Dare to Live!-Himanshu Bhatia

Book: Dare to Live!
Author: Himanshu Bhatia
Publisher: Self Published

What would you choose: Dream job with a bad boss, or an average job with a great boss?

Dare to Live! By Himanshu Bhatia is the story of Atharva Arora, an IIT-IIM graduate who has had a dream work life until he takes up an assignment with Mandira, a boss who is a difficult, bordering on insane boss. As Atharva tries to make peace with his situation, manage the never-ending workload and his commute through 2 states from Mayur Vihar to Gurgaon, Mandira keeps finding new ways to demean him and break his confidence. While Atharva is grappling with this virus of a boss, another virus strikes the world and brings the world to a virtual stop. The book is a sarcastic, humor-laden, and dramatic story of a corporate employee.

Dare to Live! is a story that would be relatable to anyone who has worked in the corporate sector. The plot is simple and moves in a linear manner that builds up the idea of how the work environment around Atharv changes. The storytelling is very engaging and through the eyes of the characters we see how things  deteriorate at the workplace. The concept has been very well explored and at no point do the things seem exaggerated or over the top. Taking up multiple instances of Atharv’s life, the author has shown how a boss can impact a person’s life. The language is simple and Himanshu has used Hindi at places to emphasize the emotions which couldn’t have come out so eloquently in English. The monologue was one of my favorite parts and I was truly surprised to get a QR with the audio narration at the last page, elevating the overall experience of the book. Another aspect of the book that I loved was the fact is  Atharv’s resilience and how he tackles the issue. Atharv is almost made up of the two types of corporate employees-the silent type and the reactive type. The transition from the former to the latter is interesting to see and the climax of the story was crafty, and I would certainly not wish that upon the worst of bosses. The climax closes the story beautifully and almost has shades of poetic justice.

Coming to the characters, Atharv is a superbly crafted relatable character, one which brings out the idea of a corporate employee to the T. Shown to be a patient and a dedicated person, the self-talk shows the reader his true feelings as he maintains a stoic face for the world. His character arc is crafted in an interesting manner, and I loved his transformation from the patient person to the person who could craft something like the climax. Mandira is a character who can at best be compared to a supervillain in a superhero movie and Himanshu has taken all the traits that make a bad boss and put them all into Mandira. One person without whose mention the discussion would remain incomplete is Gauri. She was the one who shows the reader the other side of the story and how the nature of the workplace impacts a person’s family and work-life balance. Overall, the characters are relatable and seem to be drawn from real-life.

In a nutshell, the book is an interesting commentary on the corporate work culture that has developed in our country. Through satire, humor, and sarcasm, Himanshu brings to light the impact a boss can have on a person’s life. Also, a special mention to the ample amount of the pop culture references spread throughout the book.

A definite recommendation from my end which scores a 4.81/5.

Grab a copy of the book here.