Gentle trip to self-discovery
One year shy of 70, Professor Chandra can’t shake the feeling he has squandered his life. He’s been passed over yet again for the Nobel Prize in Economics, he’s divorced and, quite frankly, his three adult children bewilder him. He’s not just alone, he’s lonely.
After a run-in with a bicycle and a “silent” heart attack, the politically incorrect Cambridge academic is ordered by his doctor to work less, relax, take a holiday. “You gotta follow your bliss, man,” as they say in California.
So begins his journey of self-discovery.
I found myself quietly cheering on Chandra in this beautifully written and gentle meditation on second chances in life — at any age. It also made me laugh. I mean seriously, what little boy dreams of being an economist — even if it is a worldleading one — when he grows up?
At a spiritual retreat centre he is forced to confront his relationship with his own father, the
critical voices in his head and expectations of his own children. In doing so, he may just discover the pursuits he derided in others — fun, joy, laughter and play — will bring him happiness.
And if he has to get in touch with his inner voices, sitting on the floor with a group of complete strangers in a yurt, that’s what he will do. Sometimes simply saying sorry is all it takes to start the healing journey.
Even before I started reading this novel, I was prepared to enjoy it. The charming brightly coloured cover illustration and title both made me smile. This book is a gem. It struck a chord with me and inspired me to follow my own bliss.