India's first Test series win in England in 1971 was epic and magical, with a resonance far beyond the scorecards. The cricket was riveting, with twists and turns right up to the last ball, and the excitement was garnished by a baby elephant parading the outfield of The Oval on the final day. The victory had immense significance for a country that had gained independence from Britain less than 25 years earlier and was tottering on the brink of a history-defining war. In the background were the British illusions of moral and cultural superiority even as decolonisation went through its final phase. The Indians often accepted these illusions as they struggled for the most basic necessities of life, battling against poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy. Thus, the victory provided a major equaliser for the national psyche. Elephant in the Stadium examines the many reasons for the myth and magic that still surround the triumph, including the complex historical relationship between Britain and India.

"The novel is racy and the language is simple. The writer brings to the reader the scents and smells of America. The writer's exuberant prose regarding Aikido made me think of learning it too." The Sunday Tribune. "The novelist deals with great sensitivity with the issues of 9/11, the loss of jobs ... disillusion with the corporate environment. There is a lot of enjoyable humour. The entire book is written in the second person, adding a touch of freshness to the narrative." The Journal of Commonwealth Literature. Sen is an unusual young statistician happy when delving into literature and the esoteric martial art of Aikido, and morose while doing his job of a consultant. Nevertheless, it is his job that lands him in Manhattan twice on business assignments, once on each side of 9/11. The story revolves around his undying passion for Aikido and semi-romantic relationship with the beautiful Allison set against a backdrop of issues and incidents that changed the course of history during a tumultuous three-year period punctuated by the World Trade Center mayhem and its far-reaching ripples. Seen through the eyes of a cynic and recounted with unconventional humour, it provides snapshots of all aspects of life - covering segments as diverse as outsourcing and martial arts, war and philosophy, international economics and corporate politics, chasm and similarities between the East and West, human emotions, love, truth, deceit and numerous other issues that define the chancy, unpredictable modern world. The novel deals with topics of weight and importance with an irreverence that is almost mocking, while dissecting the society and laying it bare, tipping more than its share of sacred cows ...

"Learn Tamil in Thirty Days"

"One Hundred and One ways of Getting Married"

"The Book of Indian Cookery"

Who would submit bills of these titles against a grant meant for big, fat, jargon-filled books on Software Technology?

But, then, Vikram Gupta is no run of the mill Software Professional.

Fresh out of college, highly qualified, in great shape and intelligent, he is employed by ACS, the biggest name in the Indian Software World. He is the archetypical image of a young man with a glorious future ahead of him.

Yet, he has his problems.

He loathes his job, abhors everything about Chennai and hates the guts of his reporting boss. And more importantly, he has the questionable gifts of eccentric logic, irreverence for authority and a macabre sense of humour, which more often than not, place him on sticky wicket.

As the year 2000 approaches, accompanied by the dreaded Y2K bug, ACS goes about its customary way of getting innumerable projects done dirt cheap by employing fresh graduates whom they can brow beat, bully and exploit. However, in Vikram Gupta, they run against something they have never encountered before.

Within the spic and span corridors of the multinational firm, Vikram discovers conspiracies that threaten to spell doom for the hordes of young people recruited by the company. And he pits his eccentric wits against the cold-blooded deviousness of entrepreneur-par-excellence S. Digambaram, the EVP of ACS Chennai. Somehow along the line, he also manages to fall in love. But, can a sole youth, even aided by cupid, succeed against a giant corporate?

What results is an uproarious rollercoaster ride encompassing the deepest secrets of the software world just before the turn of the century. The technological landscape of the software world is etched with numerous colourful characters from all walks of life.

"A most refreshing sense of humour."

-Shyamala Narayan