Author: Harsha V Dehejia
Publisher: Roli Books
Year: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 160
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9788174369598
Description
Praful is a Professor, a dyed-in-the-wool academic who is shaped by the life-denying philosophy of Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta. Parul, on the other hand, is a sensual, earthy woman who believes in the veracity of love and the reality of the many beautiful things that life offers.
A chance meeting between the two leads not only to a romantic relationship spread over eleven purnimas, but becomes a dialogue between two philosophical systems, the Advaita of Shankara and the Madhurya of the Bhagvata Purana.
As romantic moments between the two unfold, intellectuality interacts with sensuality, questioning the validity of each, and as Chaitra moves to Magh, a transformation takes place.
As Harsha Dehejia weaves this romantic story, where meetings by the Parijataka and conversations underneath the Champa, are not only moments of shringara but introspections on the meaning of life, we hear and feel the sensuality of love as it merges seamlessly with the intellectuality of a philosophic discourse.
In this heart-throbbing romantic relationship, there is the spiritual quest of ultimate reality along with the pleasures of the sound of the wind and the song of a bird. Metaphysical thoughts and tender feelings, evocative colors and resonant sounds, intoxicating aromas and patterned textures, myths and metaphors, intermingle in the hushed conversations of two people in love.
COMMENTS:
'This book highlights the rich philosophic lore of India set in a romantic story.'
= Ashok Vajpeyi, Hindi Poet
'Parul is an extraordinary tale of human longing, both physical and metaphysical.'
= Prof. Makarand Paranjape, Professor of English, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
'Not since Raja Rao has someone woven philosophy and romance.'
= Prof. V. Subramanian, Professor Emeritus, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON., Canada
'Parul is a painting in words.'
= Jehangir Sabavala, Artist