Book Review : JASMINE - BUILDS ON SHIFTING SANDS

BOOK REVIEW : JASMINE

BUILDS ON SHIFTING SANDS

Author : Sanjay Desai

ConsciousLeap Publication

 

This is a genuinely surprising package, far beyond my expectations. And as this book has come as a total  surprise, I will deviate from my usual format to a different presentation. First of all, kudos to Mr Desai for writing such a good yet different book, and kudos to the publication house for bringing it to us readers. I went into it with zero expectations, though the blurb had told me this should be good. I needn’t have worried – it is excellent! The book is a nice, clean, fast paced narrative of a touching set of connected stories, told in a very evocative way that actually builds images in your mind! 

Image Source: ConsciousLeap Publications

 

The story, such as it is, is in two parts. part 1 is a lecture, and part 2 is a very nice enticing story. Let me start with part 2 first. The second part is sandwiched between 2 halves of part 1;  and is the story of a supermodel’s rise and struggles, evocatively told – almost enacted – and well presented. This is the story of a Girl, a very good student in college, who quits studies and goes into modelling, and tells the story of her rise, fall and rise to fame back again.

 

So far it might sound pedestrian, or at best a genre that has been attempted before, and quite often at that. Well, you would be wrong. The best aspect of this part of the story is its freshness – the author has kept off all side-plots, needless love angles, or any unsavoury aspects at all, and given us a clean story – in fact, there is not even one bad word used. Stupendous! Coming back to the story, well – we are treated to a ringside seat as the heroine goes through her trials and tribulations – essentially all of which are her own faults, a rather important distinction that we learn a lot from!

 

The pull of showing a distraught heroine caught in some web of deceit must have been tremendous; but the author has thankfully and happily zeroed-in on the internal constitution of the heroine, delving into her habits, her perceived arrogance, her high ambitions, and her driving jealousy and how she relates with, combines with and works with the rest of the teams in the projects that she is a part of, and how her these errors lead to her relative isolation from her clients.

 

Then comes the turnaround, when she finally begins to question herself in the right spirit, as well as recognizes the genuine intentions of the people who are trying to help her – and how she masters the art of teamwork, positivity, humility, control on her opinions & emotions, and simple support to the rest of the teams, thereby delivering a superior end-result. The best part is earlier, her performance wasn’t bad, it was good, but not the best. This is something all of us can relate to; her problems were her own desires, ambitions, arrogance which were percolating to the rest of the people she was associating with, impacting her life and her relationships. The story then charts a lovely revival in the spirit and outlook of our feisty heroine, who then goes on to achieve her ambitions….

 

Part 1 : The First Part. Well, I am of half a  mind not to tell you, the readers, anything about Part 2 whatsoever, and just leave it at that. Let it be a mystery – but then some of you may think I haven’t read it, so, here goes. This part is the meat of the book, the spiritual lesson of the book, the spiritual connect, pregnant with meaning. What if the world we live in, we experience – we can create for ourselves as per our desires? Is it possible? Is it possible that the universe we experience can be influenced by our actions as much as it infuences our actions? What is our power to create? Can we channel our power to strengthen our will so much that our focus becomes superhuman? Here I stop. Reason is I don’t want to spoil your, the reader’s learning. My recommendation – 5 stars out of 5, a must read!