 03:55 PM)
The title of the book, 'One Night at the Call Centre' interested me very much. Coz, once upon a time, it was my dream to join a call centre, because of its 'hefty' pay packages. Of course, later on, I realised that call centres pay 'hefty' packages, but do not provide any job-security. When I bought the book, I started wondering what was so special about that particular night that the author, Mr. Chetan Bhagat ended up writing a 289 pg book.
Anyways, the book is very much interesting. I couldn't stop myself from reading it further, when I started reading it. It starts off with the author sitting alone in the train compartment, wondering if he's the only person in the universe, when a pretty lady walks into the compartment. After a little while, both of them start chatting. The author introduces himself as 'Chetan Bhagat'. They talk about his previous book, ''Five Point Someone''. The lady suggests him that he write a book on call-centre. That's when he decided to write this book.
The author narrates the story through a call-center agent, Shyam, whose life somewhat resembles that of mine. It is based on the lives of six call-center agents:
Shyam Mehra or Sam Marcy:: He is the host of this story. He has given to the fate that it will be his life that will be calling shots and taking him to his destiny. He always feels neglected. How does the call from God transfer his attitude remains to be seen.
Varun Malhotra or Victor Mell:: His friends call him Vroom because of his love for bikes and speed. He is a dude and a something of an outlaw. His catch phrase is ”Slowdown and Vroom cannot be used in one sentence”.
Military Uncle:: He is an ex-serviceman, working in a call center.
Radhika Jha or Regina Jones:: A housewife working or should I say slogging it out between home and this job. She never leaves her wool and knits.
Esha Singh or Eliza Singer:: A wannabe model towing between being one and this job.
Priyanka:: Less said is better about her because she is the female lead of the book.
Then, there is Mr. Bakshi, the Manager at Connexions.
To know more about all these characters, u need to read the book. Beleive me, itz very interesting.
The overall story is fine. But, there's one thing which I feel, is exaggerated. Itz about the cab. When Shyam, Priyanka, Vroom, Radhika and Esha go to a pub, they borrow the cab from the driver. No call-centre driver agrees to lend his cab to the agents. Moreover, Shyam and Priyanka make love in the backseat of the cab, while the others are enjoying their drinks in the pub.
Towards the end of the story, these guys get frustrated, coz the Americans were hurling abusive language at them over the phone. To get rid of their frustration, they decide not to take any more calls and decide to go to a pub, without the knowledge of Mr. Bakshi, their Manager. I enquired with few of my friends who are working in call-centres, if this is possible. I was told that, the agents are not supposed to venture out of the call-center during the working hours. They are supposed to stay inside, calls or no calls. Finally, Vroom goes and gets the cab, while others are waiting near the entrance. When asked for the delay in getting the vehicle, Vroom says that, he had to wake up the sleeping driver and ask him to shift to another cab. I wonder how and why did the driver agree to part with his vehicle in the middle of the night, during working hours.
The story has a happy but filmi-style ending (Shyam and Priyanka kissing each other, without bothering who is looking at them). I've seen this happen only in Bollywood and Hollywood movies. I wish I could have seen them both kissing each other.
