The corporate world is an exact iteration of the forest. Many are out to pull you down; you have to fend for yourself, keep your eyes and ears open at all times and things are never served to you on a platter. Nishant Kaushik’s book Chaos Down Under gives you an idea of how to manoeuver yourself through this labyrinth to get to the top. (Well, almost!)

Chaos Down Under is the second book in the Chaos trilogy. It’s a stand alone book, which can be picked up from the store without prior knowledge of the prequel.

Characters

The central character is Nakul Kapoor. A young promising employee of Bytesphere (an IT consultancy firm), he has sharp looks and is in perfect shape (if oval is counted as a shape!). Nakul’s boss, Chirayu, is portrayed as a snake of a  human being, with momentary lapses of goodness. Now, the lady love – Nakul is in love with Mehek. Yes, love. 3 years of unrequited, impassioned love-everything-about-you love. Why, you ask? The author describes her as nothing short of a Greek goddess in Nakul’s eyes.

Other characters include the bad guy (every story needs a bad guy!), Sameer. The supporting characters are Radha, Dharmesh and Akshat. Radha is a coy and bored employee of Bytesphere, whereas Akshat is a loud, Punjabi, papa’s boy. Dharmesh is a reticent, hiding-behind-big-soda-glasses, dhokla-eating Gujrati. As these diverse characters interact, the results are thoroughly risible.

Storyline

After having won the prestigious Young Achiever’s Award, Nakul Kapoor has another daunting task on his hands. This underappreciated and underrecognised chap takes on this task, not knowing that it will spiral out of control. He has to introduce, pitch and win over a very important Australian client, whose account could put the fast-depreciating Bytesphere back on the map, while simultaneously preventing their competitor, Lex technologies, from taking over the account. He assembles a team of 5 other people – Mehek, Dharmesh, Radha, Akshat and Sameer to assist him with the job. Their histrionics, goof-ups and the ‘jugaad’ to solve the problems are nothing short of a miracle.

Setting

The first half of the book is set in the by-lanes of Mumbai. Between the sweltering heat and the indifferent office at Bytesphere, Nakul continues to pursue Mehek and grabs every opportunity to spend some time with her. The latter half is set in Australia, as the team flies (Nakul’s happiness knows no bounds here) to Australia to assemble and attempt to win over the client.

Comic Timing

The author has displayed an impeccable comic stance in this book. The absurdity of certain characters in a different setting makes you crack up with genuine laughter.

The boss in Australia, Jerry, is a source of great mirth because he rides a horse to work, which gives Nakul quite a lot of trouble. There are also times when you feel like diving into the book and retrieving Nakul from the unbelievably funny and tricky situations he has a knack to get himself into.

Read this book for the funny moments, you won’t regret it.

Although Chaos Down Under can disappear under the thousands of books written by Indian authors about the corporate world, it stands out because of its humour. It’s the comic relief that saves the otherwise drab and prosaic story from being pushed to the been-there-read-that pile.

And if you’re a follower of the Chaos trilogy, you will definitely appreciate it.

Check out Nishant Kaushik aka chaosparticle’s tweets too!