‘Rat Race’ by Mamta Kalia: When the hamster-on-wheel corporate life turns into a battlefield

Mamta Kalia’s novella Daud first came out in Hindi in the year 2000. Translated by Jerry Pinto as Rat Race, the book maintains its freshness and relevance two and a haf decades later. Set at the turn of the century, this slim book covers themes such as the ambition of a new generation and the price that is paid, including migration and the complicated idea of home.

Work as a battlefield

The protagonist, Pawan Pande, has moved from Allahabad to Ahmedabad, first for his MBA and then for a job in the corporate world. We first meet Pawan as he enters his office and reaches his cabin during a power cut. In the darkness, everything in his cabin seems inert and dead. This inertness becomes symbolic of the life that Pawan has been leading – filled with hustle and bustle on the outside, but empty and unfulfilling on the inside, always nudging him to look for something more, something better.

As the story progresses, we witness firsthand Pawan’s ambitions and insecurities, which are also mirrored in those of his friends and co-workers. This is mainly because for Pawan and his generation, a job has become something more than a means of livelihood. It is the sole point of existence,...

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