It had been long since I had read something by an Indian author and enjoyed it so (excluding Devdutt Patnaik of course).



I didn't really expect anything from WLTT, as it was dropped suddenly in my 'To Be Read' pile, demanding my immediate attention.

I also skipped reading the review on the back cover - I do this sometimes.



It came across as an easy read with simple but powerful words and straightforward sentences.

Initially I felt I had landed myself in yet another tooty fruity Bollywood love story.

It had been long since I had read something by an Indian author and enjoyed it so (excluding Devdutt Patnaik of course).



I didn't really expect anything from WLTT, as it was dropped suddenly in my 'To Be Read' pile, demanding my immediate attention.

I also skipped reading the review on the back cover - I do this sometimes.



It came across as an easy read with simple but powerful words and straightforward sentences.

Initially I felt I had landed myself in yet another tooty fruity Bollywood love story. The pace of the story was really fast - everything was happening in fast forward.

I felt lost & a little disconnected with the characters, specially when they jumped two years & BAM - were having real time relationship fights.

I did not really feel for Indraneel, his emotions or the ordeal that he went through as his character had not really stuck with me by then. I felt like a third person witnessing these fights from afar, & was not IN the story,



But little did I know, that this was just the stage being set as an excuse for Indraneel's spiritual journey.



The story literally went from CHAOS to ZEN.



Felt like one of those videos where the waves are crashing wildly in the rocks & suddenly the slow- motion mode comes on & you can see every curve of the wave beautifully falling softly on the rocks.



The book completely sucked me in when he reached Rishikesh. Rishikesh was beautifully described - you could actually hear the river flowing and felt the pulsating energy of the holy place.

All the characters he met thereafter were a joy!

I loved the fact that all the random people he met in Rishikesh had a lesson for him to learn - however small, all of them were important to his transformation.



I felt that character grow in every page & that was the time I stopped reading in third person and felt one with Indraneel. I was there. I was in Rishikesh. I was in Shaman's bookstore. I was sitting on the banks of the river. I enjoyed lemon honey ginger tea in the dhaba. (p.s. - kudos for the detailing - it is one of the most famous drinks in the hills - a personal favorite).

Although I had the regular answers to the most 'soul searching' questions he asked Shaman, they were all answered beautifully and it was a joy to read them.

In some parts, the author very easily picked up the reader from the banks of the river and put the reader in a taxi in the heart of Bombay. The transition was absolutely smooth & very impressive.



In a nutshell, it was a seamless growth story of the protagonist that was etched out perfectly with delightful characters.

To me as a reader, on a very personal level, it helped me understand the significance of chanting naam amongst other things and I love it when I learn something from a book. Something that makes me go 'wow , i should do that' .

All in all, it was a delightful read and certain parts of the book demand a revisit.



And you know the author has done his job when only 'Rishikesh' comes to mind as your next getaway destination..