September, a month of emotional freedom: Gurcharan Das

Author Gurcharan Das, who was in the city to promote his book 'Kama The Riddle of Desire' recently, says that his book comes at a time when India is celebrating emotional freedom.

His book, the third of a trilogy, following Indian Unbound and Difficulty of Being Good, explores 'kama'. The book which is being promoted right after verdicts by the Supreme Court decriminalising adultery and Section 377, hopes to open minds, he says.

"September was a month of verdicts which will bring emotional freedom. My son is gay and until 12.35 pm on September 6, I was afraid to talk about my son openly. I felt that somebody might harm him; we all have enemies. My wife and I felt a sense of relief, like a burden was lifted off our shoulders after the verdict. It was a wonderful judgement and it was good to see how the judges quoted Western sources. They could have quoted from Indian sources too, which has been explored in 'Kama The Riddle of Desire'," he says.

India Unbound was about 'artha', Difficulty of Being Good was about 'dharma' and Kama The Riddle of Desire is about 'kama', he details. "Every Indian wants to know how a poor country can become rich. We all want to wipe out poverty, which was the driving force for the first book. I saw corruption and I decided to go back to The Mahabharata which is about dharma, which was explored in the second book. The latest book is about 'kama', a problem we all face," he says.

The classic dilemma between 'dharma' and 'kama' has been indulged in the latest book which is a fictional memoir, he adds.

"Each of us has to find out for ourselves about what is the right thing to do. The book tries to throw light on every aspect of 'kama'," he says.

Gurcharan explains, "'Artha' is material well-being, 'dharma' is moral wellbeing, 'kama' is emotional well-being and 'moksha' is spiritual well-being. The classical Indian answer to a good life is the balance of all four aims of life in balance."

"My personal answer to happiness is loving the work you do and to love the person you live with," he adds.

When asked if the trilogy would be followed by a book on 'moksha', he says, "My father would have been the right person to write a book on moksha, as he used to meditate. I am not sure if I will have the resources to explore 'moksha'."