A couple of months ago, one of our boat trip shipmates was reading this book that we found out it’s the long awaited sequel of Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, so at return, anxious for some lyrical adventure we ordered “The Mountain Shadow”. It is part of the trilogy and together with the 2 Shantaram novels transmits as many conclusions about the universe as the author can get his hands on.

It has been two years since the events in Shantaram and since Lin lost his soul mate Karla, now married to a media tycoon. Now Lin must find his way in a Bombay run by a different generation of mafia dons, playing by a different set of rules..

I will not make the summary as I am letting you discover in your own way but be ready for new adventures sprinkled with faith, love, salvation, crime, morality, friendship, intrigues, goodness and badness in the world, the human nature, and a lot of Indian culture! I hope you’ll enjoy it. I certainly am.. This is a book of “profound meditations on the nature of life, time, evil, ambition, love and everything else that matters.” New York Times

As per the cover, the image in the center is a Kali yantra, a Hindu symbol that is visualized during meditation to channel spiritual thoughts. Kali is a goddess of destruction, but she can also represent creation and healing.. As a former convict who is seeking a more peaceful life, it seems as though this novel could show Lin’s rebirth as he sheds his former self and finds the spiritual guidance he needs. Kali’s themes are rebirth, cycles, joy, courage, hope, cleansing and change. If nothing else, we know that the goddess Kali represents a path that isn’t easy, meaning readers are surely in store for a dramatic read.  If you find your hopes and dreams have been crushed, Kali can change the cycle and produce life out of nothingness. Where there is sorrow, She dances to bring joy. Where there is fear, She dances in courage.

‘The purpose of life is to express the set of positive characteristics to the most sophisticated degree that you can, by connecting with pure intention to others, and our planet, and to the Divine Source of all things.’