The Lucky One : Book Review

The Lucky One By Nicholas Sparks

If you have ever watched Bollywood movies specially the romantic love stories, then, you must be aware of the name ‘Yash Chopra’ who was the popular film maker especially in romantic genre. He was considered the king of romance in filmaking, similarly for me, Nicholas Sparks is the king of romance in writing books.

This book will make you believe that your destiny will find you what so ever may happen or putting in other words:
'What you seek is seeking you.' 

The whole story revolves around one photograph which may sounds absurd. But once you read the book, you will understand how a photograph can become a lucky charm for someone. Its like we all would have been believing in something, or someone, or may be some habit of ours, at some point of time, as our lucky mascot which brought us good omen (who knows may be some of us deep down still believe in our lucky mascot). But if someone would have asked you at that time the reason behind your belief, you wouldn't have been able to give any logical explanation. 
After all, it's all about belief. :)

This story also reminds me that death is the most unexpected and is the only universal truth in this world.

Plot of the Story:
 
Logan Thibault, a US marine, found a photograph of a woman while serving in Iraq. And Victor, Logan’s one and only friend in marine, considered the photograph a lucky charm for Logan and thus, constantly kept asking Logan to seek the woman in that photograph.
As the story proceeds further, few incidents occurred which convinced Logan that the woman in the photo held the key to his destiny. And thus, he started his journey in search of that woman and reached a place called Hampton in Hampton County, North Carolina.

Now coming to the woman in the photograph, her name was Elizabeth Green, a school teacher and a mother of eight year old Ben who lived with her Nana.
Meanwhile on his journey to find Elizabeth, Logan met Elizabeth's ex-husband, Keith Clayton, who was a deputy sheriff in Hampton. From their first meeting itself, they both didn’t like each other.
Keith was obsessed with Elizabeth and didn't want her to date any guy. And as he came to know that Logan and Elizabeth were dating each other, Keith's disliking for Logan increased to another level which led to twist and turn in the story.
Keith tried his best to destroy everything between Logan and Elizabeth but destiny had planned something else for them.

Extracts in the book which made me ponder are:

Through Ben, Nichol had focused upon the best way to nurture a child. A child grows when he is being appreciated for small things he does well and is not criticized every moment for what he is not good at or if he has some different interests what society has otherwise set for him like a boy interested in learning piano should be encouraged by his parents and not criticized for having such interest.

When you are raised as a military kid, you keep moving often, your school keeps changing, your friends come and go, and thus, you learn that even though people are left behind, new ones will inevitably take their place; that every place has something good and bad to offer.

Lines which I liked the most:

'If relationships are hard, marriage is even harder.'

'Proximity bred familiarity, and familiarity bred comfort.'

'When a person is that special, you know it sooner than you think possible. You recognize it instinctively, and you are certain that no matter what happens, there will never be another one like him or her.'

Rating: 3.5/5

Sita - Warrior of Mithila (Ram Chandra Series Book 2) : Book Review

Sita – Warrior of Mithila By Amish Tripathi

This book is mainly focused on Sita. How was her childhood, her relation with her parents, her upbringing and her education, that’s why if you have read Book 1, you may find repetition of few events post Ram and Lakshman came to Mithila for Sita’s Swayamvar, however, this time they have been explained from Sita’s perspective i.e. what Sita was thinking and feeling during all those events.

Disclaimer: This book has no reference to Ramcharitmanas or Ramayana. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

Examples of few such instances, which I believe were either deviated from what we all know about Ramayana or maybe, I was personally not aware about them are as below:

• Sita met Hanuman first time while she was in gurukul. She met him through one of her gurukul’s friend Radhika, who was the daughter of Varun (Chief of Valmikis’ tribe and who gave his ashram to Guru Vashishta to teach four Ayodhyan Princes). From then onwards, Sita had been in touch with Hanuman and used to address him as Hanu Bhaiya.
• Bharat (second son of King Dashrath) and Radhika were in love with each other but couldn’t get married.
• Ravaan and Guru Vishwamitra, both had their roots in Kannauj.
• As mentioned in the previous book review, Ram Chandra Series is all about a journey of how Vishnu came up who transformed and guided India at the time of its downfall. Guru Vishwamitra chose Sita as the prospective Vishnu whereas Guru Vashishta chose Ram as the prospective Vishnu. And when Sita revealed this to Hanuman, he gave her an idea to work in partnership with Ram as Vishnu. Sita, then, planned her swayamvar and asked Guru Vishwamitra to call Ram for her Swayamvar.
• And during their exile, when she revealed her idea to Ram that both of them should work together in partnership as Vishnu, for the good of society to which Ram agreed, then,  she introduced Ram to Hanuman for the first time.
• Manthara and Druhyu (Manthara's right hand) were loyal to Ravaan. And Manthara’s daughter, Roshini, was Rakhi sister of four Ayodhyan princes. Roshini was brutally murdered. And, one of her four murderers was juvenile, so Ram as per the law, didn’t give him capital punishment but life time imprisonment. Manthara wanted to avenge this, so she along with Druhyu, planned to get Ram murdered during his exile. But Sita, with the help of Jatayu, ensured that her plan should fail.
• While Ram, Sita and Lakshman were in their thirteenth year of exile at Panchavati, Shurpanakha and Vibhashan came to take refuge there and Ram abiding the law ‘Athithidevo Bhav’, agreed to provide them shelter. During their stay, one day Shurpanakha asked Sita to accompany her for bath and there she tried to drown Sita but Sita rescued herself. Later, when Sita was narrating this incident to Ram, Lakshman and Vibhishan, this agitated Shurpanakha and she charged an attack on Sita with a knife and to save his sister-in-law, Lakshman rapidly jumped in front of Shurpanakha which made her fell down and the knife in her hand cut her own nose deeply.
• While Ram and Lakshman went for hunting, Kumbhakaran and Ravaan, both came to abduct Sita. Sita fought hard to save herself but seeing Jatayu severely injured, she gave up and confronted Ravaan and Kumbhakaran. Kumbhkaran, then, made her unconscious through some herbs and abducted her in Pushpak Vimaan.
• Jatayu was a Naga and Nagas were one of the suppressed communities then. Nagas were ill-treated by rigid, supercilious and chauvinistic elite of Sapt –Sindhu and Ravaan came as a rebel-hero, a savior to them at their time of crisis. So Jatayu was once part of Ravaan’s forces which were divided into two groups (MahiRavaans: who commanded the land territories, and AhiRavaan: who commanded the seas and the ports).

Extracts from the book which I liked the most:

Conversation between Sita and Sunaina (Sita's mother) when Sita went to embark on her new adventure of visiting slum area but got herself in a serious trouble. And then, Sunaina explained her that

‘Criminals exist among the rich and poor both. Criminals among the rich are mostly driven by greed. One can negotiate with greed. But the criminals among the poor are driven by desperation and anger. Desperation can sometimes bring out the best in a human being that’s why the poor can often be noble. But desperation can also bring the worst. They have nothing to lose. And they get angry when they see others with so much when they have so little. We must help the truly poor. That is dharma. But we should not be blind and assume that all people are noble. Not everyone has the spirit to keep their character strong when their stomachs are empty. Don’t fall into the trap of stereotypes. Don’t assume that the powerful are always bad or that the powerless are always good. There is good and bad in everyone.’

When Sunaina was getting an agreement signed by Kushardhwaj (King Janak's younger brother), she brought a burning lamp to witness that.

‘Importance of Lord Agni, the God of Fire, as witness. Every Indian believes that Agni is the great purifier. First hymn of the first chapter of the holiest Indian scripture, the Rig Veda, celebrates Lord Agni. All promises sealed with the God of Fire as witness can never be broken; promises of marriage, of yagnas, of peace treaties… ‘

When Guru Vishwamitra and Sita were discussing how the society should be and why it moves toward imbalance:

‘Society must be wary of extremes. It must constantly strive towards attaining a balance among competing ideologies. A society must always aim for balance. It needs intellectuals, it needs warriors, it need traders, it needs artists, and it needs skilled workers. If it empowers one group too much or another too little, it is headed for chaos. The only ‘ism’ you should believe in, is pragmatism. Being a pragmatic means you are open to every school of philosophy. And accept only those parts that make sense to you, while rejecting other bits that don’t. You should learn from any philosophy that can help you fulfill your karma.

Society gets imbalance when people are not free to live a life that is in alignment with their innate guna, their attributes. It is happened when group is oppressed or belittled. It can also happen when you are made to follow the occupation of your parents and clan, rather than what you may want to pursue.’

When Radhika told Sita that she wouldn’t be marrying Bharat and had decided to move on with her life, Sita asked Radhika would she be happy without him. To which she replied:

‘Happiness is not an accident. It is a choice. It is in our hands to be happy. Who says that we can have only one soulmate? Sometimes, soulmates want such radically different things that they end up being the cause of unhappiness for each other.’

When Ram and Sita were discussing with Hanuman, if there could be two Vishnus to which Hanuman replied:

‘Not once has any Vishnu or Mahadev emerged exactly according to plan. The best laid plans always have a tendency to get spoil. There have always been surprises. Mahadev and Vishnus succeeded because they were willing to give their all for our great land. And that is the secret. Passion. Not Plan.'

The lines which I liked the most are:

‘The only ‘ism’ one should believe in, is pragmatism.’

‘We come with nothing into this world, and take nothing back. But that’s not true. We carry our karma with us. And we leave behind our reputation, our name.’

‘The worst enemy a man can ever has is the one who was once his best friend.’

‘Tears are meant to be hidden.’

‘A too-clever-by-half plan can backfire.’

‘For real wisdom to rise, the sun must set.’

‘Life is not all about what we want, but also about what we must do. We don’t just have rights. We also have duties.’

‘Don’t be afraid of the dark. Light has a source. It can be snuffed out. But darkness has no source. It just exists. This Darkness is a path to That, which has no source: God.’

‘Freedom has, within itself, the tools for self-correction.’

Rating: 3/5 

Ram - Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra Series Book 1) : Book Review

Ram - Scion of Ikshvaku By Amish Tripathi

Starting the discussion of Ram Chandra Series and not beginning it with the quote

‘Raghukul reet sadaa chali aayi, praan jaye par vachaan naa jaye’ is incomplete.

Amish Tripathi's persuasive style of writing would actually make you believe that Ram and Sita (like Shiva and Sati in Shiva Trilogy) are not deities of Hindus, but human beings who transformed and eventually through their acts became Vishnu (Mahadev in Shiva Trilogy).

And Ram Chandra Series is a journey of how Vishnu came up at the right time to guide his people and society and named this transformed kingdom, which was ruled by law and based on equality, as ‘Meluha’. And Meluha was the starting point in the journey of Shiva to become a Mahadev.

Thus, it’s a prequel to Shiva Trilogy in the sense.

But this time Amish took the big risk by dare writing fictional inspired by Ramayana, one of the greatest epics of Hindu mythology.

And here, I am wondering how come till now no communal group raised their voice against the events been portrayed in this book as a lot is deviated from what we were taught about Ramayana in our child hood. :)

Jokes apart, I would recommend this book, only, if you are not a blind follower of Hindu Mythology i.e. you are open-minded else you may end up criticizing the author for playing with your beliefs or sentiments.

Examples of few such instances, which I believe were deviated from what we all know about Ramayana or maybe, I was personally not aware about them are as below:

• King Dashrath had a fight with Ravaan in Lanka which he lost and this was Dashrath’s first ever defeat and as it happened on the day Ram was born, so he along with his nobility considered Ram’s birth as in-auspicious and Ram was ostracized and cursed for the same throughout his childhood.
• Sita was elder than Ram by around 5 years and had been projected as an explicit warrior. An independent and strong-minded lady who ruled Mithila very efficiently and was their beloved princess.
• Swayamvar held for Sita’s marriage involved an arrow to be hit in the eye of revolving fish by seeing its reflection in water below.
• Raavan attacked on Mithila, post Swayamvar to take avenge of his insult, and in order to save Mithilians, Ram broke the law by using Asuraastra (kind of devisastras and use of devisastras were prohibited as per Lord Rudra’s law) on Lankans, and then, punished himself with 14 years of exile, as per Lord Rudra’s law.
• Jatayu along with his 15 soldiers protected Ram, Sita and Lakshman throughout their vanvas period and stayed with them in jungle.
• Ram didn’t kill Tadaka (as taught to us: Tadaka Vadh) rather he enlightened her and requested her to leave India along with her community, and then,should come back in different form not as Asuras as that way of life was over.

G-O-D (generator, operator and destroyer)

Lord Brahma – the creator or generator. One of the greatest scientists ever. His disciples lived by the code; relentless pursuit of knowledge and selfless service to the society. Over the years, tribe of Brahma evolved as Brahmins.

Vishnu – Operator. When a way of life becomes inefficient, corrupt or fanatical, a new leader emerges who guide his people to an improved social order. So Vishnu is the title accorded to the greatest of leaders, idolized as propagators of good.

Mahadev - Destroyer. Ancient title accorded to those who were destroyers of evil. Their task was restricted to finding and destroying evil.

Qualities of a leader are well explained, every now and then, in this book and they are summarized as below:

• A true leader loves his people more than he loves his own soul.
• He would lie for the good of his people.
• A real leader doesn’t choose to lead only the deserving
• He inspires his people into becoming the best that they are capable of.
• A real leader takes upon himself the burden of dharma sankat, but ensures that his people becomes better human beings.
• A true leader will even take a sin upon his soul for the good of his people.
• He must practice what he preaches.

Two ways of Civilizations:

Feminine way of life – freedom, passion and beauty.At its best, it is compassionate, creative and especially nurturing towards the weak. But as feminine civilizations decline, they tend to become corrupt, irresponsible and decadent.

People are so divided that it takes a miracle for them to come together for any purpose, under a single banner. For Example: India before independence when all kingdoms were divided, which gave easy way to invaders Mughals, Persians and Portuguese and later Britishers who came as traders but ruled India and then, it was hunger for independence which became the only goal for every Indian and then, brought all people together to fight for Independence.

Masculine way of life - truth, duty and honour. They are law abiding people. At its peak, masculine civilizations are efficient, just and egalitarian. But as they decline, they become fanatical, rigid and especially harsh towards the weak. They become intolerant and rigid towards different beliefs. And this rigid intolerance creates mortal enemies with whom negotiation is impossible.

For Example: in current scenario, terrorists are living with adverse effect of masculine way of life;they have become rigid and intolerant towards people of different beliefs this has turned them into mortal enemies to the extent that they kill those who have different religious beliefs.

So when feminine civilization declines, masculine is the answer and vice-versa.

Extracts from the book which I liked the most:

When Guru Vashishta was giving his viewpoint to Ram on truth and lie:

‘Not revealing the truth is not lying. Sometimes, truth causes pain and suffering. At such times, silence is preferred. In fact, there are times when a white lie or even an outright lie, could actually lead to a good outcome.’

Conversation between Guru Vashishta and the four Dashrath’s sons when Vasishtha was explaining the downfall of two great civilizations, that existed in India(Dwarka and Sangamtamil) during the Ice Age, brings out new perspective to look Ravaan and Dashrath as kings. An excerpt from that conversation:

‘Even honorable men sometimes prove to be terrible leaders. Conversely, men of questionable character occasionally be exactly what a nation requires.’

Which raised the question for all of the four Dashrath’s sons to think over that Raavan, who brought prosperity to his kingdom and whose people loved him, is a good king for his people?

And Dashrath, the good man but a king who went into depression because of one defeat and converted his personal loss to his people and his kingdom suffered because of his personal misery, is a good king for his people?

Ram’s opinion about marriage,how it’s not a political alliance for him and is not a necessity. In his opinion, there should be no compulsion to get married. And, there’s nothing worse than being married to the wrong person. You should only get married, if you find someone you admire.

 Ram’s opinion how he doesn’t favor polygamy (and if polygamy is allowed so should be polyandry), however, he supports monogamy as according to him, it’s an insult to your wife by taking another.

What he looks for in his life partner is also thoughtful and admirable:  

‘I want a woman who is better than I am; a woman who will compel me to bow my head in admiration.’

Conversation where Ram and Sita were discussing about the ideal society meant, and the manner in which a perfect empire must be governed. Sita eloquently described what true equality is and said it exists only at the level of the soul. No two created entities are exactly the same. She believed that society would be perfect only if people are free to do what they actually want to do, based on their karma, rather than following the caste they are born to. And, the solution to build such a society is complicated. And new kingdom ruled by law and based on equality would be named as ‘Meluha’ (a land of pure life).

Guru Vashishta was telling Ram about Shukracharya and Asuras and what led to the downfall of Asuras:

'Maharishi Shukracharya was the guru of the Asuras. Asuras were the great masculine empire till then.As it often happens, the very reason for your success, over a prolonged period of time, can lead to your downfall.Shukracharya united Asuras( Asuras were the poorer weaker cousins of Devas; scorned and half-forgotten members of extended family. Devas and Asuras, both have descended from common ancestors, known as Manaskul.) with the concept of the EKam , the One God.

Rig Veda states clearly that while EKam is the One God, he comes to us in many forms, to help us grow spiritually, in the hope that we will eventually understand Him in His original form.

However, Shukracharya said that all other manifestations of the EKam were false, leading us to maya, the illusion  EKam was the only true God. This would make all human beings equal. It worked well for some time. Even some oppressed Devas joined Asuras too.But as is rightly said, Giving a sharp sword to a child is not an act of generosity, but irresponsibility.So Asuras who didn’t have any knowledge about the scriptures about the EKam demanded undivided devotion; their God was true, other gods were false. And ultimately began killing those who didn’t believe in One God. Violence was till the extent that even some Asuras moved over to Devas.Exclusivist thoughts lapsed into intolerance and rigidity. Rigid intolerance creates mortal enemies with whom negotiation is impossible.’

 The lines which I liked the most are:

‘Wisdom lies in moderation, in balance.’

‘It’s more important to be right than to be first.’

‘Life is cyclical.’

‘Some stories are best left untold.’

‘Dharma is above all, even the king.Dharma is above the Gods themselves.’

‘Justice in terms of right or wrong is a man-made concept.it is entirely up to us to define justice in new terms of what is fair or unfair.’

‘Universal principles too need to adjust themselves to a changing universe.’

‘If karma is giving you the negative signal repeatedly, then, it is not testing you, it is trying to teach you.’

Rating : 3.5/5