The Ashram

Rating:
Summary: Review of Sattar Memon`s The Ashram
Review: The Ashram awakens the consciousness and as Robert Gover (Editor, Writer's Digest School) so aptly put it, "immerses the reader in a sensory bath that is India." It is rich with culture and tradition. The characters are those we can easily relate to, as they struggle with life and death questions and decisions, suffering as we all do.

Despite being fiction, it takes you to a time and place where suttee, although outlawed, still took place in reality. Steeped in mystery and spiritual enlightenment, it enthralls the readers and keeps them riveted to their seats as they anxiously turn from one page to the next, not wanting to put it down until the cat and mouse game, which will keep you guessing throughout, is solved and the secrets are revealed.

"It is the story of two people living on opposite ends of the world: one dreaming of death, the other running from it. Improbably, their fate lies wrapped in each other.

Dr. Jonathan Kingsley, traveling to a Himalayan spiritual hermitage, tries to save himself from suicidal thoughts after the death of his wife. This hermitage, known as an Ashram, was meant to provide him peace even as he sought to rehabilitate others through volunteer work. But he never expected the practices and rituals he would discover, or imagined himself trying to save one woman from her unwanted future.

As the doctor searches for an excuse to keep on living, Seeta struggles to keep her own husband alive, not only out of love, but for her own safety. The townspeople of Baramedi for some reason have decided that when her husband dies, Seeta should climb atop a burning pyre to burn with his body. This practice of suttee, out of use for many years, brings Jonathan to her village in an effort to save her. But, when he arrives at the pyre, soon he realizes there is more to his journey: unbeknownst to him, the woman's safety is intricately tied with his own spiritual salvation."

It is the hope of the author that those readers, who find themselves like Dr. Kingsley, battling with the demons of losing a loved one (in this case, his wife) to suicide and going through the process of learning to love again or the women of this saga who are victims of abuse will find a healing and a voice. The Ashram takes this fear and oppression and shows how such trials can lead into happiness and fulfillment.

Sattar infuses this beautifully written story with all the love, experience and passion for life and writing that he has found within himself. It is this labour of love, which has been nurtured for ten years that has finally come to fruition and the results are EXTRAORDINARY! Definitely a tale worth waiting for! But wait no longer, buy it, immerse yourself in it and come out a stronger person afterwards. No matter what culture, background or walk of life you come from, you will be forever affected by The Ashram.