Book Review- The Hidden Gems by Aman Talwar

 The Hidden Gems

It's funny how the more we plunge into the "fast paced life", the more we let ourselves lose amidst the constant need of outdoing one's own self. The urge to impose a fixation upon ourselves, almost in every spheres of life and incorporate certain changes may "smoothen the journey" for a while, but the process is seductive. The more we attempt to "carve an identity", the more we let go of the one that we already have. 

The book "The Hidden Gems" is a rare gem that one must read. It helped me come across ideas and gave an opportunity to not just accept, but also brainstorm and create new ideologies. It asks us to bring "subtle differences...to evolve as an individual". It also touches upon the psyche of an individual and the fact that our mind is cluttered with unwanted worries originates solely from the art of scrutinizing ourselves, causing the splitting of the self as a consequence of acute self-consciousness, that which T.S. Eliot phrased it as "dédoublement". It sheds light on mental health and on abstract threads such as miracle, friendship, hope and so on. It touches upon the need to reintroduce the little things of life-- simple acts of simplicity that which can be brought back retrospectively. Therein lies the idea of magic cirque of memory, proposing us to derive pleasure from the gone era and the urge to relive it. 

                 

Also, I loved how the author associated one of the most important soliloques from Hamlet "To be, or no to be..." with that of one of her titles, and relate it to how human behaviours tend to feel acknowledged to such an extent that one unwittingly lets insanity have the upper hand. I would have loved to talk about each and every topic she deals with, but "the charm of reading a book" is in the act of excavating the unexplored to  discover the "HIDDEN GEMS". Last but not least, I admire how the book travels from prose or maybe, say, her point of view on certain topics to didactic poems on an alternative basis. So, what are you waiting for? Grab the book, because you clearly get to kill two birds with one stone.