The Indian Soldier-Sushant Saini

Book: The Indian Soldier

Author: Sushant Saini

Publisher: Jufic Books (Leadstart Publishing)

Some moments in life are ones that can change your life overnight. Be it a college choice, or maybe making a friend, each of these decisions is a brick that joins together to make our life.

The Indian Soldier by Sushant Saini is the story of Arjun, a young boy who wants to become a soldier. He faces a fork in the road, when he clears his IIT entrance examination, as well as his NDA testing. He is rescued from his dilemma by his family who help him to pursue his dream. While at NDA, he suffers initial setbacks that make him reconsider his choices, but he perseveres on. Also, NDA, he makes 3 friends which become his lifelong partners-in-crime. With his expertise, he is inducted into Team A, a covert and lethal team in the Indian Army. He is an exceptional soldier and carries out some very covert and dangerous missions, always emerging victor. A terrorist attack one day changes his viewpoint on life completely. Disgusted by what was happening and the way things were being handled, he decides to leave the country, but a situation comes up. An airplane carrying over 200 passengers is hijacked, and he is the only one to save them, but will he put himself at risk to carry out this mission?

The Indian Soldier by Sushant Saini is a wonderfully crafted story of a patriotic boy, turning into a man and being tested at life at various junctures. The book basically chronicles the journey of this man as he follows duty without expecting anything in return. The incident that changes his outlook is very vividly described and the way that is projected onto Arjun is really appreciable. The author has penned a very contemporary story that can be seen with respect to a lot of happenings that we see around us. More importantly, it shows us a fresh perspective that can be applied to what is happening across the world today. There are some references in the book that can be drawn as parallels and I loved the way they are written. The storytelling is very engaging and may force the reader to binge read.

Talking about the characters, Sushant has created some very relatable characters. The character of Arjun is a quintessential boy of the millennium, who is very clear in his goals. The character arc of Arjun as a boy, as an NDA cadet, a soldier and a covert operative, we see various shades of his life come to the fore. His dilemmas, fears and questions are very relatable and can be connected to what we think in our lives. The other characters, specially Arjun’s friends, are crafted in a nice manner who complement his personality. I specially love the character of Arjun’s Grandmother and the way she is a positive influence on his life.

A wonderful read, it scores a 4.63 on my scale.

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