A Short Affair Called Life by Rohit Kumar Singh Jadon

Title : A Short Affair Called Life
Author : Rohit Kumar Singh Jadon (RKSJ)
Genre : Fiction
Publisher : Leadstart Publishing
Pages : 195
My Rating : 6/10
Reviewed For : Author

Blurb:

 

Every now and then each one of us thinks of running away. Running away from everything, but we just cannot do it; Darsh goes for it. Though once, secure in his comfort zone, leading a very normal life, working with a multinational company, with a reputable position, and a perfect relationship with his college sweet heart. Yet, the usual, unanswered question, in his mind haunts him, What is the purpose of his life? He gives up everything and everyone to find a meaning to his life.
He finds out strangers are not so strange after all; they are like everyone else, mean and selfish, who will hurt you like everyone else. He discovers religion and spirituality the hard way, through his experiences. Finally, he understands the only divine way is to let live the human in you. He feels the pain of those in suffering and travels around unknown places, only to discover the already known truth of life.

My Review:

A Short Affair Called Life is a thought-provoking novel about self-discovery. In this read, the author has created a fictional yet relatable character – Darsh who is the quintessential & contemporary urban individual with a well-off & comfortable upbringing, a well-established career and a perfect relationship. Yet he is unsatiated with his perfect & normal life & is in perpetual search of that one elusive thing that will complete him, except that he doesn’t know what that thing is!! And hence he takes a  journey to figure out the intricate questions about life and mysteries surrounding it.

The book starts in the present day where Darsh is on a sabbatical, living into oblivion - trying to figure out the where his life is headed & what exactly does he want from life. The plot then moves back into Darsh’s past – his troubled childhood, the after effects, his love life & a special encounter with a spiritual person. These events have a major effect in moulding Darsh and his ideas about life and people. We then return back to the present where Darsh is still in a state of perpetual confusion but then a chance encounter with a stranger (Topi) triggers off Darsh in search of his answers to different locations.

Thus starts Darsh’s journey where he lives as a nomad & learns a new thing about life with each passing day through the hard way. The plot deals with almost every aspect about human life – love, family, friendship, pain, spirituality & ultimately happiness. The major highlight of this novel is that Darsh as the protagonist is very relatable. The first line of the blurb itself will strike a chord & will have many of us nodding their heads. There must have been times in each one of our lives when we have considered running away as an option to unresolved situations, confusion at crossroads or when faced with problems in life. And I am pretty sure that as the reader will proceed with the read, many of us will find a part of ourselves in Darsh. The author has chosen travelling as the medium to tell his the story. As Darsh travels from one location to another, he discovers new avenues & finds answers to his questions one by one. Another highlight of this read was Darsh’s experience at the Kumbh Mela. For someone who has never been to Kumbh (like me!), the description of Kumbh Mela & everything surrounding it was enlightening as well as interesting.

This novel is, without any doubt, the author’s work of introspection as the author’s thoughts leap out from the pages. Though the book starts on a promising note, there are a few places in the read where the plot seemed to move ahead in a random way & hence seemed disconnected. Also, the novel could have done with better editing which would have ultimately made the read a crispier one. There were a lot of spelling and grammatical errors which frankly, just hampers the joy of reading. Having said that, if you’re looking for a contemplative novel that you’ll breeze through, then this one will do.

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