Should journalists write books? Many of them think they should not because they are trained to think in short bursts of about 800 words. That limits them somewhat for long-form writing. They are more like the 100 metre sprinters who can’t compete with marathon runners.

There is another problem. The act of writing a book is to establish yourself, even if only implicitly, as some sort of intellectual; a person who is more than, if I may say so, a “mere” journalist. It is also a way of telling other journalists, “Look, I am better than you.”

But no matter how scholarly a book by a journalist is, the academic profession never accepts it as a work of authority. Nor indeed does much of the rest of the world, including journalists who simply scoff.

But Tamal Bandyopadhyay, who has emerged as an acute observer of the Indian banking scene, has managed to dispel both these reservations in this unfussy book. He has converted journalistic weakness into strength and told the story of the HDFC bank in a manner that only a truly accomplished reporter can — in fascinating, rather than mindless, detail.

The method he has used is the time-tested one of journalists. He has spoken to scores of people who were connected with the bank and stitched together a fast, sharp read that sketches the birth and growth of HDFC bank.

He has reported the conversations, recollections and anecdotes of the main dramatis personae surrounding important events in the life of the bank in a simple and engaging manner.

Above all, he has provided journalists with a new technique. Refusing to be drawn into the normal technique of book-writing — long sentences, long paragraphs and discursive opinions — he has stuck to the column format. The sections are short and to the point.

Though purists will disagree, the format works, especially in this age of short takes on your tablet or mobile. I think I might try it, too.

The book is full of what actually happened, narrated by the main actors. Such as how Deepak Satwalekar, the managing director of HDFC, didn’t want the bank to carry the name HDFC. He was overruled. Or how Infosys never managed to sell its wares to HDFC, and how HDFC never got the Infy account. Or the inside story of the takeover of Times Bank, one of the important failed ventures of the Times of India Group. And so on.

This makes for a great read on a short trip — two hours and you are up to speed on HDFC Bank, India’s best bank according to the book.

Who can ask for more?

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