Dada by Vibhor Tikiya: Book Review

Recently read the book, titled Dada, written by Vibhor Tikiya and this post is a quick review of my findings.

Dada is story of a person who is wrong example for a student. Though he started off as a brilliant student in primary school, after his Dad's death he looses focus and masters the art of manipulation and making money brokering various deals. He gets only 45% in class 12, but manages entry into one of prestigious institutes -Premiere Institute of Technology, using fake cast certificate and sports certificate.

From there on, his life revolves not around studying, but making money selling alcohol in the campus, bartending, copying and so on. He forms a gang of 4, who're at the core of the fiction and undertake lots of adventure- inside and outside campus. How they handle several tricky situations, pull strings and manage to get an engineering degree forms the core of the book. If not fully realistic, enjoyable one at that.

The other half is Dada's sting at US. Where he joins an engineering dept for higher studies, fails miserably in initial tests and changes to department of fine arts. There his luck opens up- from being a student to provisional lecturer to full time employee to visiting professor, life runs on a successful track for someone who barely managed to clear the engineering exams.

'Dada' is well priced and is interesting to read. Apart from the fun quotient, book should be read for following underlying messages:

1) Engineering and Medicine is not the only 2 options. One can have a joyful and satisfying life in other subjects, including fine arts
2) Properties catch fire- Dreams don't
3) Technical skill alone is not enough. One should have negotiation skills, communication skills and analytical skills
4) Life does throw challenges at you and so do people around you. How you handle them determines how successful you will be. Can you confront a challenge, do you plan to run away from it, do you succumb to your fate and adjust to it? Learn to deal with challenges well and you'll enjoy the same.


However I also have following apprehension:
Can anyone manage to keep selling large quantities of alcohol inside the campus for 4 years- unaided, undetected? Supplying alcohol for dorm parties would involve multiple crates and lots of bottles. Carrying them in, taking care of empty bottles etc- doesn't sound realistic, unless someone from college administration is offering silent support.

Also book says MNCs need to pay huge money to visit campus for campus recruitment. I don't if this is really true. I know that there's a fight among companies for the privilege of being first company to visit the campus, but paying money part- I don't know.


Summary:
Title: Dada
Author: Vibhor Tikiya
Price: Rs 149
Publisher: Indra Publishing House
Pages: 301, soft cover
Genre: Fiction
Released: 9th August 2013

Book was launched only last week and is not yet available on flipkart. May take some time to reach the stores near you. Do grab one when available, for it makes a thoughtful read. 300 pages full of interesting incidents and narration.

Other Book reviews:  My stroke of luck * RIP * Johny Gone down *