Glian, the son of Nature
ISBN: 81-88575-60-7
Synopsis
‘Glian’
Pronunciation: gli\ ä \n
Meaning: the awakened
Glian being published by Srishti Publishers follows a universal theme and is set against a unique backdrop of forests very rarely used in books. Glian is the story of Dev (the prime character and narrator in the book), who comprehends how important his relationship with green is. In a quest to embrace nature and yearning to sustain bonds with it, Dev embarks upon a literary and philosophical grand tour along with his friends Ravi, Rimi and Ruchi. The tour explores his eternal love for nature leading to a series of experience intertwined with richly compelling relationship tales which they share during their escapade.
The book is expertly done with clear writing, a sense of place, the right number of well-drawn characters and amount of well-crafted plot. The fast-moving story line and the easy-to-understand English are the two winning features of this book. Also, the short stories make the book more interesting than just being simply narrated.
From the drama of the predator kills to the enchanting views of exotic animals and breathtaking landscapes the story covers experiences that are varied and visually enthralling as any outdoor lover could hope to find, all nestled within the compact geography of a forest.
With his Knowledge about animals and instincts, Dev savors all that Mother Nature presents and enjoys closeness to the wild even in the face of danger. He succeeds in evoking a feeling of being privileged to observe the wild from so close amongst his friends. Despite the tremulous start, his friends also accept the wild and learn that the wild is more lovable than we actually think.
Whether he’s recalling his childhood in Mussorie and the time spent with Arthur (whom Dev is looking for in the forest), or working in New York City, Dev’s philosophical connections with nature are as unexpected as they are inspiring. Shattering the myth that survival of the fittest means survival of the violent, or the cruelest, Dev imagines a world in which love for nature dominates–and offers ample evidence that this is not an unreachable ideal.
Dev urges a life embracing love for nature. He marks the rate, at which humans are drifting away behind the guise of evolution, is mortifying and suggests that our culture’s habitually selfish, combative behavior is far from being in our best interests. Today, there are so many children who end up growing confused as all they get in the name of education is crafted history and ways to earn a living. Each school, college, institution is like a training house, churning out millions into the work force. The pace and material wants is too fast for a man to stop and watch. Dev opines that our school of thought is so contaminated over years of artificiality, material longing, sex, violence, greed, hatred that we can’t really call any of our opinions naturally genuine.
Driven by the quest to reconcile childhood simplicities with the complex, urgent, adult questions about who to be, and how and why, Dev feels that all living creatures, humans are a part of very large system and one can learn from everything that is around him only when one is meek and humble. The more time you spend with nature, the more you understand and appreciate nature’s splendor and brilliance.
The story becomes progressively more synoptic as it nears its conclusion; Dev finds himself and his sole companion in a bizarre situation. This incidence triggers a sequence of events making them desire something even more remote and primitive…ceding to sterile civilization and wilderness forever.