Thursday, 12 February 2015

Book Review: Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams



Name of Book : Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams
The Author: Shubha Vilas
Date of release : January 29, 2015
Published by :Jaico Publishing House
No. of Pages:387
Genre: Mythological / Epic
Book Price: Rs. 350

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

About the Book:
Shattered Dreams is the sequel to the national bestseller, Rise of the Sun Prince, in the new spiritual and motivational series Ramayana - The Game of Life. Twelve joyful years have passed in Ayodhya since the wedding of Rama and Sita at the end of Book 1.

Now, in Shattered Dreams, Shubha Vilas narrates the riveting drama of Rama’s exile. Through tales of Rama’s unwavering and enigmatic persona, the book teaches us how to handle reversals positively; through Bharata’s actions, it teaches us to handle temptation; and through Sita’s courage, to explore beyond our comfort zone. This complicated family drama provides deep insights on how human relationships work and how they fail.

With Valmiki’s Ramayana as its guiding light, Shattered Dreams deftly entwines poetic beauty from the Kamba Ramayana and Ramacharitramanas, as well as folk philosophy from the Loka Pramana tales, to demonstrate how the ancient epic holds immediate relevance to modern life. In this book, we can experience the ancient saga of the Ramayana. 

The book is divided in the following chapters:
·         Table of Contents
·         Acknowledgements
·         Author’s Note
·         Chapter 1 - In Hope and In Despair
·         Chapter 2 - Sad Monarch in a Happy Kingdom
·         Chapter 3 - Boons Become Curses
·         Chapter 4 - Accepting Difficulty with Dignity
·         Chapter 5 - Ayodhya Parts with Life
·         Chapter 6 - A Forest Weeps
·         Chapter 7 - Test of Intentions
·         Chapter 8 - When Losing Is Winning
·         Chapter 9 - Power of the Powerless
·         Appendix

About the Story:
We all have heard or rather read about the story of Ramayana since childhood and hence not commenting on the same. However, what makes this book different from others is the extreme detailing and the interpretation of acts which contributes to the development of our own perspective about the Ramayana.

Opinion:
I am a huge fan of mythological books and epics.  When I was selected to review the book Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams, I was overwhelmed when I received the book whose cover page was simply artistic. I finished reading this book in just 3 days. After reading this book now I feel like reading the first part of this book now. 

The main USP of this book according to me are the footnotes. The author has added footnotes on the take-aways and learning that can be imbibed from this epic.

The another highlight of this book are the detailed stories. Many of us may not know how Dasaratha was called so, why a boatman wanted to wash Rama’s feet, why Bharatha refused to become the king etc. The book covers these minute aspects. In my opinion the qualities of Ravana have also been strikingly expressed in this book.

Lastly hats off to the six Anarthas to conquere . I simply loved it.

Some negative aspects:
In few instances, the Rama and Laxman refers their step-mother by her name Keikayi which I felt is not appropriate.

Final Word..
I will strongly recommend this book to everyone who loves epics.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

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