Reincarnation - true cases of children who have lived before by Trutz Hardo

I came across the name of this book while reading an article and was immediately drawn by the title. Subjects like reincarnation or near death experience have always been very alluring to me. I have spent countless evenings of my childhood coaxing my grandmother for such stories. And needless to say, I have rarely been disappointed. Those are still some of my favourite evenings. When I came across the name of  this book, that old  spirit was rekindled and within an hour, I had ordered this book online.

I do not yet know whether I am a believer or a non-believer here. Here, more than anything, I am a very interested listener/reader and this book did not disappoint me. The book begins with examples of real incidents of reincarnation. These are all scientifically documented examples and the main protagonist is always a child. The writing style is simple and yet those are carefully chosen words because each documentation can be read like a story. However, the author is more a story teller than a good writer and this is often reflected; sometime I would feel that these could have been written better by a favourite author of mine. But at the end, I was not disappointed; the author has done justice to his work. Trutz Hardo has done a good job of plainly telling us the different cases he has studied/researched throughout his career and all of these sums up to a really interesting read.

Through these real life "stories", slowly Trutz Hardo takes us through different aspects of reincarnation. Some of these are simple incidents: a girl recognizing the brother of her past life or another child claiming to miss her grandmom from her previous life. Then there are incidents where a boy could identify his murderer from past life and so accurate was his evidence that the murderer finally admitted to his crime.

The books tells us what happens between two lives - the time when a person is yet to be reborn. Sometime hundreds of years passes before a person is reborn while sometime it can only be a few months between two lives of the same soul. Some "soul"s hover in the earthly plane while some "move on" to an "intermediate realm" during this time. In this intermediate realm, the soul meets old friends and relatives and prepares for his next birth. Sometime, such souls arrange to meet again in the next birth and the author tells us an incident where two best friends are born as twins in their next lives. In this intermediate realm, the soul can still be aware of the people they care about; the emotional being of a soul continues from one life to the another.  The author tells the incident of a young boy (he died in an accident) who would appear in the dream of his aggrieved mother to console her and assure her of his return; he is soon reborn nearby. In his next life, he reconnects with his mother from earlier life. Often, the soul is guided by other wise souls in the choice of his next parents but sometime, it is the individual choice of the soul too. On each rebirth, a soul has an aim - and the soul chooses a set of parents who can help him best fulfill these aims. For example, a man who showed less compassion in his earlier life may choose a life path in his next rebirth that will make him understand compassion better. A man may be reborn as a woman to experience motherhood. Deformities or birthmarks are often a connect between two lives of the same soul and panic attacks or phobia can be often be rooted in one of the  past lives of a soul.

Most of these information is gathered by the author with the help of regression therapies that he conducts with people who believe to have been reincarnated. During such times, often the person remembers incidents of his past lives, as well as his experiences in the intermediate realms.

It is not easy to believe such "science"; nor did I try to believe or disbelieve them while reading this book. These might be true; these might not be true. But it is always interesting to read about such possibilities and I had a very enjoyable read.

Next time I meet a person I instantly like or dislike; will I wonder if this emotion is rooted in past life? I donot know! May be I will wonder :)

the Crossover - open heart verses

The first thing that I liked about this is book is its cover. It shows a man walking out of darkness to the path of light. As I read the verses within, I realized that the cover page has very adeptly depicted the underlying theme of all the verses that follow. Through the verses you can sense the poet's journey from turmoil to peace.

The book is divided into three sections: Dream, Reality and The Path.

The verses flowing through Dream are the ones I liked the best. It hints of the poet's oneness with nature, with a spirit above and with his own inner self.

the poet says:

amidst mountains of mist
lies the truth deep within
between frozen moments in time
mind evolves towards bliss

Yet, it leaves me longing for more poetic expression in the poet's words. The underlying thoughts are beautiful  in each of the verse but as verses, in most places, they fail for me.

the poet says:

i ride on an ants back
to see its unseen track
it gives me goodies to eat
and they taste so sweet

I would have found these lines very endearing if my 8 year old nephew had written them. But reading them here as a part of a published collection by a grown up for another grown up, I am left wishing for more.


As the poet moves to Reality, we find him dealing with different subjects of the modern world. Through his words, he points out the flaw in them. The subjects range wide. Sometime he talks of the outer world where people go to discos in fancy dresses, only to impress other people while completely ignoring their inner selfs. Sometime he talks of the widening gap between the rich and the poor in a world full of high price tags. Again, the subjects are mature but I find the words lacking a bit in maturity. Also, when I say the words lack maturity, I do not mean that I am disappointed by lack of "fancy words"; I am myself a believer of verses in plain simple words. What disappoints me is the inability of the poet to string these words together into a more matured expression of his thoughts.


the poet says:

hello jumping jack
get off my back
stop giggling around
and get back to track

are you nuts
are you insane
all your attempts to impress
will go in vain

Yes, again I am reminded of my 8 year old nephew!

What is often brilliant though here is the thought process of the poet, and whenever his words has matched his thoughts, we come across brilliant lines of verses. One of my favourites is:

light cannot contain darkness
but darkness can contain light
if we are open to destroy all our beliefs
only then we can reach a greater height

Finally we come to the last section of the book, The Path. Here the poet points out the path to peace, spirituality and the inner world. And he has done a good job. Very matured thought process, and his style of expression is much better here.


The book is an interesting read. But I feel it is best suited for readers who are below 16- 18 years. Readers above this age group would have higher expectation in form of maturity in expression and in this regard,  The Crossover will be a  disappointing experience for them.

AJAYA - Roll of the dice: Anand Neelakantan

This is not an easy book to write. Everyone in India knows Mahabharata. Everyone knows the Pandavas are the heroes, the Kauravas are the villains. And then suddenly, Anand Neelakantan (of the "Asura" fame) gives us a book where the Kauravas are the good ones, the Pandavas a manupulative lot! This is an intriguing plot; here Anand has approached the well established mythological villains with understanding and compassion. Though I am quite familiar with the story in Mahabharata and though all the incidents in this book are exactly the same as those in the traditional Mahabharata, this time it was almost like reading a new story - a totally convincing story where the Kauravas are the heroes of the epic. And by the time I arrived at the last page of the book (which is the first of a series), I ended up, if not a fan, an admirer of Duryadhana.

Admittedly, at the initial pages of the book, it was difficult to agree with Anand's interpretation of the Pandava's characters. Yudhisthira is a smug kid who grows up into a man who knows to twist "dharma" to meet his own ends. Bhima is a greedy bully, who grows up and remains much the same. Arjuna is not brave enough to stand for his own beliefs and easily bows down to what Yudhisthira and Krishna have to say. And ofcourse, Nakula and Sahadeva just follow lead. Together with Krishna and Kunti, they plot and plan to acquire the throne of Hastinapur, which rightfully belongs to Duryadhana. But Anand has done such a good job that soon I started wishing that the Pandavas would fail!

One most endearing character in this book is the beggar Jara who walks the street of Hastinapur with his blind dog, Dharma. He does not play any pivotal role, but he, with his unfaltering love for his God, Krishna will win the heart of every reader.

Also, by virtue of characters like Karna, Vidhura and Ekalavya, this book ends up being a good exploration of the caste system of the society. All these people belong to "lower" caste and are shunned by society in one way or another. The book unflinchingly points out how the able and the worthy were made to eat dirt because they belonged to a "lower" caste. Duryadhana is shown sympathetic to the pain of the "lower" caste people. This should not come as a surprise because in all versions of Mahabharata, his best friend has always been Karna. Duryadhana would often question this caste structure and go out of his way to bend the rules, to help the people. On the otherhand, the Pandavas strictly upheld the cruelty and the inhuman treatment meted out to the "untouchables" in the society; this was Dharma for them. This has great context in the present day society of India which still carries the ancient evil burden of casteism.

Interestingly, compared to the other tales of Mahabharata, we get to see a lot of Ekalavya in this book. We see his turmoils, his hard work, his success, his failures, his hunger, his dreams, his fears and his tears. Also, Shakuni is not just a villain behind the curtain in this tale. He is a scheming villain, actively conspiring with the dark sides to bring the downfall of the empire. He has his reasons and he will leave no stone unturned to get his revenge.

Who will steal your heart in this book? It is Duryadhana. He loves his friends and always remains loyal to them. For the first time, we see the romantic in him when he falls in love with Subhadra. For the first time, we see the seed of a benevolent ruler in him when he manfully takes betrayal in his stride and refuses to  wage war against a state to satisfy his own ego. He loves his countrymen and is often found amidst them. He respects his elder but is brave enough to question them. He knows how to forgive. But sadly, he has Shakuni as his uncle, who knows how to manipulate people.

Ajaya - Roll of the dice is a brilliant exploration of Mahabharata. It is a very intelligent piece of work; it effortlessly makes us see the other side of the coin. Would I recommend this book to my friends? Ofcourse yes. This is an account of Mahabharata which should not go unheard; that it is written so lucidly and intelligently is a bonus.

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The Book of Ram; Devdutt Pattanaik

The book of Ram is not a page by page account of Ramayana. This book is an after thought on Ramayana; an intellectual understanding of Ramayana. The discussions are crisp, to the point and enjoyable. 

This book is for the mass, so Devdutt Pattanaik has not gone too deep into the details; keeping the book a light and enjoyable read. Earlier never having given much thought to all the metaphors lying hidden in this epic, I found the book refreshing. The book takes the help of various sub plots as well as other epics like Mahabharata and Purana to explain the many aspects of Ramayana in its entirety. Ram is Maryada Puroshattam, the best king to rule the earth. He took care of his subjects and established norms of the civilized society. For Ram, the means are as important as the ends. Time changes, evils operating  on the earth changes. So later born as Krishna, he is Leela Puroshattam, not a king, but a king maker, a strategist who would bend laws to attain Dharma. For Krishna, the end justifies the means. 

Many times, Devdutta Pattanaik explains that an act happening in Ramayana would have its effect later, as can be seen in other epics like Mahabharata . For example, wrongs have happened at that time, which have been balanced out in Mahabharata. Thus the author brings in the concept of karma and destiny. Arjun (son of Indra) killed Karna (son of Surya) in Mahabharata. In Ramayana, Sugriva (son of Surya) has killed Bali (son of Indra). 

The metaphorical discussion on various characters of the epic is enlightening. The author explains Sita as a represention of the civilized mind, the civilized society. She is chaste, she is loyal to her husband. Surpankha represents wilderness. If she finds a man desirous, she goes for him without bothering about any code of conduct. Ram and Lakshman's refusal of her offer and her disfigurement represents attempt to initiate civilized norms in the wilderness. On another level, the author explains that if Sita is the mind, Ravana is the ego. These interpretations are interesting to read.

I have read another book by Devdutt Pattanaik; Jaya. It is an unbiased account of Mahabharata. The book of Ram is not so. This book is a eulogy of Ram; there is no doubt on that. However,to the author’s credit, he does not try to dodge the most controversial episode of Ram’s life when he abandoned his wife to appease his subjects, even after she has proved her chastity by walking on fire. The author does not try to justify this incident of Ram’s life, he merely emphasizes that Ram is first a king, than a husband; he always paid more importance to his duties as a king than to his passion as a husband. However, the author mentions several times about the gold statue that Ram built of Sita to represent his wife during the Ashvamedha Yagna, instead of remarrying as suggested to him at that time. Devdutta Pattanaik emphasizes that Ram built Sita’s statue with gold, the purest of metal to pass on the message to his subjects that in his mind, he did not have any doubt on Sita’s purity of character.

The author doesnot end the discussion of the book by merely reflecting on the characters and the metaphors embedded in Ramayana. He goes on to outline the presence of elements of this epic, specially of the avtaar Ram, in today's politics. Similarly Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana and Ashok Banker's various books on this epic find mentions in The Book of Ram. 

We have grown up hearing Ramayana, watching Ramayana. This book opens up a whole new world of thought to the already familiar epic. To people who loves reading modern mythological book, I would recommend this book with no hesitation :)

And the Mountains Echoed: Khaled Hosseini

This book starts with one of my favourite Rumi verses:

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field.
I'll meet you there."

                                                                    ***

When you take up a Khaled Hosseini book, you do not expect a fun reading. You know there will be pages and stories which will wrench your heart apart, you know there will be words therein which will startle you with depth and understanding of sadness. And the Mountains Echoed was no exception.

This novel is divided into nine chapters and almost each, with a little help from the preceding chapters, can stand on its own as short stories. You know Khaled Hosseini is a confident writer when you find him introducing new characters so late in the novel. Sometime I even wondered why. If I think about characters like Idris, Timur, Roshi and Amra, I realize that they are not very necessary to the central theme of the novel. They are a part of the backdrop, brought to life because of the writer's whim and later, the thread of their story is left loose, again at the whim of the writer. I did not so much mind the fact that Timur and his lot were not so relevant to the central theme; these characters were beautifully developed and they lent so much insight to the general wave of the story. If I look at this chapter of the book, I would say that this is one chapter that most highly qualifies as a very well written short story. But when I look at these characters as a part of the novel, I cannot help lamenting their abrupt dismissal from the pages.

What surprised me so much in this book were the very strong female characters. The women in this book took care of their own fate. Be it little Thalia who faces the world with a scarred face and takes up the job of a plumber/IT person in her later life, because she has an inquisitive scientific mind or be it, Nila Wahdati, who defies accepted norms of female modesty in her poems and life or Pari, who decides against marriage for the time being so that she can take care of her dying father; the women in this book does not live in the shadows of the men around. From a pedantic point of view, it would be interesting to study individually the women in this book; they are independent, forgiving, adamant, insightful and interestingly, never very rich.

Also, what I did not expect in a Khaled Hossieni novel was homosexuality. What happens when a man pining for a married woman discovers that he is the object of affection of her husband? Khaled Hosseini, through his novel, beautifully drives home the point that it is superficial to label love as homosexual or heterosexual. If you understand love, you will respect both and not judge one against the other.

The novel begins with the sale of Pari, a very young girl. Separated from her loving brother Abdullah, she goes on to live a rich life with her new parents; only to be separated from her new father when her new mother decides to abandon him. This is the central theme of the story; the tip of the iceberg. As the story unfolds, we see many more people come in and out of each others lives, and all of them would leave a mark in the mind of the readers. The pages will charm you into thinking that somewhere in this world, these people really live.

Would I recommend this book to my friends? Yes, I would. But I would also warn that you should not read And the Mountains Echoed for its story; you should read this book for the characters travelling through the story . They are the real winners here :)