Even when this story has been retold a number of times, people still want to listen to it again. There are many aspects which are often missed by our ears in one go and we tend to pick them up in the second run and this continues… Such is the magic of epics like The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. Every time you read them, you have a new lesson to learn.
Title: Shattered Dreams (Ramayana: the Game of Life, Book 2)
ISBN13: 9788184955316
Series: Ramayana: The Game of Life
No. Of Pages: 387
Genre: Religion & Philosophy/ Self-Help
Ratings: 3.5/5
Shattered Dreams is the book two in the series RAMAYANA THE GAME OF LIFE. The book continues the story of Lord Rama who has been married for 12 years now. It is time for some drama in His life. King Dasaratha takes a hasty decision to coronate Rama and is highly restless to get this done. But his fears turn real when Keikeyi decides to claim the two boons granted to her by her husband. Rama is sent for exile while Bharata is given the throne. But as we all know, things don’t go as per KeiKeyi’s plans. Bharata won’t accept the throne but at the same time Rama won’t come back.
While reading a book like this, the first question that would arise in your mind is why should you read the same story once again? You know what happened and have been told this a number of times. In such a scenario, would you find any value in reading such a book? Yes, you would. If it hadn’t been so, the first book Rise of the Sun Prince wouldn’t have become the national bestseller.
So, what’s different in this book? Why should you read it? Does it present a thrilling story while serving the bigger purpose of teaching the great lessons in each event that happened in The Ramayana? Is this book worth reading?
Review of Shattered Dreams
Of course, Shattered Dreams has a story that almost each one of us knows but still author has that knack of keeping you guessing. When King Dasaratha gets introduced in the book for the first time, it would really make you dance with excitement. You would try to guess who the author is talking about. Those two three pages make your heart beat so fast. Even when author introduces Ravana in the story, you would experience great joy. Such is the narration style of the author that would make you excited to know what happened next (even when you know what happened next).
Each event in the book is delivered with perfection. You would thoroughly enjoy reading the book. When I started off with this book, I was doubtful for I thought this book doesn’t have much. The story begins from Dasaratha’s decision to coronate Rama and ends with Rama leaving the Chitrakoot to serve the greater purpose of his forest life. In plain words, I didn’t think it was a big enough plot to be moulded into a book. But I was totally wrong.
You would be amazed with the details of the story and I can bet there would be a number of things you would come to know about the Ramayana that you didn’t know before. The book is also a self-help book. Why? Each lesson that Lord Rama has tried to depict through His life has been explained in simple words by the author in form of short footnotes. Some of His lessons are compiled up in a bulleted list.
The special point about the book is the easy to understand language. You would understand every portion of the book for it has been simplified to a great extent so that a reader can easily grasp the real lessons behind the story.
The author has also tried to clear out the doubts that people often have about The Ramayana. For example, many people don’t know what the right age of Rama was when he was sent for exile. Such kinds of things are cleared out in the book that would further enhance your knowledge about the epic.
I have never been a fan of Lord Rama. His principles sounded too God-like to me. I believe in living your life practically rather than according to dharma. And I believe many of our generation feel the same. Rama did some things which are totally unacceptable to our kind. Those were too good to be true. You can hate me but I have always criticized Lord Rama for what he did in his life. While reading this book, I was inclined to do the same but I couldn’t find a single thing that I could point out to be wrong or unacceptable to me. Of course, that’s the fine work of author who has balanced every event with his sound knowledge and perspective. The book really enlightens you. (I think I would definitely find something in the next book… hope so).
Final Verdict
The story of the book isn’t new but it is written in a way that would make you feel nothing less than a new amazing story does. Not only would you enjoy reading the story, but also you would be able to learn the countless lessons about life.
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