Thanks to prof. Unnikrishnan at IIMK this book has happened. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is a classic on how a man traverses various phases in his life and the dilemmas he encounters during this journey.
Any novel that tackles a philosophical subject as journey of life tends to be abstract. But Herman Hesse made life easy with right set of characters around Siddhartha, the protaganist in the novel. In the story, Siddhartha donned many caps like an obedient son, a guiding friend to Govinda, a diligent follower to Samanas( till he was with them) and Gotama, a loyal lover to Kamala, a high performing employee to Kamaswami and a respectful father. However, Siddhartha never belonged to any of these roles and always moved ahead in life in search of trueself. His conversations with Vasudeva, the ferryman, towards the end of the novel are esoteric and give right conclusion.
I first read this book during LIDA (Leadership: Inspiration, Dilemmas and Action) sessions at IIMK and personally enjoyed a lot. After this, I read this twice again and everytime the feelings I went through have been different. The words and incidents in the novel put different thoughts at different times. The way different characters and relationships portrayed in the book have been exemplary and they do represent many of real life scenarios.. The book is worth reading if one needs to look life in a different way..may be a better one!
