” I wish to die, now ” – available on amazon Kindle

 

I took a while to prepare myself for this. It took a basket full of encouraging words from  patrons, reading enthusiasts and academicians for me to finally put my compilation out there in the market. Yes the kindle edition of “I wish to die, now” is up and available across all major amazon online stores across the globe. All you need is a kindle or a kindle reader on your device.

I genuinely look forward to this organic expansion of my thought realm by way of connecting to thousands of readers all across the globe. I am keen to see whether my thoughts are able to find a resonance in the worlds which I have never been exposed to.

Below is a brief description of the book for you to take a buy call.

happy exploring !

MIhir Gajrawala

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“I wish to die, now”, is an individual’s tryst with himself; a passionate attempt to set the self free – a self that is holed in conventions, a self that is trapped in conditions and a self that is bound by compulsions. The author uses the medium of words to let the trapped energy of within, manifest itself. These are not mere essays or articles; these are the reflections of a sensitive soul, which is craving to break out.

The reader will encounter a variety of thoughts that will make him/her get closer to his/her deeper persona. From belief systems to communal behavior, from entrepreneurship to gratefulness, from politics to friendship, from philosophical prose to romantic poetry, from essays to opinions – it is a really broad canvas, which is a potent space for an exploratory reader to dwell in.

As Nietzsche puts it, “one must have chaos inside oneself to give birth to a dancing star”; the passages in the book will take the reader closer to the chaos that exists within him/her. It will make you question, it will make you wonder, and it will shake away all your inertia and bring you closer to your true being.

Irrespective of your interest in the specifics of subject matter, the book will connect you to the thoughts presented. The book will give a fillip to your sense of exploration and wonder.

And all of these come out as scintillating word sketches from a first time author, who describes himself as an expressionist.

“I wish to die, now” will make you want to live, even more!

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here’s the link to the amazon page.

If you happen to buy the book, I request you to take time out to give your review on the amazon page. That shall really help me to know how my thoughts are being perceived.

ક્યાં લઇ જાય છે આ રસ્તો / where is this road taking me

‘dharam’ means ‘ones truest nature’, that part of you that cannot be taken away, that which cannot cease to exist. That is your ‘Dharam’. ‘Shala’ means ‘a designated space’. A designated space as in a  school that would teach you ways and give you means to realize your truest nature is called a ‘Dharamshala’. When we set out on this fun and getting together of friends trip , our only notion of Dharamshala was of a peaceful and serene hill station of North india.

Over 90 hours of being in mindful conversations with friends, after more than 30000 kms of collective travelling and after a soul stirring 9 hour trek in snow and walking our way to about 9000ft above sea level it dawned upon us that we happened to be in a school to learn and to understand our true nature, we found we are in DHARAMSHALA.

The trek of Triund, apart from its aesthetics and natural beauty turned out to be an experience that left me speechless. Yes, someone as expressive as me, is left speechless. This is after about 2 days that the whirlwind of overwhelming thoughts are settling down, and i am seeing some faint meaning in all that was felt. We started the trek as a fun holiday excursion not knowing that it would take a sharp turn and become a challenging trek where we will have to battle against odds like bad weather, uncompromising terrain, resource-lessness, fear and despair.

We battled it with guts, trust, hope, togetherness but mostly with a ‘careful unconcern’ and humour which is so unique to our lot. Never did any of us had anticipated that at the end of 9 hours the trek of Triund would give us the greatest lesson of our lives – lesson of conviction, courage, hope, causality, trust, friendship and above all the lesson to let go. Individuality gave way the belief in ‘interdependence’.

Most of our times are spent in planning. In trying to control the tomorrow. As they say living in the illusion of control. But if we apply only a bit of common sense, it is so evident that nothing is in your control. The point from where you start, the journey and the point at where you might end, nothing can actually be planned. All of it just happens.

I often share it with friends – that when i start writing a poem i actually do not know where it will end. Invariably rhyme precedes the reason. Infact i give meaning to it once i would have completed it. From this perspective i am actually not the writer, i am only a  medium. The poem doesn’t come from me, it comes through me. This is exactly how the entire life should be taken. That you are not the doer, you are a mere medium – is the ultimate way to live. The acceptance of this fact is the way to reach to experiences of contentment and happiness, the only path to rise above the set paradoxes. The trek of Triund taught this to us.

The verses below are an attempt to distill all of the above in the form of a poem. From one perspective it is a description of the beauty, wonder and amazement that was experienced during the entire Triund trek and from a certain perspective the verses are a metaphorical expression of life as i decipher it, at this point in time of my existence.

As i said above, I am giving meaning to it after the poem is written, these words actually occurred to me at different points during the 9 hour trek of Triund.

 

ક્યાં લઇ જાય છે આ રસ્તો , ક્યાં લઇ જશે આ રસ્તો ,

વગર જાણે ચાલ્યા કરું એના પર હું આમ અમસ્તો  .     (2)

આડા-અવળા ને ત્રાંસા પથરા થી અંકાયેલો આ રસ્તો ,

લીલાછમ ઘટાદાર વૃક્ષો થી ઘેરાયેલો આ રસ્તો ,

તાજા બનેલા બરફ થી શણગારાયેલો આ રસ્તો ,

ના દેખાતા પક્ષીઓના સંગીત થી ભરાયેલો આ રસ્તો ,

કુદરત ની અતુલ્ય ચિત્રકલા સમક્ષ વસેલો આ રસ્તો ,

ક્યાં લઇ જાય છે આ રસ્તો , ક્યાં લઇ જશે આ રસ્તો   (2)

નવા દ્રશ્યો મારી આંખ ને બતાવતો આ રસ્તો ,

મિત્રોના અંતર ને ઓળખવાનો આ રસ્તો ,

ભણેલી ફિલસુફી ની પરીક્ષા લેતો આ રસ્તો ,

નિયતિ ની યોજના થી રૂબરૂ કરાવતો આ રસ્તો ,

આસ્થા ની જ્યોત ને અખંડ બનાવી જતો આ રસ્તો ,

ક્યાં લઇ આવ્યો છે આ રસ્તો , ક્યાં લઇ જશે આ રસ્તો   (2)

જે જોયું છે તેનું સ્મરણ કરાવાનો  આ રસ્તો ,

જે નથી જોઈ શકતો એનો એહસાસ કરાવાનો આ રસ્તો ,

જ્યાં પહોચ્યો છું ત્યાં સુધી પહોચવાનો આ રસ્તો ,

જ્યાં નથી પહોચી શક્યો , ત્યાં મને લઇ જવાનો આ રસ્તો

જ્યાં નથી પહોચી શક્યો ‘નિર્દોષ’, ત્યા મને લઇ જવાનો આ રસ્તો  .

ક્યાં લઇ જાય છે આ રસ્તો ક્યાં લઇ જશે આ રસ્તો ,

વગર જાણે ચાલ્યા કરું એના પર હું આમ અમસ્તો  .

Fan Mail to Devdutt Pattanaik

Respected Sir,

I have been following your articles, blogs and quite a few books since last 3 years now. And it is having a profound impact on me as an individual. From what i could analyse myself, i think the qualities and empathy and sensitivity have increased substantially in me.

Along side the way I see/perceive mythology and everyday rituals have gone through a complete change. In that sense I credit you in instilling belief in me. We may not know what is the ‘correct’ way, and that is actually not the idea; but having a belief system is a mandatory anchor for a content life.

Being born in a Jain family a lot of Jain traditions and rituals have always intrigued me; I read and enriched myself about some of them, but mostly I was indifferent. But over time I am able to form better response to those rituals. Not just myself I also am able to help family and some friends in comprehending the same and making them aware of their indifference. This aspect is having a very positive impact on my character.

I have interacted with you earleir too, over your blog on here on fb or on mails; but today I write particularly to thank you for the role you are playing in the TV series Mahabharata. I have studied Jaya, but going through it visually, with Krishna as the ‘sutradhar’ or ‘summariser’…is a wonderful and enriching experience.

I see how wonderfully it is engaging a lot of my friends, family and colleagues in a positive manner. I have witnessed some other mythology series being turned into soap operaish narratives. Frankly when Mahabharata was announced i was skeptical about the same effect. But the result is pleasantly different. And i see a lot of your perceptions being presented both in dialogues and in what Krishna discusses every day.

Along with the entire team of the series, and specifically you, I take this opportunity to thank you for bringing such wisdom on Television.

I am hopeful of this having a positive impact on the societal mindset at large.

Regards,

MIhir