Book Review: Yuva India By Ray Titus

Book Review: Yuva India By Ray Titus

When I first picked the Yuva India by Ray Titus from the pile of books that was up for grab for mere two hundred rupees per kilogram at Daryaganj Sunday Book Market, I never realized that I would pick something highly relatable and insightful. At that point, I was only thinking of buying something good to read and make the visit count, as the market was partially closed, thanks to Gandhi Jayanti. So by quickly scanning through its index and one of its chapters, “Activism and Purpose: The Pursuit of Meaning”, I decided to go with the book.

Yuva India, simply saying, Young India who is somewhere between in his or her early twenties and late thirties. One who dresses with in vogue clothes trending in the international arena and also not shy away from sporting traditional kurta and pajamas at times, one who don’t go to temples, mosques or churches but believes in spirituality and supreme power, and one who is western by thoughts but still desi by heart. The book gives you the very insight of the young Indian mind. One who don’t want change for him or herself but also for the society.

Despite being a non-fiction, Ray has not bombarded the readers with mere numbers and monologues. Instead, he has used examples from real life, which you will find highly relatable, and at times, amusing and surprising. The substantial effort made by him to come up with this book is clearly visible with every single word you read.

The book is enjoyable but it forces you to consider things from a different perspective, the Yuva India perspective. As Ray puts it,

Yuva India is the present and the future. They will shape our today and tomorrows. That means institutions, individuals and even the nation will have to rethink and rearrange their operating designs to house and tap into the potential of Yuva India.

I think Yuva India is for anyone and everyone who wants to learn about the changing India. Moreover, it can be used a reference text by students and marketers alike, because of its detailed case studies and examples which discuss new Indian socio-dynamics.

Note: You will find a few factual errors in the data, for say, in Introduction, Table 3: Top 10 Popular Non-fiction Programmes, 2012 pg. XIX-XX, where Indian Idol 6 is listed as broadcasted by Colors, which in actuality was broadcasted by Sony TV India. And there are few other mistakes like that. Errors which in turn do not result of the author himself but the sources from where he fetched his data. I believe he will get rid of these errors in the second run.