Star Ratings: 4
An instant pick me up
Worse than worst or crueler than the cruelest situations could still rekindle your spirit to fight, to stand tall and to emerge victorious against all odds. The author very skillfully weaves stories that are instant pick me ups and reading them could serve as the much needed morale booster when you are at the lowest of the low trough phase in your life.
Palette of hues
Palette of hues
Like the rainbow that signifies hope with its myriad hues, all the stories in ‘Kaleidoscope’ come with a dash of hope. Interestingly the author has associated each of the colours of the VIBGYOR with an emotion and knit a tale that pins on that particular emotion. With chapters in Part ‘A’ titled ‘The Spiritual Violet’, ‘Wisdom Inked Indigo’, ‘Confident Blue’, ‘The Peace Maker Green’ and the like dedicated to all the colours of the VIBGYOR, the stories are worth a read as they bring out the specialty in all the mundaneness that we see around us.
The Story
Be it the contentment of a handicapped septuagenarian who has lost his family, job and all the markers of a ‘happy life’, or the valour of a motherless child who loses her husband, father and unborn child within a short span of time, the stories each an epiphany, are bound to leave you spellbound.
“At a very tender age of five, she was left there in a pool of blood and unconscious when her mother rushed her to hospital only to find her condition critical where she fought with hell in the I.C.U for over five months and came out of it as more than a challenged child. The horrific act on this little angel had changed her whole life permanently, damaging her brain for the rest of her life. The story of Annette left me shattered and I wondered how a father could be so irresponsible, cruel, inhuman and insane.”
With stories where protagonists have been victims of such heinous acts, it is indeed overwhelming to read about their ways of coming to terms with their tragedy.
“Here was a person who had every reason filled with anger and resentment and yet I could see the intensity of life that had outraged all the gloomy shades of her childhood. She had just happily embraced life, living in to the fullest, contented with just a cup of tea.”
Thumbs up for:
Generating hope in the readers and making them aware of the fact that no bad is too bad. There are always workarounds. There is hope lurching just around. There sure is light at the end of the tunnel.
Segmenting the book into interesting parts. The first part titled ‘Rainbow’ has several short stories, each a beacon of hope, associated with the colours of the VIBGYOR, and the second part titled ‘Contrast and Hues’ is a motivational guide. Being able to point the positives in the most negatives of life situations that life throws at you. Each of the stories are instant morale boosters.
Segmenting the book into interesting parts. The first part titled ‘Rainbow’ has several short stories, each a beacon of hope, associated with the colours of the VIBGYOR, and the second part titled ‘Contrast and Hues’ is a motivational guide. Being able to point the positives in the most negatives of life situations that life throws at you. Each of the stories are instant morale boosters.
"It demands a great deal of courage to make a change and trust yourself. You start making strategies which define you to be a winner; you talk like a true winner. But, certainly, if you are not strong from within and try to compromise with the situations, you will reflect defeat in your eyes and can become an easy prey for the outer world once again. It’s like behaving rebellious even if your wounds are bleeding since at least, you’re taking your own stand to make a choice between what’s good for your life instead of being a puppet in someone’s hand.”
Thumbs down for:
It can be an overload of positivity, optimism and motivational reading so much so that it might appear as an overdose and the reader might end up losing the message, but if you take it slow and read one chapter at a time then the intended purpose of the book will be met.
Reason for star ratings:
The book underlines the essence of life. It turns back the readers’ attention to the basics of life, the simple, small and meaningful pleasures that make life worth living. It is a sure guide to grit, determination, valour and optimism as each of the stories come with a strong message that will leave the reader pondering over it.
It can be an overload of positivity, optimism and motivational reading so much so that it might appear as an overdose and the reader might end up losing the message, but if you take it slow and read one chapter at a time then the intended purpose of the book will be met.
Reason for star ratings:
The book underlines the essence of life. It turns back the readers’ attention to the basics of life, the simple, small and meaningful pleasures that make life worth living. It is a sure guide to grit, determination, valour and optimism as each of the stories come with a strong message that will leave the reader pondering over it.
The line that stayed with me:
If you want to leave your footprints on the sand, don’t drag your feet in confusion. It’s always best to walk slow in confidence, rather than running aimlessly.
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