Genre: Narrative fiction/spiritual fiction
Pages: 146
Edition: paperback (@ Rs.117), kindle (@ Rs.29)
Publisher: Srishti Publishers and Distributors
Publication year: 2015
RATING: ☆☆☆ 3/4 (3.75/5)
This is the story of the protagonist Kiara and her hilarious, dramatic and vivid experiences to understand the ultimate purpose of her life, which is – to be a better human with each passing day. Kiara, is perhaps the
reflection of author Amisha’s own life story—she is the character who serves as
a mirror to the author. Through this book, Amisha has tried to take us through the
twists and turns in Kiara’s life. Backed up by the author’s detailed research on
ancient Indian scriptures and religious texts worldwide, the character of Kiara
comes out to be someone who imbibes the values and philosophies she comes across.
Ranging from the hymns of the Vedas and Upanishads and up to morals popularized
by celebrated spiritual or social icons like Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi,
the book is a delightful mix of spiritual lessons and the fictional storyline.
We are given the chance to look upon the roots of Kiara’s high self-esteem and unconditional
faith and discover the source of all the positive vibes she emanates.
In each
chapter, the author draws lines from these scriptures to make us familiarize
with one philosophical idea after another, and then relates it with stories
from Kiara’s life. Kiara’s life is colourful and vibrant and she goes through her
shares of troubles and ecstasies—but she doesn’t let anything chop her roots of
the values she grew up with. So, with each passing phase in her life, Kiara fleetingly
extracts a positive learning and edges forward with the newly acquired experience.
Amidst a promising love affair which
leads to a very turbulent and unbalanced marriage, Kiara continues to advance
in her career and nurture the relationships of her dear ones. Being a working mother
and the marketing head of a top multinational company, she struggles to make
the ends meet. But each time, with an unnatural resilience she manages to
bounce back and regain her stead. She does this by falling back on her understanding
of the ancient philosophies and lessons by great personalities—which teach her the
secrets to live a happier and wealthier life, not only in terms of riches, but
also in terms of positive energies and diverse experiences.
The
author’s immense understanding of the scriptures and various spiritual texts is
visible in each page of the book. Kiara is the brainchild of her own raw
feelings, through whom she teaches us that “it doesn’t hurt to be nice” and the
world can be a much happy place if we are a little more compassionate and thoughtful.
But with all the spiritualty and motivation radiating from the book, the book
gets a bit too preachy at times. The philosophical discourses go on and on quite
often and we lose track of Kiara’s life-story. Personally, I found the
conflicts in Kiara’s life much more interesting than the parts where she was brimming
with happiness. The book lacks a concrete structure—in terms of the arrangement
of chapters and the showcasing of each aspect of Kiara’s life. A deep insight
inside Kiara’s childhood perhaps could have been more valuable of a lesson than
the repeated descriptions of her professional successes.
The book has
the capacity of connecting with each reader at different levels. But I believe
that each of them who flips through its pages, will certainly have a special takeaway
to be carried as a token of the journey he/she undertakes alongside Kiara.
Title:☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Plot: ☆☆☆ (3/5)
Characterization: ☆☆☆☆ (4/5)
Writing style: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Engrossing factor: ☆☆☆ (3/5)
Overall impact: ☆☆☆☆ (4/5)
◆ Buy the book here.
◆ Reach out to the author at : @amishasethi_official.
I will end by giving an excerpt from the Rig Veda quoted in the book, which I found really intriguing:
“Two birds live on the
same tree,
inseparable, mutual friends
one bird eats the fruit of
pleasure and pain
the other looks on without
eating
the one who is detached
from pain and
pleasure is heading
for the supreme human destiny.”
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