Review by K.S. Loganathan
Ashish Pandya is a civil engineer with a specialization in finance. In his debut novel, ‘Sankat Mochan’ (Crisis Dispeller),he tells a moral story set in the present time in a software startup firm . He says he wrote the story to invoke faith and positivity to the young generation in a setting and situation they can relate to .
The story begins with Raghav , a fast rising software professional unexpectedly losing his job in a multinational firm in Mumbai. He and his friends Lucky and Jahnvi begin a startup to help technically skilled freelance individuals connect with the people needing their services in the locality. In the process of launching and growing the firm, they are considerably helped at crisis situations by strangers each bearing one of Hanumanji’s names. The firm receives financial support and in time even bids for a prestigious national project in competition with larger firms.
The author believes that faith can triumph over adversity when pure reason can be of no help. Instead of preaching , it is better to tell a moral story , he says.
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My Views
The story is told simply, with a lot of dialogues and snatches of philosophy thrown in. The travails of job search and startup entrepreneurship for young people are well brought out. However, the copy editing and print layout will bear improvement.
Note– We received a review copy of the book from the author’s nephew.
