One Night @ the Call Centre is the second book written by Chetan Bhagat after Five Point Someone. The book is written based on a group of six call centre employees working at a call centre in Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
The book begins with a train journey from Kanpur to Delhi where the author meets a beautiful girl who promises to tell him a story on the condition that he will write it in his second book. At first, the writer seemed hesitant but later accepted his request.
One Night @ The Call Center revolves around six people, three men and three females to be precise, working in the same group in a call center named Connexions. Though distinctly different in all aspects, there was something that bound these folks together – their messed-up lives.
- Shyam Mehra (Sam Marcy) – The main protagonist, a simple boy, Priyanka’s ex-boyfriend and Vroom’s best friend. He is 26 years old and is perpetually afraid to propose to Priyanka for marriage. Due to Priyanka’s mother distrusting him, Priyanka and Shyam break up. He is always a slave to Bakshi.
- Priyanka Sinha – Shyam’s ex-girlfriend who he later reunites with. She was going to get married abroad to Ganesh, which made Shyam find it difficult to look her in the eyes.
- Varun Malhotra (Victor Meller), aka Vroom – He is a friend of Shyam Mehra and doesn’t like the call center. He is nicknamed Vroom because of his love for vehicles. He is 22 years old. He has a crush on Esha though he never admits it straight. He tries proposing to Esha but she rejects it because of his obsession with girls, pizza, and vehicles. His parents’ divorce made him depressed, though he doesn’t show his sadness as he hates sympathy. At the end of the book, Esha accepts a date with Vroom. He hates Bakshi and never volunteers to help Bakshi, unlike Shyam.
- Esha Singh (Eliza Singer) – An aspiring model. She always wears modern dresses and was voted as the prettiest girl by her office colleagues. She wants to be a model. She came to Chandigarh against her parents’ will. By the end of the book, she becomes a member of an NGO and accepts a date with Vroom. She is the role model of ambitious middle class youth who is running after a blind race of materialism.
- Radikha Jha (Regina Jones) – The only married lady in the group. She married her college boyfriend Anuj for love, living with his traditional family. Her mother-in-law hates her and always complains about her to Anuj which makes Anuj berate her, as he only trusts his mother. It is later revealed that Anuj is having an extra-marital affair and. So, Radhika divorces him and moves in with Esha.
- Military Uncle – Military Uncle, he is the only oldest man at the call center. He lives alone and is having some problems with his son and grandson, but in the end he realises his mistake and decides to apologise. Military Uncle works at the call center to earn a little money aside from the pension.
- Subhash Bakshi – Shyam’s, Priyanka’s, Esha’s, Vroom’s and Radhika’s boss. An idiot who is going to be transferred to Boston thus saving him from getting fired. He took credit for a website manual which was made by Shyam and Vroom.
- Shefali – Shyam’s second ex-girlfriend. Shyam wanted to move on from Priyanka and thus started dating Shefali. Shefali is a rather minor character.
After reading this book, we can learn and know about several things. For example, the importance of teamwork, perseverance and impact of technology on our lives, the importance of family and the power of real love.
One of the major themes of the book is the importance of perseverance. All the characters face various challenges and difficulties in their day-to-day life, but they never give up. They keep trying and eventually, things start to work out for them and also make their life easier.
We all face many obstacles in our career and daily life but if there is strong perseverance and consistency then nothing will seem like a real obstacle.
This book emphasises the importance of teamwork and its positive impact in achieving our goals. The characters learn to work together and support each other to overcome their personal challenges. It also reminds us to leave behind all the trifles of life and move forward.
The book also highlights the impact of technology on our lives, particularly the way it has changed the way we work and communicate. The characters work in a call center, which relies heavily on technology, and this has a significant impact on their lives and relationships.
Love is another important talkative part of this book. The characters experience various aspects of love and these help them overcome their challenges and find happiness in a relationship.
The characters mentioned in the book are relatable to Indian society.
The themes involve the anxieties and insecurities of the young Indian middle class, such as career, inadequacy, marriage, and family conflicts.
Overall this book is really amazing. To know more about the mentioned part, everyone should read this book. Like, a book is another thing that can replace our stress with happiness. If you are traveling via train, you should try this book.
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Writer
Tarin Alam Sorna
Intern, Content writing department
YSSE