S elf-discovery, spirituality and meaning in life were the predominant themes of the great writer Herman Hesse who won the Nobel in 1947. He spent some time in India and was fascinated by the Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures. Siddhartha (1923) was one of the resultant novels. Conrad Rooks made an excellent movie out of this novel in 1972 starring Shashi Kapoor in the lead role. Siddhartha is a young Brahmin whose marriage is being arranged by his parents when he decides to pursue asceticism. First he joins the wandering ascetics (Samanas), then goes to the Buddha, for attaining enlightenment. It takes years to realise that enlightenment cannot be taught by others. One has to learn it by oneself though others may be able to show some lights. Siddhartha’s spiritual quest takes him to a most unlikely person too: Kamala, a courtesan whose fee is beyond Siddhartha’s imagination. He decides to earn the money required and does it sooner than we would expect. He becomes the most lo
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