Wednesday 4 March 2015

Book Review: Shattered Dreams (Ramayana: The Game of Life #2)


Details:
Date of Reading: 26/02/2015
Author: Shubha Vilas
Format:Paperback
Pages: 404
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House
Language: English
ISBN-10: 8184955316
ISBN-13: 978-8184955316
Price: 350 INR
Published on: 04/02/2015

About The Author:
Shubha Vilas, a spiritual seeker and a motivational speaker, holds a degree in engineering and law with a specialization in patent law. His leadership seminars are popular with top-level management in corporate houses. He addresses their crucial needs through thought- provoking seminars on themes such as ‘Secrets of Lasting Relationships’, ‘Soul Curry to Stop Worry’ and ‘Work–Life Balance’ to name a few.
He believes that a good teacher, no matter how knowledgeable, always sees the process of learning and teaching simultaneously as an inherent aspect of personal and spiritual growth. He also helps individuals in different parts of the world apply the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana and other dharmic traditions in dealing with modern- day life situations.

Blurbs:

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. Experience the ancient saga of the Ramayana like never before.
My Rating: 3.5 / 5
My Review:
Ramayana is not a new name that I heard or a whole new story for me. Being in an era of emerging technologies, I came across many versions of this same story. I have listened my grandma reading it in the evenings. I have listened it in my school. I have read articles and excerpts of Ramayana from various sources. I have seen many tv series and cartoon movie that revolve around the story of Ramayana. So I am well informed about the story line.
What differentiates this book from all that I knew or learnt about Ramayana is that it is indeed narrated in simple words with deep meanings. Unlike the original Sanskrit version of Ramayana, one does not need to be very good with vocabulary skills and deep understanding. It seems interesting to read as it is easy to understand.
Though I had applied for a copy of the book from blogadda, I was in a dilemma whether I should read it or not. I was confused because I have not read the first book of this series and hence it might turn out difficult to understand if I directly read the second one. But to my surprise, there was no problems in understanding the plot in the book. I liked the flow of the book that can make anyone bound not to stop reading, till the last page, once started.
One more thing I liked very much is the foot notes in the book. It is very helpful to make the thoughts of the author very clear to the reader. It helped me a lot and made my journey through the book very interesting.
An interesting thing about this book is that the author did not compromise on use of good vocabulary for the sake of easy understanding. It is indeed a balanced writing that keeps reading efficient and easy.Each of the incidents are well-narrated. Every detail of the incidents are taken care of , which makes readers more informative. 
Author has observed the things very wisely and analysed the situations and scenes in a detailed manner which quests the thirst of inquisitive readers. It keeps the reader engaged and gives the reader a rich feeling of accomplishment when it comes to seek more knowledge.
This book is definitely a food for soul. It gives immense pleasure to the reader for their spiritual,philosophical,psychological and motivational needs. It gives a greater insight to each and every aspect of life. It touches the heart of the reader, leaving him to give a thought about life and its meaning.
I would recommend this book for every soul which seeks growth in life through spiritual and philosophical manner and anyone who simply likes mythology and anyone who likes to learn from age old stories and anyone who likes to get knowledge with increasing vocabulary skills and everyone who likes to read... :)
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