Book Review- Ramayana-The GAME of LIFE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shubha Vilas , a qualified engineer ,motivational speaker and a spiritual seeker  has come out with the book “ Ramayana- the game of life ,Shattered dreams” as a sequel to Ramayana series . I got hold of this book through blogadda and here is my review of the book .In the cover page the author writes

“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.”

I congratulate the author for writing an English version of an epic written and mostly available in a sanskritised hindi form . With an easy to adept language and foot notes with ethical connotation , there are many leadership ,management and leadership mantras scattered all throughout the book .

History writing in India is just about 300 years old and is not exactly reflective of our past. The first generation of history writers in India was European, the second generation was nationalist and the third generation in the post-Independence era was dominated by Marxists, who use European tools of analysis. The Europeans have not considered Puranas and Itihasas as historical sources and simply called them myths. If Rama's story is not true then how has he survived in the collective memory for so long? People do not care whether Ram is historical or not. He is truth for them. India's need is a special study of its past and the truth of its past cannot be denied. We need to Indianise our history writing.

 The content of one Ramayana may be different from the other but the existence of Ram, Sita and Ravan is consistent. That's the truth. I might not know anything about my great great grandfather but I can't deny his existence for lack of evidence or how else would I be here? Similarly Rama's existence need not be proved by historical procedure

THE STORY UNFOLDS….

The story is what we all know,the oldest epic Ramayana . So without divulging the well known details of the life of warrior prince Rama ,this modern interpretation stands unique in the way syllogisms are drawn from our nature, environment around us and little things that matter. The message, which is more important than the story has been beautifully presented while keeping the reader hooked with flawless storyline.

LOOK OUT FOR

·         Unique footnotes giving lessons about our mind ,love ,relationships ,leadership and everyday              conduct

·         Simplistic and beautiful language with wonderful comparisons

·         Motivational bend to the epic we have grew up listening to

·         A great piece to read out to your children and getting them hooked

I wish it had……..

·         A reinterpretation in a different way making Rama more of a human than a god we worship

·         Language – words like Mumbo Jumbo could have been avoided

·         A greatest danger to rewrite an epic is the chances of reader leaving the book saying “I already           know that” ,this was felt intermittently

MY RATINGS – 3/5 STARS

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