Book Review: The Golden Temple by Raj Kiran Atagaraha

Book Name: The Golden Temple 

Author: Raj Kiran Atagaraha 

Publisher: Zorba Books 

Price: Rs. 169

Blurb: 

I found you, I found God. Raj is excited to visit the Golden Temple for the first time. But it's not just the Guru Granth Sahib whom he meets in Amritsar, there's someone else waiting for him on the way Geet. A day spent together under the watchful eyes of Waheguru and Geet becomes a teacher for Raj. Neither of them realizes when the discussions on Sikhism end up teaching them secret lessons of love. It takes Raj a lot of time and courage to profess his love for Geet. But there's a wall standing in front of his 'I love you' a wall that was built way back in 1984. Desperate to break that wall, Raj returns to the Golden Temple again. Does the Golden Temple really hold any answers for him? Is Waheguru really watching over the two hearts that he had brought together?

Story in a nutshell: 

Lova can happen with any person at any place and at any point of time. Raj had never imagined that a visit to The Golden Temple would change his life forever. He leaves his place as usual thinking that his trip to Amritsar would be just another outing. He meets a girl named Geet on the bus. He learns that she too was going to the temple. Geet agrees to become is guide. Friendship starts brewing between the two. A few visits to the temple, Raj becomes educated with religious teachings of Sikhism courtesy Geet. They become best of friends and fall in love. The day Raj proposes his love to her, Geet abandons him. He happens to come to know about the 1984 incident. Will Raj be successful in finding his love? Will the incident that has left bitter minds ever be forgotten and forgiven? 

Review: 

Love stories are preferred by many and romance is favorite genre of many readers. Would you pick up a book that givea you an insight of a religion in addition to a love story? The Golden Temple as the name suggests is a love story of Raj, a Hindu boy and Geet, a Sikh girl. The cover is beautiful. The picture of the Golden Temple on the cover tells you that it is the essence of the story. The story begins with a simple bus journey which happens to transform the lives of the protagonist. The story is being narrated in first person narrative. It is done straight from the heart. There aren't fancy words used. The simple and innocent narration will touch your heart. There aren't many twists and turns in the story. The book is knowledgeable - a person having zero knowledge of Sikhism will find many teachings of the religion in this book.

Merits:

• The innocence in the story.
• The manner in which Geet educates Raj about Sikhism.
• Raj's effort to bring a change in the minds of people.

Demerits:

• The story is comparatively short. It ends real soon. I wanted to read more.

I rate:

Cover: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Story: 4/5

I rate 'The Golden Temple' with 4/5 stars.

It's time you buy this wonderful book. It's available on Amazon.