Eragon took possession of my heart!

No, not the character really, but the book, and the experience it has brought me.

It all started a few years back, when I first started reading an e-book, and for the first time in my life, enjoyed reading an electronic book. The name was 'Eragon'. And it got me intrigued. Eragon is the only e-book I've completed, an achievement in itself. But then, I stopped and forgot all about it.. Until a few months back, when I again saw the book on Flipkart. It was a book containing both Eragon and Eldest, and since I had not read Eldest, I decided to buy it. Anyways I always wanted to possess the actual book. Reading from an e-book can be tiring at times.

So I read Eragon again, and proceeded to Eldest and then couldn't resist the need to buy Brisingr as well. I was spell-bound to the story, the many intricacies of it. I like stories of magic as such, but this is the best of the lot. It has the usual charm of magic and the unknown, but not just that. Not just could I visualize Alagaesia with all of its beauty and misery, but I also was mesmerized by the many facets of the story which brought forth new concepts and new imaginations. Say for example, the "ancient language" or "Gramarye", which expresses everything by its true name - a language in which one cannot tell a lie (though of course it can be twisted to fit one's purposes). It is an amazing concept, and somehow I believe in the idea. It seems plausible that such a language may well exist, but may be lost to us. Then the concept of meditation - to open one's mind to the world, so that one can hear and feel every living being around, from the smallest unicellular organisms to the biggest of creatures. It seems a true form of meditation, something that seems to me closely related to the Hindu scriptures. There lies a large number of such concepts and more. 

Another feature of the series is the characters. They are not perfect, not even Eragon himself. As the prime character, he is naturally endowed with almost all the great features needed in a man's character. However, he also has his shortcomings. He is, for example, sometimes very stubborn in his beliefs, as in case of the Urgals. Although it does not directly affect anything of importance, it is still a smudge in his character. Apart from Eragon, however, the other characters have their flaws. They have their fears, their weaknesses and sometimes are quite selfish to their own goals. True that a reader wants the very best in his heroes, but a character only seems real if it has all the facets - good and bad. A perfect character may be bestowed upon God Himself, but no one else can really possess it!

I have enjoyed my read and am eagerly waiting for my copy of 'Inheritance', where the journey ends. And for once, I am not unhappy that the adventure will come to an end. It seems only right that it should happen. This, like any other story should not continue so long that it loses its charm, as mostly happens. I will always have the books to revert to whenever I feel like, after all. 

I would recommend this book to everyone who has a knack for imaginations and fantasies. It is a read worth having in life. My thanks to Christopher Paolini for bringing this living magic to my life. Like many of the books I have read and loved, this book has also played a role in shaping my thoughts, imaginations and views in life. :)

Chasing Dreams

I saw him.. His back turned, walking down the dusty road, his hands in his pockets. He had a confident demeanor, his back straight, his head held high. He is one representative of the teeming millions set out to fulfill their dreams in life. He represents us, the youth.

I could envision myself in him. I could see the same sturdy posture, set out to conquer the earth itself! Racing with the others, trying to make the dreams come true - our own dreams and those of the others. After all, this is what we were born for.

But here I stop and ask myself, is this what we were sent to the earth for? To fulfill dreams we don't even fully understand? We are all running toward that goal, but can we really see the end of the line? Do we at least know what holds in wait for us when we make it to the end? Some of us do, a rare few. But ask most of us, we are just bothered with the short-term goals of life. I want to work in so-and-so company, I want to earn so-and-so much, my dream is to buy a really big apartment, I would like to buy a car in the next 3 years, and so on and so forth. Ok, we all want to do all these, but what about the real things that matter to us? You love painting, but you are working in a MNC just to fulfill your short-term needs. What happens in the long-run? We lose sight of our real purposes in life and are just bothered with short-term aspirations. 

Don't lose sight of who you are. Don't feel that you need to be like someone else. We have our place in this earth, and we can all excel if we do what we are best at. We actually can conquer the earth. If you like taking care of your family and are best at that, find someone you want to take care of, and take care of him / her. Don't waste your time and energy in doing something you don't like. Yes for short time spans, we all must do things that we don't like, but make sure that it remains for that short span of time only. Most important, friends, don't lose yourself in the great expectations of everyone around you. Do what you expect yourself to do instead. Expect from yourself, but don't let others' expectations bother you. Do your duties, but believe in yourself, in your abilities, and above all your dreams. For it is dreams that make us. Follow your dreams to the end of the world, and you'll be happy in the end. Finally, what matters but your own happiness and satisfaction!

Be happy and work hard to become what you want to be. But first and foremost, realize what it is you really want to be. That solves half the problem indeed!