In the introduction of her book Aritra Sarkar points to an ‘absence of purpose in life’ as the reason for low esteem and hence, the resultant unhappiness
"Sorry, mummy and papa. Please forgive me. I couldn't make it. Our journey together ends here. Don't cry. You both gave me immense love. I couldn't fulfil your dreams”, read the 18-year-old girl라이브 바카라 note to her parents in Feb this year, just before she decided to end her life following her poor scores in JEE-Mains in Gorakhpur.
The global personal development market size was estimated at USD 48.4 billion in 2024. Among other instruments, personal development includes books, comprising roughly 10% of the 2024 market, and expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% in the next five years. This growth of self-help category of books has encouraged individuals from diverse professions to document their insights and experiences.
In the introduction Sarkar points to an ‘absence of purpose in life’ as the reason for low esteem and hence, the resultant unhappiness i.e. stress. He then lists down the seven categories of it – Relationship Stress, Parental Pressure, Social Pressure, Financial Stress, Health stress, Job Stress and Competitive Pressure. The book dedicates a section to each category of stress wherein each section helps the reader understand what this specific category of stress is all about, followed by an illustrative story and finally a reflection of the story.
Sarkar라이브 바카라 message is not so much about how to avoid stress as much as it is about how to convert stress into an opportunity for rediscovering one라이브 바카라 passion and inner calling. The author narrates seven short stories, one for each category of stress. These stories are based in locations spanning from Detroit라이브 바카라 rust belt to Japan to India to Denmark to Miami and Oklahoma in the USA and London thus underlining the universality of the malaise called stress. The common thread running across these stories is that the protagonists were struggling with an absence of purpose in life. And this, Sarkar argues, was the reason why they reeled under stress. The characters are multi-cultural too as are their situations and conflicts. Aritra Sarkar라이브 바카라 language in these stories is refreshingly simple, avoiding bombastic vocabulary.
However, in the stories themselves one observes the over-simplification of the solution and a fast-track to a very happy ending, much like those Bollywood films of the 1960s. For example, in the Detroit-based story around Financial Stress, two rival drug lords decide to lay down arms upon the rekindling of a forgotten dream of building a flying car and divest their illegal businesses – just like that. And within six months the prototype of the dream car debuts as Detroit Car Expo, gets excellent reviews – and within a year a new factory is built and rolls out the flying car.
Is it that easy and quick? Likewise in the story on Health Stress all health-related problems including liver and cardiac ones magically vanish within six weeks of therapy at the Daylight Centre. Ironically, by his own admission in the book, it took the author Aritra Sarkar no less than two years after implementing radical dietary changes for the transformation to show.
And then there are those convenient coincidences like the protagonist Sonny in the Relationship Stress story meeting the Swiggy delivery boy whose father used to run the college canteen – and yes, all problems vanish once they start singing an R.D. Burman number. Another example - in the story on Job Stress the climax of the story runs thus, “…. the vaccine (for ‘COVID 19’) hit the worldwide market within two months. Thirty days later, the contagion was beaten hollow. Humanity regrouped and the world returned to normal.” Whereas in the real-world people are still coping with ‘Long COVID’.
Credibility would have been better served if these stories had ended with a change for the better beginning to happen. Instead, these dream-endings in double quick time contradict the author라이브 바카라 own opinion that a “The final destination, in fact, is not even a point we can reach in a given time.”
Another problem with the stories is the mode of storytelling. Perhaps Sarkar was constrained by the word limit and so, he resorts to a ‘Voice over’ mode of storytelling i.e. the characters don’t flesh themselves out through their conflicts – the author speaks on behalf of the characters, instead. The story on Parental Pressure starts with the paragraph, “The relationship between Brigette Larsen and her daughter was polarized by differences in their identities. These differences seemed insurmountable, and it seemed only death could bridge the gap between their souls.”, denying the reader of the gradual unravelling of the characters through events and conflicts. To a regular reader this mode of storytelling may come across as amateurish.
But yes, overall Stress to Zest is a very useful guide for people trying to cope with stress. It provides solid direction and easy tips to convert the narrow alley of stress into a valley of fresh purpose in life. And hopefully, drastically reduce tragic incidents like that of the young Gorakhpur girl라이브 바카라 life.
Stress to Zest by Aritra Sarkar, published by Penguin Random House addresses the specific problem of stress
Balaji Vittal is a National Award-winning author of Bollywood books, a columnist, a public speaker and a Bollywood commentator.