Just put down my very own copy of Somnath Batabyal's magnum opus "The Price You Pay" and must surely say that it not only invigorated my mind, sent my pulse racing, caused me a sleepless night but did a lot more besides..........
An ambitious and conscientious rookie reporter, a veteran news editor with a dark, sinister and conscience curdling secret, a trigger happy senior policeman who loves bragging about his so called conquests and encounters, and last but not the least a sensational kidnapping that threatens to tear the entire country asunder.........
"The Price You Pay", is the story of Delhi told through the eyes, hearts and souls of the journalists who frame it and add substance to it, the policemen who supposedly protect and nurture it and last but not the least; the so called outsiders who want to lay siege to the city and claim it as their very own...........
Rookie reporter Abhishek Dutta of both Kolkata as well as Benares fame joins the Express as a trainee journalist/intern little knowing or suspecting how his lstaid, mundane and orderly life is going to take a complete somersault as well as 360 degree turn..........
Initially assigned to the crime beat at his own behest by the crusty veteran (chief reporter) Amir Akhtar.; Abhishek encounters or rather stumbles across a motley crew of characters: DCP Uday Kumar, the self styled "DIrty Harry" of the Delhi Police, ACP Crime Branch Mayank Sharma who goes on to become a close friend, confidante, soul mate and confessor...........
Samir Saxena channel head of News Today as well as the country's numero uno news anchor, who mentors and facilitates Abhishek's move from print to electronic journalism and last but not the least, Babloo Shankar, a dreaded and feared gangster who runs the Delhi mafia from his abode in Singapore..........
Riding his beginner's luck with gay abandon, Abhishek begins unearthing one sensational scoop after the other and soon stumbles upon the irresolute fact that in the dog-eat-dog world of crime and politics there are neither permanent friends or foes but only resources that you cultivate and discard depending on their expediency and your desired end..........
Abhishek soon discovers that it is every man for himself and that he can depend on none other than his heart and head to extricate himself from precarious situations and circumstances that threaten to drag him under or then engulf him principles, beliefs et all.........
With a plot that twists and turns likes Old Delhi's notorious and infamous Gallis; Somnath Batabyal's debut novel carries you into the dark and sinister underbelly of India; a world where common lives are mere pawns in deadly and self serving power games where corruption and a rotten system lie at it's very core........
Priced at a rather steep Rs. 350/- and published in India by Harper Collins Publishers, this crackling read is available at a whopping 30% discount off it's cover price on Flipkart.com so do go ahead and lay your hands on the same without any further ado on what is arguably the debut novel of the year.........
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Somnath Batabyal spent a decade and more being a journalist and creditably covering crime and criminality, hobnobbing with both politicians as well as crooks and policemen.........
Somnath currently resides in London and teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies; "The Price You Pay" is his first novel..........
An ambitious and conscientious rookie reporter, a veteran news editor with a dark, sinister and conscience curdling secret, a trigger happy senior policeman who loves bragging about his so called conquests and encounters, and last but not the least a sensational kidnapping that threatens to tear the entire country asunder.........
"The Price You Pay", is the story of Delhi told through the eyes, hearts and souls of the journalists who frame it and add substance to it, the policemen who supposedly protect and nurture it and last but not the least; the so called outsiders who want to lay siege to the city and claim it as their very own...........
Rookie reporter Abhishek Dutta of both Kolkata as well as Benares fame joins the Express as a trainee journalist/intern little knowing or suspecting how his lstaid, mundane and orderly life is going to take a complete somersault as well as 360 degree turn..........
Initially assigned to the crime beat at his own behest by the crusty veteran (chief reporter) Amir Akhtar.; Abhishek encounters or rather stumbles across a motley crew of characters: DCP Uday Kumar, the self styled "DIrty Harry" of the Delhi Police, ACP Crime Branch Mayank Sharma who goes on to become a close friend, confidante, soul mate and confessor...........
Samir Saxena channel head of News Today as well as the country's numero uno news anchor, who mentors and facilitates Abhishek's move from print to electronic journalism and last but not the least, Babloo Shankar, a dreaded and feared gangster who runs the Delhi mafia from his abode in Singapore..........
Riding his beginner's luck with gay abandon, Abhishek begins unearthing one sensational scoop after the other and soon stumbles upon the irresolute fact that in the dog-eat-dog world of crime and politics there are neither permanent friends or foes but only resources that you cultivate and discard depending on their expediency and your desired end..........
Abhishek soon discovers that it is every man for himself and that he can depend on none other than his heart and head to extricate himself from precarious situations and circumstances that threaten to drag him under or then engulf him principles, beliefs et all.........
With a plot that twists and turns likes Old Delhi's notorious and infamous Gallis; Somnath Batabyal's debut novel carries you into the dark and sinister underbelly of India; a world where common lives are mere pawns in deadly and self serving power games where corruption and a rotten system lie at it's very core........
Priced at a rather steep Rs. 350/- and published in India by Harper Collins Publishers, this crackling read is available at a whopping 30% discount off it's cover price on Flipkart.com so do go ahead and lay your hands on the same without any further ado on what is arguably the debut novel of the year.........
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Somnath Batabyal spent a decade and more being a journalist and creditably covering crime and criminality, hobnobbing with both politicians as well as crooks and policemen.........
Somnath currently resides in London and teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies; "The Price You Pay" is his first novel..........
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