The First Trillionaire - Book Review

The First Trillionaire
By Sapna Jha (Translated by Alok Jha)
Review By Ila Garg

The First Trillionaire, a novel by Sapna Jha (translated by Alok Jha), is published by AuthorsUpFront Publishers. The cover is so apt which shows a girl with determined and ambitious eyes. The cover also has the new 2000 INR currency notes, which is what catches the most attention. With such an interesting cover, I was sure it would not disappoint me.

Sapna Jha’s ordinary nature as a woman comes packaged with extraordinary passion for quality writing, beauty, fashion, yoga, gym and strolls. She also nurtures insatiable passion for scrapbooking for the little ones. With a staunch belief in kindling hope to the world, she highly believes it to be the best healer. She also believes that one’s happiness can only be found from within and that its pursuit is worth. More interestingly, the translator Mr Alok Jha (Author’s husband) holds various top positions in banking services. However, we can says that The First Trillionaire is a novel from Banker’s family.

The blurb reads as, “Shail, an ordinary village girl joins a government bank where she gets exposed to the glitterati of the world. It is at this point that she starts nurturing her dreams of becoming a trillionaire.
Her quest for success begins on social media where she meets Olivia who is a nonagenarian British multibillionaire. Olivia is facing succession problems in her vast empire; to add to her woes she is challenged by Kran an unconventional scientist who is a major shareholder in Olivia's US business. Kran diverts Olivia's US business funds into his futuristic endeavours and coerce Olivia to divert her Asian and European business funds to his company, 'Near Earth Miners and Space Voyagers'. Back in India, Shail sternly refuses to conform to Bachcha Singh's suspicious financial transaction in the bank branch the bank branch where Shail works.
This subsequently leads to her eventual kidnapping. During this ordeal, Bachcha Singh, Bachcha Singh notes her captive's high association with Olivia. Due to his perceived inability to handle the kidnapping, he transfers Shail to Musa Khan who is India's most wanted fugitive. Kidnapped Shail is kept in wretched conditions for several days in a river island in Eastern India and thereafter transferred to the western coast for further transfer abroad; Shail's condition deteriorates.
High on optimism of her freedom, Shail firmly believes that hope heals.”

This is the story about a dignified lady, Vanashree who lost her father long ago. She also ends up losing her husband just after a day of their marriage. As destiny would have it, she is blessed with a daughter, Shailputri. Of course, she faces a lot of criticism and challenges as people speculate the daughter to be outside the wedlock and thus, give her a lot of names and shame her in the name of extra-marital affairs. In her heart, she knows she hasn’t done anything wrong.

But the constant opinions from people make her life and her daughter’s life terrible. She is tested at every stage. But the daughter of this strong lady remains undeterred and faces the challenges head on. With an unshattered determination, she figures out her future; and decides to be in one of the top occupations to be super-successful. But would it be so easy?

The lucidity of the story is commendable. The language is kept simple and easy to comprehend for the readers. I personally found it quite an engaging read. The twists and turns at the right places add to the drama. I especially liked how the story began with the kidnapping of Shailputri and asking for a large ransom amount from her mother. The plot thus, has an amalgamation of love, tragedy, crime, determination and business tactics.

Who is Vanashree, who is Shailputri Singh Rathore, how is she rescued from the kidnappers, who is Bachcha Singh and why he troubles Shailputri, what happens with Shailputri at the East India Bank, is she able to get out of it, who is Olivia, what is Shailputri’s hidden identity that is revealed in course of the story, how is Olivia connected to it all, what parts do Facebook, Vanashree, and her relatives play in her life as it unfolds, how is crime and business intermingled, how Shailputri finally emerges and deals with all this are some of the many reasons why you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens in The First Trillionaire.

This 297-page book is a gripping tale, especially during travel it can be a good companion. I wish Sapna Jha all the best for his future endeavours.

Ratings: 4/5

Buying Link: Amazon