Nectar of the Grateful Victim – An essential read for the thinking adult
The book is a Fictionalized Account of a true life story.
Nectar of the Grateful Victim is a fictionalized account of thirty years in the life of a remarkable and inspiring woman called “Maya.” Her story is by and large true and is typical of many women born in India from the 1950s through the 1970s…a story of exacting societal expectations, control, and limitations. And it is also the story of Maya gradually overcoming these and other tremendous obstacles, of Maya learning over time to “master” herself in order that she might ultimately lead a fulfilled and productive life.
In the course of her story, teenaged Maya must endure being parlayed into marriage with a complete stranger who is grossly misrepresented to Maya’s family. She is subsequently whisked away to the then-new nation of Tanzania, Africa, where await life-threatening dangers of which she is wholly unaware, and for which she outwardly seems unprepared. In time Maya sets her course upon a third continent and upon a pathway of self-discovery that leads her to personal freedom and to outstanding service within her community.
Maya undergoes a dramatic transformation of consciousness, realizing that she must have the courage to break free from the societal and/or religious conditioning that has traditionally kept women suppressed, and that has kept them from seeing their true beauty and power.
Nectar of the Grateful Victim is about re-discovering the power that resides within one’s self. And this soul-stirring book derives even greater strength in being drawn from the experiences of an entire generation of women who dared to dream of a more equitable world, and who also dared to evolve themselves from within to make that world a reality.
Nectar of the Grateful Victim opens in Maya’s hometown of Ludhiania, in the Punjab region of northernmost India very near present-day Pakistan. However, Maya’s well-meaning Sikh parents soon agree to a hastily arranged marriage for Maya, and this marriage set the stage for her relocation to the Central East Coast of Africa for more than a decade, followed by her immigration to England. Therefore, the story line follows action on three continents as Maya travels to and from her native India as well as the “paradise” of Tanzania, Africa and her eventual home in London’s West End.
For the thirty years of Maya’s story covered in Nectar of the Grateful Victim, she is wed to the indecipherable and withdrawn Abichal who was presented to her and her family as an educated man of means at age twenty-eight. The truth of his meager education, of his fledgling business, and of his actual age soon come to light, but that truth is far too late in being revealed to save Maya from the restrictive bonds of the marriage. And, although Abichal is sexually indifferent to his fertile and attractive young wife, Maya initiates sexual relations with him on a number of occasions, and the couple have three children during the time they reside in Tanzania.
Various family members of both Maya and Abichal (including their three children) play major roles in the telling of Maya’s life story, but the focus is consistently upon Maya herself as she struggles to survive the ill treatment of Abichal, to love and nurture the children in the vacuum of their father’s neglect, and to search deep within herself for answers and direction in her life. Each of the supporting characters reveal one or more of the aspects of Maya that enable her not only to survive decades of severe trials but in time to also blossom into a spiritually mature and self-assured person without bitterness and blame.
This story is appealing in many ways. It is the tale of Maya’s longing for romantic love leading to her realization that one cannot (and should not) try to direct another person’s emotions or life. It is the tale of Maya learning to truly forgive what seemed to have been “wrongs” against her and to replace all indignation with a sense of it’s-my-life-and-happiness-must-come-from-within-me. It is the tale of an Indian-born woman sharply questioning the strictures of her traditional society, but of her doing so with great respect for all that has gone before. It is the tale of a person in the new millennium discovering the importance of living in the “now” versus a focus on either the past or the future. It is the tale of one who finds that an attitude of gratitude will always outshine those of longing or lack.
And it is the gripping tale of a young beauty queen with dreams of romance, fame, and fortune who has the entirety of her dreams stripped away from her, but who serendipitously finds that which proves far more lasting and precious than the “Maya” of her youthful fancy.
Nectar of the Grateful Victim will appeal to every thinking adult who values the triumph of hope and personal responsibility over despair and blame of others. Men, women, boys, and girls alike will be inspired by the example of Maya as she bravely navigates a thirty-year labyrinth of tribulations, and then blossoms into a self-motivated and self-actualized pillar of her community.
About the Author
Taran Dhillon holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, earned in London, and she currently resides in the charming West London town of Hounslow where she (like her character Maya) operates a specialized school that recognizes the uniqueness of each student’s gifts and needs.
Many attributes of Ms. Dhillon’s heroine Maya, indeed many of the scenes of Maya’s life as presented in the book you hold, reflect the real-life experiences of its author. For example, both Maya and Ms. Dhillon were Indian-born teen brides by way of arranged marriages, both women dwelt for more than a decade in Tanzania, and both have made devoted careers in the education of children.
Nectar of the Grateful Victim is Ms. Dhillon’s first published book, but she is already at work on additional volumes that will expand upon Maya’s story and will share greater detail about the philosophy and practice of Ms. Dhillon’s school and counseling in Hounslow.
Ms. Dhillon is quite fond of quoting Sir Winston Churchill’s declaration that “Success is enthusiasm in the face of repeated setbacks.” In fact, Nectar of the Grateful Victim is Ms. Dhillon’s case in point that any one of us may choose between being a miserable victim of circumstances or a self-actualized creator of meaningful and lasting happiness.
Kate Jopson’s romantic story
|
|
Chrysanthemum Dreams $0.99 The Son of the Heavens, the Dragon on Earth, is the Imperial King. His harem consists of ten thousand beautiful women and yet he only has eyes for innocent gong nu (palace maid) Linfa. Please the King and Linfa would live the life of a queen. Upset the king and it’s worse than off with her head… Despite knowing she’s playing with fire, Linfa can’t help but please and pleasure her king, and vice … |
|
|
Phantastes, a Faerie Romance for Men and Women $4.99 For offering this new edition of my father’s Phantastes, my reasons are three. The first is to rescue the work from an edition illustrated without the author’s sanction, and so unsuitably that all lovers of the book must have experienced some real grief in turning its pages. With the copyright I secured also the whole of that edition and turned it into pulp. My second reason is to pay a small trib… |
|
|
Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws $1.84 Going head-to-head with your best friend is never easy, on the court or off.Josie loves hottie Ethan Lancaster, the captain of the basketball team, but she never can do or say the right thing in front of him. So how can it be fair that Ethan is only interested in her best friend, Cami, when Cami isn’t even trying for his affection? Or is she?Cami dreams of winning her basketball team’s coveted… |
No comments »