Darkness and Beyond

by Gs. Subbu

Whether it is a journey to the native village ending in the discovery of one's roots, or the old man who awaits his end with equanimity in the hope that there is always something beyond the darkness that would soon engulf him, GS.Subbu delves deep into the lives of people who we may have met sometime, somewhere and left their imprint on us. The old woman totally immobilized, slipping into dementia; the revolutionary who believes that violence only begets more violence; the young man or the middle-aged woman's search for an ideal relationship; a visually challenged boy; the patriarch who fights his way back from an abused childhood; the savant's search for that secret to ultimate happiness and bliss; or the ordeals faced by a young widow, these are nine stories of 'Hope'; nine slices of life!

208 pages, Paperback

Published July 3, 2016

About the author

An Engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, by qualification and a Banker by profession, he retired from the State Bank of India in the year 2010 and settled down in Chennai. An avid blogger, he has been writing regularly for the last five years on his blog ‘Sublimation’. His writings range from the deeply philosophical meditations to depicting the inherent humor present in our daily lives, from appreciation of art to writing poetry and doing book reviews. His other interests include painting and music.

'Darkness and Beyond – A Medley of Many Lives' is GS.Subbu’s second book. While in the first book 'I am just An Ordinary Man' a fictional autobiography he dealt with the process of growing up and aging, addressing the questions and the existential angst which arise in the mind of any person during the process of living, 'Darkness and Beyond' is all about being part of a larger process of understanding through the lives of others that it is ‘Hope’ which takes us forward in living an authentic life.

Reviews

[Author Inderjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Darkness & Beyond' is all about being part of the larger process of understanding through the lives of others that it is 'Hope' that takes us forward in order to live an authentic life.

Darkness and Beyond - A Medley of Many Lives is GS.Subbu's second book. While in the first book I am just An Ordinary Man, a fictional autobiography, he dealt with the process of growing up and aging.
GS.Subbu delves deep into the lives of people who we may have met sometime, somewhere and left their imprint on us.

'Darkness and Beyond'-
Rediscovered as an incredible journey to Nine stories: Searching the roots in the native village or the heart touching story of an old man accepting his transitional phase through twilight zone of his life who instills the hope and is positive that there's always something beyond the depth of darkness adding a slice of yet another story of an old woman who is totally immobilized, slipping into darkness of dementia or it's the character of Master Moshai the revolutionary, who believes that violence only begets more violence and delivers only sufferings and the change in the society is only possible through awareness. Further the darkness engulfs to the adding of a survival story of A visually challenged boy who is born blind or The Patriarch who fights his survival of darkness in form of abused childhood, to the light of prosperity or it's the savant's searching for the  ultimate happiness and bliss from life or A tale of two young widows and the ordeals faced, which is an attempt to portray the repugnant rituals and the contrast life they suffered each day. These are nine stories of Life's darkness and hope beyond!  Every story is intriguing and the positive message of  determination of each person is well established with their experiences and the painful efforts they've been taking to overcome the darkness if their lives!

Author's philosophical writing outshines and that is what makes him different from others! There's lots of authenticity in his work.  I'm amazed to witness the deep philosophical writing of GS .Subbu that makes him shine in the crowd, specially the detailing  that's so well described and the author has successfully completed the presentation of 9 lives by adding crisply crafted words that so well describe the  roots of Indian values.
A well deserved 5 STAR Review! 

For all inspirational  reads visit my Amazon author page 
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00TJHMCH4
Inderjit Kaur

[N MOHAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darkness and beyond; the cover in itself conveys all and makes a reader inquisitive to know what the author has now to convey --an ordinory mans' experience in todays scenario-- a big gap in the days the author had undergone trying to find a bridge between the school of thought of the older gneration vis a vis the present and future -- an ideal book that keeps a reader engrossed ; I am sure practically every one would have undergone similar situations ; many could have failed but examples shown of various charectors makes one feel-- yes one can find a solution for better ways and try to find light form the darkness; It makes the reader eager to know what the author has in suspense in his next chapter and where the author has shared the experience of another charactor; Every chapter is intriguing and the the determination of each individual ; the experiences and efforts in overcoming the problem or the dark passage they underwent ----in every one of the 9 chapters - be it a sambasivam; or satyamurthy or Raghav or devaki or satyajit-- every chapter only makes the reader think back to his old days where he also has undergone similar experiences and makes one think-- darkness after light or light after darkness and what is in store ??? both scenario is made to feel by the reader while going thro this book; and the simple language by the author makes the book more lively

the author depicts reality in expereince of a life journey of every individual from darkness in a mothers' womb to a reality of seeing light IF not unfortunate like RAGHAV and again faced with the loom of darkness unable to deciphor what lays ahead; Some come out with courage and help and guidence of the loved and caring like RAGHAV Parents or a person like Arumugam who helped ARUL in shaping his life to glory thro hard work and determination ; and many more related in this book--

it is a MUST READ for the people of every age

n mohan
bangalore

[Sridhar Raju · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darkness and Beyond can be read either as a collection of absorbing stories dealing with the multicultural society we live on or as a continuation of the existential questions raised in the author’s The Autobiography of an Ordinary Man.
Either way the reader will not be disappointed.
GSS portrays with great sensitivity a variety of subjects including the search for roots, the coping with loneliness, the attraction of extremist thought, the misery of child widowhood. The settings are vivid, the detailing of the characters authentic and the framing of their feelings very touching It will be a rare person who will not be able to empathise with the protagonists in each story chapter. I did wonder why it is not treated as a collection of short stories because each chapter is readable on a stand-alone basis but then there is a common thread which runs through each one of them weaving them into a gossamer cocoon.
Whether it is Sankara or Master Moshai or Rajam each one is in search of the thing which will bring meaning to their fractured existence..
What I really liked about the book is the way the author(?) gives each protagonist the space to express their thoughts and gives an empathetic platform.
A wonderful read!

[Arti Honrao · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the few books I could not keep aside once I started reading it. The smooth flow of narration makes it an effortless read.
At first glance, I assumed it to be non-fiction and was pleasantly surprised to know that it is a work of fiction.
The author does mention in the introduction that there is a touch of reality to a part of the book.
If you are one of those who skip the preface and introduction part of the books; I would recommend you read for this one.

Author's first book has been reviewed in Writer's Ezine - my online magazine; though I have not read it personally. After reading this book, I will definitely pick it up to read.

Also, Chapter 1 to 9 I assumed to be chapters of a continuous story but are in truth short stories. (A Medley of Many Lives .. I should have known)


Detailed review here - http://www.artihonrao.net/2016/09/rev...

[Shalini Chandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating collection of short stories of ordinary individuals facing extraordinary challenges in their lives. Through the short stories the author narrates the difficulties encountered by the protagonists and the immense impact a single individual has on their lives. My personal favorite was the last story “Tonsured : a Tale of two widows”- a touching story of resilience of a helpless young widow who receives the care and compassion of another widow. As a reader I could relate to the various characters outlined in most of the short stories!!

[Gopalan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is life beyond darkness - a truth seeker's intellectual trekking through generations brings up new insights



GS Subbu has a unique understated style as a story teller. He presents his characters as a stranger to them and lets the reader hear the story of their lives in a manner the characters take over his role and he steps in occasionally with questions the readers would typically have in their minds as they read the narrative.

Often the core of the narrative is unlike fiction as experiences of many lives give one an immersive experience of reading a biography. This means initially between Chapters the reader may pause and reflect on a life just shared by a character before resuming with the next chapter.

This medley is thoughtfully woven with stories of diverse characters to begin with author's own forefathers with a gentle breeze of Tamirabharani giving readers a rare fresh breath of pure air setting the tone for the presentation. This is soon followed by a glimpse into more authentic lives that come in as the author progresses in capturing interesting chance encounters. These encounters unfold as intellectually stimulating conversations arguably reflecting in places the author's philosophy of life which gradually gets its validations and supplements of nuances as mirrored in the many lives in the medley. The lives and their lessons transcend gender, class, generation and periods we are hazily aware of and now getting to see in stillness with the author's rare precision akin to that of a candid photographer.

As it is a medley the author has exploited with literary impunity contrasts of lives from a wide spectrum that take the reader through a balanced view on the contemporary societal orientation to purpose of life with its growing assertion on individual freedom being the edifice of a purposeful life at one end of spectrum to the extreme opposite of an era when women were commoditized and forced to live in a preset framework as determined by patriarchs of our society, at the other end. In the process the author has also extended the work to cover important socio economic upheavals in India like Naxalism with a rare balance between compassion and pragmatism.I would say he has walked on razor's edge. Here again he has been very democratic and given space for every view with a message that is imbued with wisdom collectively derived on the subject.

What is the thread that holds the medley together? The theme evolves around many lives that are so different in situations and responses but all having one thing in common which is seeking the truth, seeking to know the purpose of life and embrace it in all earnestness. In some cases early adversity in life typical of a period of scarcity of resources the characters go through a process of quest where they are forced into making their lives
all themselves with bare hands from scratch.

As we shift to contemporary age the hollowness of plenty kicks in.While lives involved in the individual transforming herself give a sense of Karma there are lives that rose above their own situations and extended their life to be purposeful by uplifting others with variants of violent and non violent constructive social work.

The thread gets firmer as experiences are collected and there is a silent sifting of these life experiences the author drives in the reader's minds with sublimity. Life's purpose is to brave the darkness as a normal part and parcel of itself so the meaning is found beyond the darkness.

Here the darkness is not exclusive experience to have nots or the oppressed or the marginalised gender or class. There is a kind of dark ceiling everyone has to hit, pause,reflect and proceed to find out more by way of their own quest, a journey of their own that takes them towards a light of their own. Yes it is a darkness unique to them, it is their own journey and there is a lonely pursuit. Does this mean no one else plays a role? No. They do stumble upon their own Gurus but for a momentary directional change. Then they walk alone and some of them go on to inspire more people to take a fresh look at their lives so they can chart their journeys purposefully.

Here the author has also extended the envelope to hear the story of a spiritual guru whose continual quest for purpose of his own life despite guiding thousands of followers gives us a sense of what a truth seeker undergoes no matter at what level of wisdom and maturity.

I read recently a quote from a Buddhist philosopher to the effect that 'Pain is not optional, but suffering is.'

To me darkness manifests pain and there is freedom from pain beyond darkness. It is not optional inasmuch as everyone has to come to terms with it in her life. But then that is to be embraced as part of one's life and not as a suffering. That is a personal choice that can take one beyond one's darkness to light.This freedom of choice to find light, the truth is to be embraced here and now by being aware that through darkness and beyond there is a life with a purpose of its own.Darkness is not an end but a new beginning.

[Sandeep Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I look at my book shelf, there are very few rare books that I think I should read them again; read them again just to get the eternal feeling that the author has created with his words on the pages. ‘Darkness and Beyond’ by G.S. Subbu is one such book. I got to know that this is the second book of the author and as I have completed this one, I would surely go for the first one as well.
Now let’s talk about the book. I read the blurb after reading the book so I had no idea that it is basically a story collection from the author with a central theme of Hope out of the darkest phases of life. This book is having 9 stories and all of them are class apart from each other. Every story starts with a question and ends with just one answer and that is ‘Hope’. All the stories seem to be so real and the characters so lively that nowhere it seems to be a fiction. Starting from a grandfather’s dilemma and ending at widow’s destiny, there are so many things that are discussed in this book.
Coming to the highlight of the book and that is the writing style of the author. There are only few authors out there who possess the magic of creating hallucination of words without using complex English. Author plays with words and makes his readers feel as if taking a deep swim in the ocean of literature.
At the end, the book has actually surprised me because of the quality of writing. I would surely love to recommend this masterpiece to everyone who loves to read unconventional literature works.

[Nk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subbu delves outside himself for most part of this book. Most of these stories are experiential, so you cannot remove the autobiographical. They are all existentialist, you cannot separate the 'Karma' from the Karmic. But as the title implies, the stories take you beyond darkness. So these are essentially about hope, effort and redemption, in no particular order; it does not matter, because in the end, these nine people he has told us about could have been you or me.
Subbu's style does not tax you, that is the beauty of his writing. But he refuses to be a mere narrator. The essence of human struggle can be amazingly spiritual; Whether it is the departed grandfather who oracle-like gives the insight from the old family home by the riverside or the blind boy who finds real love and a life partner in the pursuit of the first love of music, the protagonists are vivid people, with a real life. They never become caricatures of a philosophical quest, which could have happened if Subbu was a lesser craftsman, but it does not happen. Every story is a lesson in hope. and each story brings us closer to an understanding that 'Thou shalt not Despair' !
The quotes are well selected. 'Mrityorma Amritam Gamaya' succinctly captures the these of the stories well. The quotes from Kierkegaard, Coelho, Frost and Schopenhauer are indicative that these stories are about celebrating life, commitment, effort, understanding, acceptance, devotion and finally redemption.
Finally, Subbu awaiting the next set of works from you!