The Tales Pensieve

Entry no. #6 – Debut Indian Writers Month: October 2012

Part of Debut Indian Writers Challenge and South Asian Challenge 2012

Title: 3 Lives: In Serach of Bliss
Author: Srini Chandra
Publisher: Self-Published
ISBN: 978-1-4637-6255-1
Pages: 128
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4 of 5
Reviewed for: Author

This is the first self-published book that I have ever read and it has been a revelation of a kind. Srini Chandra in his debut book, which is also a kindle bestseller, chooses a very unconventional genre to tell his story in – Spiritual Fiction. Simplified narration, natural flow and a moving storyline are the the strengths that make this one a definite and easy read.

Before embarking on the story and it’s dissection, a hand raise for the stunning cover of the book – Jurgen Weiss from Austria, it’s a job well done. Srini narrates the journey of a soul through three lives, seeking happiness. Simple and straight but the impact as you close the last page is huge. You know this little white colored book has touched you at a place, normally fiction won’t. The story starts with the murder of Ray Cordoza, a cab driver in New York City. He is just asked to pull over by his passenger, a mugger, a trigger is pulled and wham! Bham! Ray’s soul has to leave his mortal body and his dying words, ‘Why Me?’, travel with him and are heard somewhere out there is the vast expanse of the universe by someone who Ray believes is God. They have a full-blown debate and eventually conclude that had Ray had a long life and been rich, he would have been truly happy.

Ray is granted his wish and allowed to have a filthy rich and a hundred year old life as Anwer Al Safi in Morocco. Inheriting his father’s modest furniture business, Anwer goes on to become the most famous Arab in the world by becoming a billionaire as the head of The Al Safi group, which had spread from Dubai to London to New York. He had a rich and long life but in his final moments what he remembers is the loss of his wife and his two sons. Again at the debate, Ray is still not happy. He was rich, he lived long – his complaints from his earlier life – but his loved ones were always taken away from him when he wanted them the most and when he expected them the least to leave. Though the anger has changed to remorse, the dissatisfaction was still there.

Ray gets a life next as Jill Clayton, professor of Physics at the Cal Tech. This time around he is more evolved, moving over from the tangible causes of happiness or lack of it. He also meets the soul, his son from his birth as Anwer, and realizes what an unawakened soul may behave like. Jill passes on peacefully into the next life with an awakened soul and a wish to be born as a Lama. Ray next gets a life as per Jill’s wish, in the mountains of Asia. He also meets his wife from his birth as Anwer, now as his mother. He is awakened fully, realizes the futility of our mortal purists and also that after all he did not really meet god!

Srini covers a controversial, common yet complex subject in a very simplified manner that makes the word journey of 3 Lives much fun. Through the story of the travel of Ray Cordoza’s soul living out three different lives, in different parts of the world, in different body forms, in different stages of spiritual evolution Srini drives home the strongest philosophy in the easiest manner. The book is deep, touching and very commercial. Anyone can pick it up, read it over the weekend, during travel or just at the traffic signals and get home to a world of truths we seek out in those thick, heavily worded, extremely complicated books on life. This is life crush, like the ones from Mapro, all in 128 pages!

Pick up for a crash course to contentment!

I so wish this book was traditionally published and promoted better. It deserves to fly off the shelves; I am sure it is flying off the virtual racks.

Watch the words:

Happy Reading.

Thank you Srini Chandra for gifting me a copy and getting me to this literal gem.

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