Startup Secrets from the Ramayana-Prachi Garg

Book: Startup Secrets from the Ramayana

Author: Prachi Garg

Publisher: Srishti Publications

The epics are not just a treasure trove of stories but contain some very interesting metaphors as well. Each of the stories from the epic is a lesson in management, if looked at from that perspective.

Startup Secrets from the Ramayana by Prachi Garg is the story of Ram, a next door, go-to guy for advice on business administration. A gold medalist from a premier management institute in the country, he was the person who was approached if anyone had a business-related query in Ayodhya. He had loyal customers, brand value, trust and everything was going on smoothly until his ambitions and simple nature caused people close to him to betray him. The story is how he picks himself up from the ashes and rebuilds his business empire in a span of 14 years and the tools and techniques that he uses to do so.

Startup Secrets from the Ramayana by Prachi Garg takes up the storyline of Ramayana and places it in the current context to extricate the concepts of business management from the tale. The empire becomes a business, kidnapping of Sita becomes an espionage plot and the 14-year vanvaas is the setting up of a co-working space. The transformation of the storyline is amazing. Prachi has created a life-like world where you can imagine the events as they take place. The learnings at the end of each chapter are very apt and are a true essence of the basic concept of this book. The various parallels to the epic and this story are very aptly placed and created. I specially loved the one where she recreates Hanuman bringing the Sanjivani booti part of the epic. The flow of the story is gripping, and the climax has been created with the same zeal.

Talking about the characterization, the book is based on the characters of the Ramayana and Prachi has retained the basic essence and the names as is. The modern interpretation of the characters is beautifully done. Be it the law-abiding Ram or the hot-headed Lakshman, she has created them in line with the requirements of the plot and none of them seem out of place. The character of Hanuman as an intern is one of my favorites and the way it has been done is spectacular. A special mention to the way in which the author has used the 9 names of Goddess Durga towards the end of the story.

Overall, a definite recommendation to everyone who in some way or the other is a part of the corporate jungle. It has something for everybody.

The book scores a 4.25/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book here.