Married But Available – The Synopsis

Married But Available is the second novel by Abhijit Bhaduri.

His first novel Mediocre But Arrogant - a story of love and life in a Business School shot to the best sellers list within a day of its release and continues to be in the news for its witty and realistic portrayal of life in a B-School in India. The book continues to be popular among students and especially appeals to those who have ever lived in a college hostel. Abbey is an unambitious and directionless student who leaves his happy-go-lucky days at Delhi University to join the prestigious Management Institute of Jamshedpur leaving behind his friends like Priya and Kapil. At MIJ he meets has Professors like Chatto and Haathi; friends like Arunesh Nanda who plays Bob Dylan songs on the guitar, Pappu his roomie who sleeps through the better part of his life, Ayesha the hottie at MIJ who is every male’s fantasy and Keya who breezes in and out of his life leaving more questions than answers. Rascal Rusty coaches Abbey and gives him tips on how to handle interviewing for jobs and eventually much to his relief Abbey gets a job with Balwanpur Industries.

Married But Available follows the life of the protagonist Abbey through the first ten years of his life as a Human Resources professional. The first ten years are arguably the most action packed years of one’s life when most people get raises, get their promotions or change jobs, some get married, have kids, get divorced, fall in love and out of it and confront existential dilemmas. This novel looks at the first ten years of Abbey’s professional life after his MBA. He lives and works in the small township of Balwanpur somewhere in north India. Abbey joins Balwanpur Industries as the first MBA from a premier Business School and a lot of hopes are built around him. There are many who are watching every move of his. Abbey does not know this and probably does not care. Some ghosts from the past just don’t seem to go away and he is more worried about tying up the loose ends of his own world. Meanwhile the quiet life at Balwanpur is going to change forever. Abbey faces dilemmas that every HR person faces – to balance his personal relations with the demands of the role. According to his sister Asmita (ass for short) his personal life makes him an MBA … umm… make that Married But Available.

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1. Married But Available in the News After the Media Launch of Married But Available at City Select Mall in Saket, New Delhi the next city was Kolkata. My first novel Mediocre But Arrogant was launched on 3rd August 2005 at the Oxfordbookstore, Kolkata. This time it was at the Crossword on Elgin Road, Kolkata. Loved the store for its great layout. Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee, the actor read out excerpts from the book. He read out excerpts that made people really senti. The book should be reaching all the bookstores in India by 10th October 2008....
2. Married But Available – Launched by ?? Eventually it all fell into place. The evolution of the Word document into typeset pages was beautiful feeling. It was like getting a sneak preview of the future. Until the very end, my editor Karthika and I, argued over the rationale of phrases and the “authenticity of voice” of characters. Look, I wanted to show off about the last bit myself having learnt about it recently. The book was typed and printed and bound and ready to be launched. The [...]...
3. Married But Available and The Hindu And so, Bhaduri’s hero, Abbey passes out of IIM, Jamshedpur, gets into Balwanpur Industries, works at the township, chafes at the fishbowl existence he has to live there out of necessity, marries, gets estranged from, romances a woman or two, and slowly climbs up the corporate ladder. There is no discernible line of wit in the book; at best it is a collection of puerile jokes; the IIM gang comprises the usual suspects; the career climb is predictable, the women all coalesce into one another, come and go without leaving much impact. So what is the leavening factor in this ‘MBA’, a tenuous title at best? It’s lessons learned on the job which Abbey/Bhaduri imparts in a chatty tone that loses no relevance in the telling. Human Resource/Human Capital Practice/Personnel Management, whatever the term du jour is, it’s a fast moving track, creative and exciting, a track where you think as you run. To that extent, Bhaduri’s case histories with their solutions, make for interesting reading. The way Abbey handles the enforced VRS scheme initiated by the MNC that takes over Balwanpur Industries, is both informative and entertaining....