Book:
When Life Cartwheels-Tumultuous Love Story of a Sannyasi
Author:
Raj Supe
Publisher:
Platinum Press (Leadstart Corp)
Any usual love story usually has 2 people,
who meet under certain circumstances, emotions get triggered, and it may or may
not have a happy ending, right?
Welcome to the world of When Life Cartwheels-Tumultuous Love Story
of a Sannyasi, a story of how life changes for Shaman, a Harvard Professor,
who took sacred vows and lives near an Ashram near the river Alaknanda, under
the tutelage of his Master. He is an accomplished yogi, with complete control
over his feelings and senses and there are multiple instances in the plot which
highlight this particular facet of him. Things take a turn when the Master’s
adopted daughter, Shambhavi comes visiting to the Ashram. Vivacious and
restless like the river Mandakini, she takes things in her flow and we see
different aspects of her as the story progresses. Subtly juxtaposed on the life
of the famous 12th century poet Jayadeva, When Life Cartwheels-Tumultuous Love Story of a Sannyasi is a story
of how life love can break the holiest of vows and how destiny can upturn your
life within a few moments. The book asks some pertinent questions and is a
deeply engrossing story of how the story unfolds at Nagaprayag, the confluence of
Mandakini & Alaknanda.
The plot of the book is wonderfully woven
with incidents put in at right intervals that make the plot feel like a song
that has crests and troughs. The setting of the book on the banks of the river
is a wonderful idea and imagining the plot unfolding is really amazing. The scenes
in the book are really vivid and ther have the ability to transport the reader
into the moment in the book. The turning points in the book are somewhat
expected but they do deliver the punch very effectively. Though it seems like a
movie plot, there are a lot of minute details that make the book a very
definite read. The climax scenes are touching and even though I was expecting
that plot point, that almost made me stop for a while and process the events.
The character building of the book is the
highlight of the book for me. Setting up the character of the accomplished yogi
of Shaman with a myriad of examples and situations, the author has prepared the
perfect baseline for the protagonist. On the other hand, the description and
the actions of Shambhavi are completely opposite which sets the tone of the
book perfectly. The chemistry between the lead characters and along with the
supporting characters is wonderful.
I would like to specially mention the
wonderful use of allegories and personification by the author and the
importance of using Nagaprayag as a location, which comes to light in the
story.
For me, it was an emotionally exhaustive
read, in a good way, and this story gets 4 hearts out of 5 from me.
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