Title – Jasmine Builds on Shifting
Sands
Author – Sanjay Desai
Genre – Fiction & self-help book
Publisher – ConsciousLeap Insights
No
of pages – 134
Main characters – Jasmine, Shaheen Jaiswal,
Bala
The Blurb
A captivating narrative that
ties two seemingly distinct tales in an intertwined journey on a quest to
explore manifestation. At the center of the book is Jasmine’s dream of making
it a successful model in the cut-throat world of fashion. This tale of
victories and failures is enveloped within the master narrative of Sanjay, an
erudite knowledge-seeker meeting his spiritual guru — Ma. Set in the esoteric
location of the Himalayas, the master story transports the readers to a higher
plane. Together the two parallels create a reality that is all your own.
The Review
Jasmine builds on shifting
sands is a self-help fiction by the author Sanjay Desai. Jasmine is the
protagonist in this fiction who is a normal college-goer. Her life takes an
unexpected yet pleasant turn when she wins a fashion show in college. She is
approached by Ms. Shaheen Jaiswal who runs a modeling agency. She prepares her for
a Miss Mumbai contest. From then on, Jasmine’s life becomes one roller-coaster
ride that she never expected of. She jumbles between her preparation for crown
and academics. Life throws a lot of opportunities in the form of small modeling
assignments, brand endorsements, etc. She finds it difficult to cope with the
mounting pressure of professional modeling life and her personal life. Through
this self-help fiction, the author introduces several characters like Shaheen,
makeup artist cum friend Prasad, Bala, and other model friends.
In the first few pages of the
book, the author narrate his journey and introduce his spiritual guru Ma
Krishnangiri. The spiritual guru explains different lessons and concepts of
life and then Jasmine’s narrative takes on. Many people follow spiritual gurus
in their life to have a meaningful direction. However, I am not in favor of
spiritual gurus as they usually misguide people. To give an example, people
used to follow Osho blindly for his spiritual teachings, and in the end; they
got cheated as he was involved in various crimes. The author’s introduction to
his spiritual guru seems very personal and again this does not add up any
value.
Jasmine’s story is relatable to
common folks like us as we everyday struggle to become something in our life.
Even if the story of Jasmine is relatable, it does not add up an extra value to
a commoner’s life. Struggling to be at the top in a cut-throat competition is
not everyone’s ambition. The most common struggles are how to become an
efficient worker, become a team-builder, having an effective conversation with
others, and many more. The author did focus on some common strategies but it
does not give any extra inputs or something that we never heard of.
There are many self-help books
in the market already. The only difference this book makes is a relatable
narration. Overall, this book is preferred by those who are looking for some
self-help in simple and easy English.
The writing style
The author’s writing style is
extremely simple. The author has chosen a direct and plain writing style since
the book falls into the category of self-help.
The title & the book cover
The title justifies the
narration as the protagonist does shape herself with the changing times. The
book cover does not convey the theme of the story at all.
Rating
2.5/5
About the author
Sanjay is an entrepreneur and
an ex-banker, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, and a Chartered Accountant. During
his successful career, Sanjay has been integrating the essence of a parallel
spiritual journey with his material pursuits. He has now set out to share the
ways and means of seamlessly traversing through the material and spiritual
world.
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