BOOK REVIEW - COLOURS OF LIFE by Inderjit Kaur

BOOK REVIEW - COLOURS OF LIFE by Inderjit Kaur

Inderjit Kaur is no preacher though all her three books under her ‘A Living Series’ stress on encountering all the trials, tribulations and vicissitudes that life throws at us on our journey. The focal point of all her writings is that one has to face life with a positive attitude; a belief in one’s own inner strength and that life is valuable and has to be lived to realize one’s full potential. In this context I liked her quote from my favorite author and influencer Albert Camus’ – ‘In the midst of winter, I found there was within me an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, there’s something stronger – something better pushing it right back’; that about sums up her life also.

In her own words in Part B Section 8 of her book, ‘Colours of Life’ she says, ‘I experienced high and ebb tides in my life. The legal cases accompanied by a broken marriage and the divorce that ensued had driven me towards unending episodes of severe migraines that would not leave me until I injected painkillers.” She had come to a point where she felt that ‘All life is meaningless.’ She continues “During those struggling days of more than two and a half years of the legal fight (domestic violence), I engaged myself in writing during the early mornings. I drenched myself in music even while performing my household chores, making sure not to leave myself alone in desolation, loneliness and sufferings.”

Inderjit has been a traveller, this book like her previous ones exudes a positivism that is infectious and by the time one comes to the end you feel that there is after all hope and we need not be overtaken by the disappointments and the miseries that we subject ourselves to in the process of living our life.

‘Colours of Life’ is organized in two sections – Part A consisting of seven sections corresponding to the seven colors of the rainbow, each color being attributed to a positive characteristic that should see us through our darkest hours. Whether it is Violet which ‘inspires positivity, culminating in achieving the pinnacle of spiritual enlightenment’, or Orange the color of compassion or Red ‘exuding a strong and a very powerful energy and associating will to stand courageously to survive’, she traces the entire gamut of emotions and qualities required to make our living authentic and thus meaningful. While the method of reaching out with her message through anecdotal stories/encounters is interesting, the chapter on Red appealed to me most as it is autobiographical and traces the roots of her courage to come through the struggles she faced in her life, to her father who inspired her with his message – ‘Adjust, adapt and keep moving with a smile” Inderjit says that it is the smile that she received as a gift from her father who had stood strong in all adversities in is life.

Part B forms a major portion of the book consisting of multiple sections where she underscores the importance of commitment and responsibility in achieving our dreams of leading a wonderful life. She says that life can be looked upon as a series of choices, a beautiful challenge and a collage. Drawing largely from her own understanding of life’s experiences, she shares what she feels would contribute to a fulfilled life.

In summing up I shall quote from her last page in the book – “We can’t live in illusions, we have to focus on and give our hundred percent doing justice to whatever we are doing no matter how much difficult or mundane it may appear we must make sure that we remain disciplined and determined.”

While I marvel at the stream of positive thoughts in this book, I pause to wonder whether this unending positivity is possible in our lives. Frankly no, but this is precisely why this book becomes relevant, for beyond the darkness that seems to envelop us there is the hope of light with the dawn of a new morrow.

This is a book that falls under the self-help category and helpful it will definitely be to have it with you to browse through and reassure yourself.