A Lovely Review of 'The Men Within' by Arya Chibb

 I got the impression that Arya was a serious student of literature from the short conversation we had when we visited the home in Dharamshala a few years ago. Her father Suresh was our class topper when we studied Civil Engineering at Osmania University in the mid-80s and I was far removed from the likes of him, spending all my time in the canteen or the cricket fields. It was nice connecting with Suresh, and visiting him at his beautiful home in Dharamshala. I gave him a copy of 'The Men Within' and I remember telling Arya I'd love to hear her views on it.

Well, here's her review. And I loved the fact that she fully 'got' it, as I wrote it. Apart from reading literature and writing (I heard she wrote a book which I am keen to read), she is studying in her 12th class at Dharamshala, and aims to be an architect. 

Here's Arya's review then.

"Reading a cricket novel is like living the sports all over again. This book takes us through a journey of self-discovery, love, friendship, teamwork and dreams. The main characters or students integrate hard work and strong work ethic to bring back the lost pride of The Golconda School. In any society, mediocre people try to overpower the people with dreams. They dictate them to follow mob mentality and advise them to keep dreams buried deep inside their heart. If a person refuses to obey but goes on to achieve in a field that is often looked down upon by society, he faces criticism. This outlook of society has destroyed the careers of many students. As a result, they lost their spark.

This book also revolves around the same idea. After 15 years of a long time, a group of students in The Golconda School got the opportunity to change their lives, their parents and society's perspective with the help of their cricketing coach, Sampath.

Sampath, drunkard turned coach was a former student of the same school who was given the responsibility by the Principal S.Vishwanath to save his school from Kirit Das, a businessman who saw the school playground to be nothing more than an estate worth crores for IIT JEE or EAMCET coaching. All the students who decided to play for the Inter-School Cricket Championship underestimated their coach and took him lightly. Sampath struggled (yet never giving up) to make those students focus on their goal. In the end, the students agreed to teamwork. With Sampath, the team faced many ups and downs during their practice and also had to listen to demotivating criticisms from the people around them especially, from their Maths teacher and Vice-Principal Madhu who found pleasure in scaring the parents for the student's grades and in burdening the kids with their studies. From gaining the infamous name of ones who would disqualify in the first round of the Championship itself to winning the cup, the team worked extremely hard.

When students are ready, they find their coach. As a result, luck happens when their preparation meets opportunity. It is essential to gain a complete perspective, not only in academics but also in extra-curricular activities which helps them to understand and find the right balance which helps them in future. Unfortunately, physical education, art, music, dance are always overlooked as insignificant activities by most people. But all of these have their significance. They teach the young students to find their true purpose for which they desire to achieve perfection in this world.

It is high time when society must stop associating their social prestige and ego with the dreams of any person and allow them to embrace their passion because multiple roads can lead to success. The author has done a brilliant job to bring the qualities required to achieve in a field. One must work hard and work smart; develop proper base that involves concentration, consistency and the basics of critical thinking, strive to fix every single weakness, embrace authenticity and keep up the momentum to be successful.

Any person who wants to become better must read this book. This book has everything which makes you look inward and find out who you are."

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Thanks Arya. That was a very well-thought-out and well-written review. As the author of the book, I really enjoyed reading your views on it.