The Game of Life - Shattered Dreams
I have just finished reading 'Ramayana : The Game of
Life - Shattered Dreams (Book 2)'. First of all I’m not a great fan of
spiritual/mythological Novels and I haven’t yet read the prequel of this book. But it gave me a knock on my head and I have decided to order the prequel! Subha Vilas’s
most awaited book, the sequel to his bestseller Rise of Sun Prince : Book 1 is
one of its kind, I would say.
To be
frank, this is one such book which will force you to slow down the reading and each bit of knowledge imparted will set forth your thoughts. You might even start to analyze
your real life incidents based on mythological events.
Nope, I’m not exaggerating!
The Game of Life series is a nice blend of Spiritual
and Motivational elements. He is not just retelling Ramayana through these 6 books, instead
it is his way of filling all the blanks or answering all the mystic questions
which might anchor in your mind after reading Ramayana.
Book begins with conflicts happening inside Dasaratha’s
head. Followed by, his decision to step down
and crown his beloved son. We
all know what happened afterwards, but Subha has provided crisp explanations
for all those turn of events till Rama’s exile. It also gives a glimpse of villainous warlord Ravana’s battles too. (It seems, the next book will be dedicated entirely to paint Ravana’s
life.)
Subha has given great deal of emphasis to explain the
story in every key character’s point of view. Truth is always relative to the
version of the story which we believe in, right? Bharat’s agony and emotional
outbreak of everybody who wanted Rama on throne are remarkably moving. I’m
not sure if anybody else has uplifted Bharat’s character this much. He is not evil queen Keikey’s dear son, but a prince who is forced to pick up the only option left to him, which made me
like this book more. The way the versions of Sita and Urmila are explained, is
again quite different.
(Not just Amar chitra kadha, I have read slightly adapted
versions of Ramayana and Mahabharatha when I was a kid, like most other
Indians. :D )
Oops.. I forgot to mention the main point, the book
can be divided into 2. Rama’s tale after his marriage and Subha’s wisdoms in
nutshell. I
bet, once you finish reading the book you will have a tendency to go back and
read all those wise sayings again( and again).
I don’t think I will ever be able to pick my favorite,
because each wise point is apt in some or other instance. But hey, I am listing a few of them here :
- “When humans learn to celebrate each other’s success rather than plan one another’s failure, they develop concrete relationships rather than concrete jungles.”
- “Confidence is the key to all doors, but overconfidence is the lock to all doors. Confidence leads to inspiration, but overconfidence leads to perspiration.”
- “When your actions boomerang as reactions, rather than wondering who threw it at you, you should wonder when you threw it.”
- “Destiny unfolds itself of its own accord. Trying to make destiny respond to our urgency or shape it to our needs is like breaking an egg to hasten the hatching process.”
My verdict?
Must read stuff.
This book is also a small encyclopedia of Management skills! :D
Looking forward to read the forthcoming Game of Life books.
~ Lone Warrior.
Miles and miles to go before I sleep. Godspeed.
