One-Eyed Men — Gopalakrishnan V

One-eyed Men is a sequel to the author's earlier novel, Dasaratha's Son, which dealt with Raghu's personal life. The current novel describes his rise and fall in the corporate world of opportunities, challenges and intrigues. From being the number two in a medium-sized plant in a small town, Raghu is catapulted to the position of the Corporate Planner in a Multinational. Soon, he is made the CEO of the largest manufacturing unit of the company in India. The trials and vicissitudes undergone by an honest and naive Raghu in the hands of unscrupulous politicians and self-seeking officials, to which he ultimately succumbs, form the rest of the story. The cultural shock of an orthodox Tamil Brahmin, with a traditional value system, while coming into contact with a 'dog-eat-dog' corporate world, is vividly illustrated in the novel. It also describes the typical rituals, beliefs, practices and procedures adopted in such companies and gives a bird's eye view of the functioning of the various arms of a large company, often working at cross purposes. The novel makes an interesting study of the qualities required to rise to the top in any organization and explores the paths of a few talented persons among the mediocre lot. Some eventually become kings while a few do get lynched on the way. Written in a forceful and racy style, full of wit and sarcasm, it shows the ultimate triumph of values over expediency. This is a work of fiction. Arasu Industries Limited, Tiruchi, Universal Power Products (India) Inc, New Delhi, Boilers and Pressure Vessels Limited, Shiva Nagar, Chennai and Shiva Nagar itself exist only in imagination. Names of a few public figures appearing in the novel and specific dates ascribed to some of the news items unconnected to the story are, however, real. If any character or incident or date gives the reader a feeling of deja-vu, then it speaks of the realism in the novel."