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Dreams And Realities [Paperback]

R. Suryanarayanan (Author) Quantity: 1 6

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Product Description
The great emperor Asoka grew up in Shivaite tradition and learnt not only Vedas but also art of war. He grew up dreaming to become the great emperor of
his country. His wife Devi and his beloved daughter Sangamitta would play a decisive role in stopping the bloody Kalinga war by converting him to
Buddhism. But was she right? If she had fulfilled her father's last dream, she could have changed the destiny of India. On the banks of the Ganges, a
Sanyasi speaking in fluent French recounts his dreams to a passer-by. He falls in love with Nalini. But he is unable to marry her-why? To forget her, he goes
to Strasbourg to do his doctorate. Unknowingly he falls in love with Brigitte but due to a strange condition put by her father, he could not win her hand. The
passer-by is surprised and upset to hear this story and decides not to reveal his own identity to the Sanyasi. Easwaran had his elementary and secondary
education in an unknown school in Perambur, a suburb of Madras. Listening to inspirational stories of Newton, Faraday and Ramanujan told by his teachers
and by his Diamond Uncle, a curious person, he started dreaming of becoming a scientist. Unable to get a doctorate in India, he succeeds in getting one at
the University of Paris. However, he gets dejected there and decides to try his luck in USA. There, aided by his wife and his sons, he realizes his dream. The
author will donate the Royalty fees from the sales to Sankara Nethralaya, an eye hospital in India serving the poor and the needy. He will be happy to
receive comments on his work and can be contacted at ayloorsury@yahoo.com

About the Author

With a passion for science and India, the author, a scientist with a Doctorate in Physics from the University of Paris mixes, in a unique way, facts into fiction.
In three different stories related to the dreams of a king, a sanyasi and a young student, he takes you from Indian history 300 BC to modern science with
glimpses of ancient Hindu philosophy, music, dance, traditions, customs and scientific discoveries in India, Europe and USA.

Product Details
Paperback: 204 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse (July 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781449003579
ISBN-13: 978-1449003579
ASIN: 1449003575
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: (4 customer reviews)
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,924,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Dreams and Realities by Dr. R. Suryanarayanan, December 16, 2010
By Jagdish - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dreams And Realities (Paperback)

Dreams and Realities by Dr. R. Suryanarayanan is an interesting read giving an excellent prologue about the diverse cultural and
religious traditions of India. He gave some flavor about the philosophy of Rig Veda and Upanishads (philosophical literature of the
Hindu religion) and also discussed the subtle connection between Indian classical music system and mathematics. Three stories in the
book beautifully illustrated the gap between dreams and realities. The first story is about the famous king Asoka who dreamed to
become an emperor. His dreams relentlessly persuaded him to attack neighboring kingdoms which he kept winning. However, the
taste of every victory was bitter due to a huge loss of human life and suffering. Finally the famous bloody battle of Kalinga completely
transformed him into a man who believed that no victory in the battle field is greater than the peace and love. The great king Asoka
then started preaching the principles of Buddhism and built many monasteries around the Indian subcontinent. The second story is
about a young man whose dreams fall short of the realization due to the social constrains and traditions and eventually became a
sanyasi. The third story is about a young man who was inspired by scientific discoveries and stories of great scientists told by his
teacher. He became a physicist and to fulfill his dreams he moved to USA with his family. In addition to the many interesting social
incidences, he also discussed many scientific laws and discoveries by Newton, Faraday, and Ramanujan at layman level which make
this book quite mesmerizing.
I have been informed that every dollar earned as a royalty from this book goes to an Eye Hospital in India.
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By R. Raman - See all my reviews Published 7 months
This review is from: Dreams And Realities (Paperback)

DREAMS AND REALITIES By R. Suryanarayanan, AuthorHOUSE UK Ltd, Search Custom

2009, 206 pages, Paperback. Price not shown on the cover.
In the summer of 1997 The New Yorker magazine (USA) published an issue dedicated to Indian novelists and brought up the question
b
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d
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why there are suddenly so many Indian novelists. In the comment section Bill Buford expressed the view that in a land of eighteen
languages and a seemingly infinite range of cultures a new kind of English has found voice, a distinctly Indian English, one that is at
› See all 4 cus
once local and international, of its culture and of the globe. More than a decade later the aphorism is even truer, as reflected in the
hundreds of published books authored by Indians and an ever-increasing Indian population living abroad. Some tomes have literary
merit, some offer intellectual sophistication, and many others are just narratives, but all are essential voices nonetheless.
Dreams and Realities by R. Suryanarayanan is a collection of three stories. The first one is about Emperor Asoka (300 -232 BC) who
has a dream that strange people with "long beards and long swords" invading India and wreaking havoc. He also tells his daughter of
his fear that fanatical Hindus and Buddhists will fight each other to destruction. One is a dream about Muslims and the other an
apprehension. The irony is that both are historically true. In the eleventh century Muslims did invade India destroying temples and
forcibly converting Hindus. In 800 AD Adi Sankara Acharya debated the Buddhists and won the argument peacefully, marking the end
of Buddhism in India. A secondary thread of the narrative is the description of various Hindu scriptures, especially the Rudram chant
all of which Asoka learns from the priests. Indians living abroad will find the quotes very interesting, though it can be distracting at
times.
The second narrative is in the first person, has a good story line, and a good opening. It is modern times. The author visiting India
with his son Asoka runs into a French-speaking Sanyasi, who tells him his unfortunate life story. Well-versed in music and debating
Ramakrishnan wants to marry his schoolmate Nalini, but the astrologers forbid the marriage. Dejected he goes to France and obtains
a doctorate degree. While in that country he meets Brigitte, with whom he engages in long discussions about Indian culture, history,
politics, etc. He also has conversation with Brigitte's father on the history of Indian mathematics. Having established good rapport
with the family he wishes to marry Brigitte, but there is one problem. Their blood Rh groups do not match and he had to forsake her.
His dream is shattered a second time. Back in India he renounces everything to become a Sanyasi taking the ascetic name of
Raghavananda. The author takes leave of him, but is not able to tell him that he is the one who married Nalini and, Brigitte, following
Nalini's death. Brigitte also is killed in a car accident. The astrologers did approve Nalini's marriage, but it is Rh mismatch that kills
her. Or is it?
The last episode is in third person and concerns Easwaran, who, from his early days, dreams of becoming a big scientist. He succeeds
beyond his dreams. It is remarkable that he does not encounter any problems other than being graduated from a remote ordinary
high school. Lots of cultural, philosophical, and religious information is incorporated in the narrative, which sometimes distract the
reader.
One of the challenges facing any Indian writer is to find exact equivalents to many expressions commonly used in India. For example,
Suryanarayanan uses the word "Gotra." It is not in the dictionary and American readers without access to Google search will find the
lexis strange. The best translation I have seen is the phrase "totemic crest."
In God of Small things author Arundathi Roy includes a lot of Malayalam words that fit the story well.
The author says that his objective is to promote greater religious harmony and progress. This is a very noble thought worth support
and encouragement.

Ramakrishn Raman (R. R. Iyer) *

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

* R. R. Iyer is an Indo-American ex-engineer and a writer from Atlanta, who has published short stories (Khabar), opinion/editorial
pieces (AOLNews Feedback Soapbox column and
The Atlanta Journal). He is currently working on a novel.
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From L. Gopalan, Chennai,India, September 24, 2010

By R. Suryanarayanan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams And Realities (Paperback)

From L. Gopalan, Chennai, India

The author has vividly sketched a panoramic canvass of the cultures of India and Europe covering the days of antiquity to modernity
as the back cover page of the book adequately outlines it.Apparently, it is the first book written by this author who is past 70y! and
has packed it with his rich personal side including his own dreams and experiences.Reading in between the lines I admire his rather
suggestive approach. One may notice that he has woven three different episodes seemingly unconnected.In his first episode, king
Ashoka's dreams did not materialize which would have changed the very course of history .The question naturally arises should every
dream turn into reality. The answer is a categorical no .Just imagine what would have happened or happen if all tyrants of history like
Hitler had materialised their dreams or the present day terrorists realize their dreams? Shakespeare, did he not demonstrate in
Macbeth that although ambition can be a good thing, it can get the best of even the greatest people and bring upon their downfall
rather than ultimate achievement? The second episode is one reflecting a strange coincidence. The world is filled with astonishing
occurrences of coincidence and synchronicity that defy explanation. We all know that Mark Twain was born on the day of the
appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, and died on the day of its next appearance in 1910. He predicted this in 1909, when he said:
"I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it." The third episode about Eswaran
realizing his dream to become a scientist drawing inspirations from Faraday,Newton,and Ramanujan. An honest desire to serve the
cause of science which gets realized as the episode points out. Are these incredible stories of mere chance... or the hand of fate? Even
science now a days looks upon chance as collapse of wave functions of certain quantum potentialities.Doubt therefore lingers,

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whether there is a divine will that collapses these potentialities?Throughout these stories, the author mixes in a judicious and
captivating way , though a bit long here and there, ancient and some not well known historical facts, literature and modern
technologies. Finally, it is commendable that the author donates the earnings from the sales for a good cause and hence, richly
deserves good turnover through the support of its readers.
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