Book Review of ‘Ramayana - The Game of Life : The
Shattered Dreams’
Author : Shubha Vilas
Publisher – Jaico
Publishing House
Genre – History/
Mythology
One sentence for the
book
The
author tries to narrate and portray the Ayodhaya scene and beyond revolving
around Rama’s exile, and moves on to connect the centuries-old tales to the
modern day relationships.
About the Author
Shubha Vilas, a spiritual seeker and a motivational speaker,
holds a degree in engineering and law with specialization in Patent Law. His
leadership seminars are popular with top-level management in corporate houses.
He also helps individuals deal with modern-life situations by applying the
teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana and other dharmic traditions.
Author’s Writing Style
I
have not read Shubha Vilas earlier, but this book’s narratives were not what I
will really forward for in my next book.
The Title and Book
Cover
The
book cover is eye catching and shows Rama sleeping with a troubled yet so
soothing expression. The chariot with Dashratha is shown in the background, but
with a donkey in place of horse driving the chariot. Based on the historical
facts, one can indeed guess what it can expect out of the story.
The
title indeed is interesting and already being aware of the Ramayana story, it
surely helped me connect with the book even before I read it.
About the Book
This
one is the sequel to the national bestseller, Rise of the Sun Prince, in the
new spiritual and motivational series - Ramayana - The Game of Life. Even
though I have not read Part 1, yet I was able to catch on with the sequel and
there were hardly any missing gaps. The story captured in this part is the time
after Rama’s marriage with Sita, Dashratha’s tough decision to send Rama on
exile and the time thereafter. However, a particular thing which I really liked
about the book was the way Keikeyi and Bharatha have been portrayed. Keikeyi is
often considered to be the bad queen but Rama has been portrayed to be the
loved one for her as well apart from for the whole kingdom.
The
way practicalities of life have been threaded along with the story of Ramayana
is what stands out to be the best part of the book. There is lot to learn in
the book, provided you are ready to willing to.
Thumbs Up
While the history is very much
known to us, what I really liked about the book was the words of wisdom in the
footnotes. It really changes the way you approach the book being read. The
reader not just ‘reads’, but learns through the book.
Thumbs Down
Book
has portrayed the mythological characters at some place in a drastically different
manner in how we perceive the main characters of Rama and Laxman. Rama is
portrayed to be content and enjoying the exile while Laxman gets portrayed as
someone with no regard from Rama and Sita. One who does not know Ramayana
history out of this book will have a completely different perception of the
Ramayana.
Rating
3.5/5
History,
being a subject of the past, does not leave much scope for creativity for the
author, still linking it up with modern day lives was what kept me hooked up
but at times, it got me into the ‘bored’ mode.
0 comments:
Post a Comment