Book Review: Once There Was Me by Bobby Sachdeva | Changing Perceptions

Book Review

Once There Was Me: The Extraordinary Life of an Unknown Indian by Bobby Sachdeva

Once There Was Me by Bobby Sachdeva

Author: Bobby Sachdeva

ISBN: 978-9389109559

Genre: Semi-autobiography (Fiction)

Length: 420 Pages

Publisher: PanMacmillan India (30^th June 2020)

My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/3kP7k0d

About the author: 

Bobby Sachdeva is a storyteller and a businessman based in Amritsar. While his profession and his circle of interaction marks him out as an outsider in literary circles, his radical views on religion, society and tradition make him stand out as an unconventional writer from among the non-literary common people. Several of his short stories are under consideration by media houses. He is currently producing short films based on these short stories in Punjabi and Hindi. Apart from 'Once There Was Me', he has a short story collection titled 'Stories of Us' to his name.

Bobby Sachdeva

Instagram: @ibobbysachdeva

Twitter: @iBobbySachdeva

Facebook: iBobbySachdeva

Check out my review of 'Stories of Us', a short story collection by the same author, here.

REVIEW

Summary

Once There Was Me by Bobby Sachdeva is a semi-autobiography sharing the candid-est account of the true events, long and short battles against disgraceful circumstances and some victorious and joyful moments that are entrenched in the author’s heart; narrated with a touch of fiction, it directs your attention to the more serious problems of the Indian society and exterminates the silly notions we are holding on to for so long unnecessarily; exposing the ruthless & corrupt institutions, leaders and con men, it brings us closer to the idea of rationalism; this truly extraordinary journey of a commoner will entertain you and more importantly, will help you as a mirror to this world.

***

Once There Was Me is obviously narrated in first-person POV by Bobby AKA Gurvinder Singh Sachdeva. The language is very simple and consistent throughout the book. The writing style is densely informative, evocative and funny at the moments. The events in the author’s life are portrayed chronologically, divided into plenty of chapters with appropriate titles.

***

The story starts with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. It gives you a closer look at the lives of Sikh people in Delhi at that time. What all it took for innocent people to survive. The mass murders, burning of the properties owned by Sikh people, sexual assault, lootings and acid attacks. This all brings back memories associated with one of the darkest times that India has witnessed, the partition 1947. Jasbir Singh, Bobby’s father recounts the horrors of the partition.

The author narrates his life before 31^st October, 1984; his school life in Delhi and Amritsar and the kind of treatment he received there; categorically for being a Sikh, financial crisis and the gentle Harbir (one of my most favorite chapters), his friend. After the riots, restoration of self-esteem becomes a prime necessity. Hence, Bobby gets influenced by the Sikh hardliners and believes that the extremist Sikh movement will bring back the dignity and identity of his community.

The mental conflicts begin when in his teenage years, Bobby notices that the caste system is prevalent in every community including his own but he also knows that Sikh gurus always preached oneness and love for all. The author send across this profound message that the true meaning of any religion can only be attained by learning its history and origins.

The perceptions change and the hatred offered by the preachers and the separatists find no space in the author’s heart anymore. On the other hand, militancy is at its peak in Punjab and has made it very difficult for businesses. And to top everyone’s miseries, politicians decide NOT to end this violence. Divisive politics is nothing new to India; it has been in practice since British Raj and quite recently we have seen the repercussions that how commoners, especially the poor ones fall prey to this filthy politics and the fight between two ideologies (mostly the religious polarization).

Bribery

We may cry at the top of our voices that corruption needs to end but somewhere deep down we all know the reality. Currently, we often see the media exposing government officials, police and so on, but is that all? Sometimes, people (especially the ones who can afford it) feel the need to get things done via such means because they don’t find it feasible to abide by the rules. As the author encourages you to ask questions, why is it like that? What about the people belonging to the lower socioeconomic classes? Apart from bribery, what about the big scandals of rich people? We know enough causes and consequences of the corruption to start contributing towards the lower Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

The American Episode

Here, Bobby has narrated his journey to the US quite elaborately. America might seem to be more acceptable, but even there discrimination existed on the basis of race. Although, on the other hand, people are treated more equally at the workplace irrespective of their role. The author frequently compares and highlights the major differences between the US and India and their citizens based on his experiences, which help us determine what are our collective strengths and weaknesses as being Indians.

Unethical Medical Practices

This one is a very important subject that the author has addressed. As there are always some defaulters in every profession, medicine is not an exception. There are a lot such doctors who run their hospitals just for money and patients’ health is their last concern. They hide the real situation and keep hoarding money until you run out of cash. This is scary enough that you won’t want to trust doctors so easily. As we are in the middle of this pandemic, several cases have surfaced where the reports were manipulated so that they can loot and mentally torture the families to death, just because they’ve got enough money to pay the bills? Just imagine what all could be going on right now as you read this, how many lives would be lost by now unnecessarily?

Obviously, all doctors are not the same. It’s just a few greedy people who are generally evil-minded. I totally respect all the Covid-19 frontliners who at the risk of their lives, are working hard and fighting against all odds. And I would request you all that don’t add to their difficulties. Stay Safe.

Fraudulent Godmen

Last but not least. I completely agree with the author when he says ‘Where there’s money, there’s a Guru.’ We all are aware of these types of fake babas who have accumulated a large sum of money over the span of a few years, who have neither done well to their followers nor the underprivileged. The author proposes that this excess money should be used for the country’s development. However, there’s another concern that the leaders to whom they help create vote banks; how to trust them with this money?

***

Bobby Sachdeva has successfully sent across the message. All the above-mentioned issues badly impacted the author’s life, but he never gave up. The book comprises a lot of intimidating details (including financial details), which makes you think why are we not getting taught this in academics. The book has the potential to initiate discussions on numerous social issues. I would recommend this book to every Indian, for it will change your perceptions. This book really brings about a good change and encourages you to ask questions, which is the most important take away from the book. Besides, it’s too adventurous to miss out on.

PS: All 'the author' and 'his life' pointers in the above article represent the fictional character and events.

Happy Reading!

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