Usha Narayanan’s ‘Awaken The Durga Within’ Is A Must Read For Women

The writer is all praises for author Usha Narayanan’s book “Awaken The Durga Within” and says that it is a must read for women.

Women often feel oppressed and suppressed .They are used as doormats and walked over by others. How to overcome so many odds stacked against them ?

Usha Narayanan provides some rare insights to overcome the odds and march on. Her latest offering,”Awaken the Durga Within, From Glum to Glam Caged to Carefree” deals with the power inherent in women. This power needs to be rekindled and Usha Narayanan shows the way or rather ways to do so.

This book has been published in 2018 by Rupa Publications. It is priced at 195 /- only. It has 152 pages. This book is available as an e book as well.

The book has a lovely red front cover which depicts a woman wearing a golden crown with a halo around her head. She is dressed in jeans, a white tee shirt and a red checked shirt as a jacket over her tee shirt. Her hair is free and falls over her shoulders. She wears a bindi .She has ten pairs of hands to depict that she multitasks. She is folding her two hands in namaskara pose. The remaining hands are holding a remote, a cell phone, a laptop, a book, a writing pad, a pen, some ropes or strings and piece of cloth. Her complexion is wheatish and she is wearing white shoes and standing with one leg folded at the knee. This is to convey that she is walking a tightrope. The cover itself, is a tell tale sign of the problems faced by women.

The back cover is red and gives a summary of the book. Usha has written this book as a guide, so that women can get whats due to them.The back cover towards the bottom gives a facial illustration of Durga with prominent eyes and bindi .The illustration is faint as it almost merges with the background.

The book introduces the readers to Usha as an author who has written four books on Indian mythology , a thriller and two books on romance. All her books have been successful. Usha had a rewarding career in advertising and media in the corporate world before she became a successful author. She is a gold medalist with a master’s degree in English Literature.

Usha has dedicated the book to her mother who helped her to break free. Introduction states the misgivings, a majority of the women have regarding themselves. And the chapter concludes with a story from the Indian mythology about a Goddess. As one reads the story, the reader is mesmerized by the revelations that the Goddesses are sources of strength. And we, as Indian women, should take inspiration from them as the Goddess resides in each one of us !

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In the next chapters, Usha talks about the three C’s – choice, change and create. She opines that women have to choose, change and create a better world for themselves. She says that women must be assertive not aggressive to get their points across. The change may be stressful initially and yet, after assertiveness is repeated, it becomes second nature and changes and transform us. As women are transformed, they create a better world for all.

The uniqueness about this book is that each chapter narrates a story of a female character from the Indian mythology. Some characters are known to us, some are unfamiliar and yet, all are strong female characters who were assertive and stood their ground. They were able to change the tide which were unfathomable even for Gods and the Trinity. Usha narrates lesser known tales which are revelations and how. They unveil such traits of the Goddesses which were never made public. Usha connects the mythological tales to the modern day Indian women.

The suggestions are practical and simple. The author prods us on gently and states that women can take one step at a time. And these steps will add up to giant strides and these strides will lead to scintillating metamorphosis.

The author says that Indian Goddesses have shown us the path on which Indian women need to embark to affirm themselves. When women do that, they make this world a much better place because as the author rightly opines, a happy person ( more so, a happy woman ) reflects her inner happiness on to the world converting the globe into a paradise.

This book is a must read for girls as well as women. Men can read it too and get insights into how they can assist women and change their lives for the better. The title of the book “Awaken the Durga Within” is embossed in gold on the cover of the book. Likewise, the book is worth its weight in gold !

Image Source: Amazon

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