A funny quick read from a first time author

THE BOOK POSITIVELY squeaks with enthusiasm for Alma Mater, the million-dollar company that (now an author) Varun Agarwal co-founded with his buddy Rohn ‘Mal’ Malhotra (Rohn, we are told, believes in numerology seriously enough to drop an ‘a’ from his name). At the end of the day, How I... is more about Alma Mater than it is about Agarwal. It is an honest book, has a really long title and is a breezy read (should not take you more than three hours). Because Agarwal plays it safe and dismisses his own capacity as a writer (“You see, there IS no inner Hemingway in me!”) right at the beginning, he robs his reader of the power to judge his style. Which is a pity— because the style or the sheer lack of it is refreshing. Reading How I... is like reading a diary. Agarwal is a very young man (guy) and writes like one—inconsistently. He comes across as thoughtful, brash, hyperactive, lazy, needy and independent, all at the same time. For the ‘older readers’ flipping through the pages of How I... could be exasperating, especially the presence of different fonts on every page plus the italicisation. The disparate fonts highlight voices—spoken by Agarwal, or other people or by the little green men in his head, and random comments to ease your way through the eating and drinking scene of Bengaluru (the writer loves a bit of grub and booze). Technically footnotes should appear at a page’s end. Here, they are peppered all over. Just because. If there is a milder literary equivalent of trolling, this book could be it. His own story is passionately told by the writer. We could merit him as a better storyteller than he is a writer. Of all the chapters, Down Memory Lane was quite the adult one where he inadvertently provides an insight into his personality. Otherwise, Agarwal reminds one of the smart, privileged twenty-somethings you see on Delhi roads. Obviously Agarwal is that guy. But he is also that guy who fought fate, his mother, her best friend and all odds to start a million-dollar company. Alcohol is not called liquid courage for nothing, and everyone dreams big in a bar. Agarwal’s that guy who actually did something about his dream, despite a hangover. It is this point that makes How I... stand out. It is inspirational and speaks the language of the youth. Before you dismiss it for its inconsistent editing, language and space troubles, read its core point of how a boy braves parental and societal pressures to think out-of-the-box.