Return to Jammu

Balan, growing up in the small cantonment towns of Ambala and Jammu in the 1960s, is the son of a junior army officer. His is a packed life, with tough schoolmasters, homework and games with playmates to keep him busy. And, above it all, is the strange species called adults, who have a curious understanding of life. The story follows Balan's struggles as he grows up and enrols at IIM Ahmedabad. He is certain one of his fellow students is his childhood friend. But she is not who he thinks she is - she says so herself. Balan, though, is not convinced and returns to a despoiled Jammu to find out the truth. Return to Jammu is a story of growing up, with its heartache of losing close friends and a childhood sweetheart, and eventually making one's way in the world. Warm, personal and deeply evocative of the early years of one's own as well as the life of a nation, much like R.K. Narayan's Swami and Friends, it reveals a new side to bestselling author V. Raghunathan.

Raghu is an academic, corporate executive, author, columnistand a hobbyist. He taught finance at IIM, Ahmedabad, for nearlytwo decades before turning a banker as the president of INGVysya Bank in Bengaluru. He is currently the CEO of GMRVaralakshmi Foundation. He is also an adjunct professor at theUniversity of Bocconi, Milan, Italy, and Schulich School ofBusiness, York University, Toronto, Canada.Raghu has probably the largest collection of antique locks inthe country, has played chess at all-India level, and was briefly acartoonist for a national daily. He has been writing extensivelyfor leading newspapers and magazines and currently blogs forthe Times of India. His books include Locks, Mahabharata andMathematics; Ganesha on the Dashboard; Corruption Conundrum;Don't Sprint the Marathon and Games Indians Play.Visit him online at www.vraghunathan.com.