Pyramid of Virgin Dreams

It all begins with the bumpy Jonga ride in the woods-his childhood illegal poaching expedition under the patronage of a band of idle cops, to bring in a full partridge and half-a-blackbuck to conjure up the dinner for his father’s boss. That day, eight-year-old Kartikeya Kukreja solemnly swears that one day he too would be revered as ‘IAS’.

Kartikeya eventually discovers the secret of his father’s fawning subordinates’ wriggling their way up the pyramid. When it is his turn, Kartikeya himself experiences a similar hilarious predicament. Idiotically, he sees time rush by through a lifetime spent in inanities, and all but feels like the redundant antique table that moves out with him on his every transfer!

Pyramid of Virgin Dreams is a refreshingly original rendition of the slippery life in the bureaucracy. The book is spunky and replete with comical imageries drawn from a farcical, albeit hopeful India.