Power of Authenticity

Book Review

What makes any personal discourse enchanting is the authenticity it exudes. Darshana Suresh’s book, An Ode to the Self, is suffused with authenticity that delights and disarms the reader at once. As the title indicates, the book is a result of the author’s self-exploration.

Self-exploration is a slippery slope for any writer, particularly one who is just entering the adult world from the much cosier student’s world. Darshana who describes herself as “a lover of dreams, rains and words” is a “computer science engineer in the making” who is “pretty close to entering the corporate world.” Her book carries more wisdom than one would normally expect of a writer of her age. She has learnt a lot from life. She has been open to the inevitable experiences that life hurls fortuitously before anyone.

The first thing that strikes any observant reader is the spontaneity of her style. Words flow elegantly and naturally from her pen. No, from her heart. There is poetry bubbling beneath the surface of the text and yet there is not one irrelevant word or unnecessary embellishment. She is blessed with an inborn talent for writing. What’s more is the genuineness of her intentions. She is exploring herself in this book as a sincere learner who wishes to understand herself as well as the world around her.

Most chapters begin with some incident or episode taken from the author’s life and that captures the reader’s interest instantly. Darshana connects the episode with the theme of the chapter seamlessly and the whole thing becomes a melody in the entire orchestra that the book is.

Pearls of wisdom stand out of that orchestra every now and then. The scariest thing about love is its vulnerability, Darshana says, for example. Love drives you to expose yourself to another person, give him “all the strength to empower you, but also to destroy you.” Hurt is an inevitable part of the whole process. “If you tell me that it is possible to build a close bond without hurting ever, I wouldn’t believe you,” she says. Life has taught her otherwise. How you deal with hurt is what matters, Darshana tells us. And she is absolutely right too.

Like any person who stands a notch above mediocrity but is not sure where exactly she stands, Darshana takes an empathetic look at the whole rat race for great conquests. She articulates some of her attempts to excel: mimicking the best or competing with them. Eventually the realisation dawns upon her that she was another individual with her own words, her own truths, her own style, “blissfully free”.

The entire book is about that blissful spirit that longs to fly high and is already halfway up there. Here is a young writer who is destined to go a long way. She is a great learner and she has the required determination. This book of hers can be an inspiration to every reader particularly the young ones who are still involved in the many rat races of life.