A Rear-View Perspective on Work and Life

‘In our efforts to make sense of the present, it is instructive to look at the past… In a book about work, it is useful to understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts and the driving forces that shaped the world of work we see today… In other words, to understand our work and life, we need a rear-view perspective on the last seven decades since Independence’ (p. 259). And that is what YV Reddy’s compilation of 31 essays (aided by Ravi Menon, Shaji Vikraman and Kavi Yaga) provides readers. The latter are treated to a delectable fare by a range of eminent persons whose essays are divided into six parts covering multi-faceted themes such as: Public Life, Private Sector, Public Policy, Banking, Media and Academia. Reddy cautions readers against considering these authors and their essays as being representative of the themes under which they have been categorized. ‘The contributors were chosen at random, mostly from my professional circles, and are mainly from the fields of banking, public policy, journalism, the private sector, and academia’ (p. xix). For obvious reasons this review cannot discuss individual essays but will attempt to highlight the salient observations of each of the themes.