To put simply, Five Point Someone is a
story of three friends, Ryan, Alok and Hari who land up in IIT, and don't give
it a damn. Yet, they have their own stories to narrate, their own experiences
to share and their own selves to discover. It is as much a story of their
transformation from Five Pointers (labels derived from their CGPA) to five
point someone, as it is about the lacunae in our education system.
The author warns at the very outset that it
is NOT a guide to survive your college days, but revolves around “what not to
do at IIT”. This is indeed one of the direst warnings, since the plot is
infused with a plethora of incidents that can put even the sassy and insolent
of us to chagrin and mortification.
Well, that also saves the author from being accused of writing a story,
whereby the acts of the protagonists hint at moral corruption time and again.
From a different perspective, this book is also an iconoclast in that it
reveals the dark side of studying at such prestigious institute as IIT, what
with the inherently high expectations, among other usual criticisms (about
mugging and cramming) made of the education system.
For a reader, there's enough to treat the
eyes, a senior who looks like a demon from cheap mythological TV shows, a
terrific troika of protagonists, drudgery of routine that makes fun conspicuous
by its absence, insipid food at the hotel mess, being reinvigorated to study
with dedication and commitment in the aftermath of a bad quiz performance, a
professor's daughter-turned-girlfriend of the narrator, a piece of advice for friend trying to play the
pacifier: if you just paraphrase everyone's arguments, you get to be the good
guy... you get the drift.
As far as the theme goes, the author seems
genuinely concerned about addressing the flaws of the education system when he remarks,”Where is the time for creativity? Where is the room for original
thought?” but the sad part is that eventually, even the passionate Ryan after
exhibiting much of his creativity in a project, ends up succumbing to the demand
of the curriculum to rote-memorize. The reader can only be thankful that he has at least abandoned all his strategies and shortcuts-to-success-formula!
No mention of this book is perhaps complete
without reference to its cinematic counterpart, the much loved film 3 idiots.
Even if you try to remain objective, one is forced to conclude that the movie
has outdone the book in ways more than one.
Well, I would say that I have tried a
couple of times to like Bhagat's fiction pieces, even to the extent of
ransacking them to find any meaning behind them. And I have failed this time
too, like always, now I have understood that the meaning behind the words
penned by him in his fiction is not hidden, but hideous. Still, in sharp
contrast I am in love with his non-fiction. Yet, if you are game for an
easy-to-read contemporary novel to add to your list, go ahead and get your
copy.
