8/2/2019 Blissed Out
1/2
Defying the set normsLast Updated : 20 Mar 2012 10:13:23 AM
IST
By Zoya Philip
BANGALORE: With his latest book, Blissed Out, MC Raj is all set
to breakthe traditional and societal barriers that have long
existed. After publishing15 other books, his latest book challenges
what is considered normal andabnormal by the social environment
that the entire world lives in.
Blissed Out was launched at the Reliance Timeout in the presence
of afew eminent personalities and his family members.
It is the search of a woman, Helen, for her true identity. As
she seeks hertrue self, the story takes the reader on a voyage
through the UK, US, Indiaand Aotearoa, the land of the long white
cloud. Aotearoa is the mostwidely known and accepted Maori name for
New Zealand.
A couple of months ago I was in New Zealand for a conference
onindigenous knowledge. It was there that the idea to weave a plot
that had astrong presence of a Maori came to my mind, says Raj. The
story linedwells on Helens quest to discover herself after the
death of her Maorihusband. It also sheds light on the struggles
that the Maori faces in a bidfor self-determination and
realisation.
As Helen gets entangled in the struggle, sub-consciously it
turns her into aleader of a sort. As her search continues, she
encounters intriguingaspects of religions like Buddhism and
Hinduism, before finally uniting witha professor in India. While
Helen seems content with the end product ofher quest, a young man
enters the scene. His entrance in the story givesthe plot a whole
new dimension and turn.
Blissed Out is a book that was an outcome of various real life
experiencesthat my female friends told me about. It is a reflection
of their lives, at somepoint of time or the other while they
searched for themselves and true
love, he informs.
In fact blissed out was how one of my friends described one of
herrelationships as, reveals the author. He further adds that any
womancould relate to the book as it is influenced by real life
instances and stories.Helen was adopted by her uncle after her
parents died. While her unclewas a strict disciplinarian, Helen was
hell bent to rebel and break away
8/2/2019 Blissed Out
2/2
from the set norms. After her husbands death she leaves the
Maoricommunity to find herself. Though it is a novel, there is an
underlyingmessage in the book. It urges every girl, every woman to
discover her trueidentity and rebel against the norms, he says
while clarifying that bydefying norms he is not trying to persuade
them to go against anyone. It is
only to encourage them to stand up for themselves, he says.
The book is written in a non-unitary directional manner. What
the author istrying to imply is that instead of only moving
forward, the storys directionoften reverses along with a number of
events that occur simultaneously.This as a result gives birth to
curiosity which keeps the reader glued on.
Meanwhile another sensitive aspect that the book brushes is, sex
andrelationships. Why should it be alright for men to have
multiplerelationships and a taboo for women. How is that justified?
he questions.
This is not to say that promiscuity is the order of the day, but
to say thathow one lives ones life is solely their prerogative. No
one has the right toquestion or raise fingers at their decisions,
he asserts. In his words, thebook, Blissed Out is all about getting
over your inhibitions.
Topics:Blissed Out,book
http://expressbuzz.com/topic/blissed-outhttp://expressbuzz.com/topic/blissed-outhttp://expressbuzz.com/topic/bookhttp://expressbuzz.com/topic/bookhttp://expressbuzz.com/topic/bookhttp://expressbuzz.com/topic/blissed-out
