Book Review: Tat Tvam Asi by Pinky Acharya

Title:Tat Tvam Asi
Author:Pinky Acharya
Publisher:becomeShakespeare.com
Year:2014
Source:Publisher
Pages:110+
Price:150 INR

            I received a review request for this book from the publisher, a couple of weeks back.I must admit that the decision to accept it was more or less an impulsive one because even after going through the blurb of the book, hadn't got much idea about the tone/genre to which it belonged to.Neither the book cover nor the blurb revealed much about the actual content .All I could make out was 'TaT Tvam Asi' would be quite different from the usual stuff (atleast aspired to be!).Actually,reviewing a book which belongs to self-help/Memoirs is quite tricky.There is always the risk of the reviewer inadvertently penning down his opinion about the author rather than the content of his/her work.I have come across a lot of reviews which have fallen into this trap.Now,for those of you out there who are wondering about the reason behind these sudden rants,I'll state the obvious,'Tat Tvam Asi' belongs to the afore mentioned genre.Well,almost! 

        For a debut work,'Tatvam Asi' is quite decently written.Pinky has put down her thoughts and opinions in the most sincere and livid manner.There are about two dozen chapters in this small book(well,it is infact only half the size of the 'Tablet/Phone' which you are carrying to your office everyday!),each one stressing on an important virtue.Going by the the size of the book,you may be tempted to finish it in one setting,but I feel it will be better if you read not more than a couple of chapters at a time.That way,you'll be in a better position to assimilate and even critically analyze the content of each one. Peppered with real life incidents(I think her experience as a graphologist has helped her immensely in this regard) and inspiring anecdotes,this work is quite relatable for the average,'desi' reader.From the honest carpenter who loses his sleep on possession of undeserved money to paatiwalas who are more than satisfied if they can earn a paltry sum of one hundred and fifty rupees per day,the real life 'stories' narrated in this book are very much thought provoking.The story of the 'prodigal son' also deserves special mention.Crisply edited(with each chapter running to not more than two pages) and beautifully illustrated(Ashni Acharya),at 110+ pages,it is indeed a quick read.The writing is pretty simple,devoid of any unnecessary literary pretensions or heavy duty philosophical lines which infact increases the potential reach of this book.The cover design is also quite appealing and suits the tone of the book.The same applies to the overall layout and print quality of this work.

       On the downside,I felt that some of the incidents and examples were actually not worth narrating in a printed book.Some chapters (Man'doct'ary)also tend to lose direction after a promising beginning.(as a blog post it woud have been fine,but in a 110+page book,well,I have my own reservations!).

Verdict-'Tat Tvam' Asi is a well intentioned,thought provoking work.It might not be the best work in this genre,but is a good one,definitely.Rating-3.25/5

-nikhimenon