Power

Power not necessarily means political or influential power, administrative or governing power, physical or mental power it may mean a lot more than this. Power and the love for power has always defined the course of history, governs our presents and guides our future. Power could be as subtle as the power to have food and as massive as the power to destroy or construct the world.

Every individual defines power in his or her own understanding of life. Everyone works to attain this power in their own way. Some define power as knowledge of science. Such people usually end up being a scientist or professor, for they enjoy the power of having the knowledge they have. Some live for the power of giving. Mother Teresa or many such selfless social workers could be one of them. They felt secure and powerful only when they were able to give to others, irrespective of the fact that they owned it or not.

It is this, craving for power that makes people what they are. It is a very unique and a different experience when subconsciously we derive power from one or some of our actions. One usually doesn’t know where does one derive its power from and what this power is, so we usually term it as confidence, form or simply feel good factor. I ask the reader to investigate this, a bit deeper into oneself and find out do they or do they not feel powerful if they do something or the other? This something or the other in question could vary from person to person and you can call it your hobby, passion or simply interest. But there is always something that makes you feel powerful and secure, like a painting for a painter, a music composition for a singer and a story for a writer. Though all these examples are of creative people but some derive their power by the business they do, some simply by earning loads of money.

The most prominent, evident and supreme form of power is the power of love and that of sacrifice. It is divine to have the love for sacrifice. The one who derives power from love is an elated being. Love for nation, love for parents, love for god and not just love for the opposite sex (husband/wife or whatever…). Though the love for spouse doesn’t demean love but that is not the only love. Imagine the power one derives from a love with four years of detachment. It is like waiting for the leap year to celebrate birthday. Sacrifice is not just for the nation and family, it is also for friends and commitments. The passion to sacrifice oneself, for a belief, gives you immense power to do anything and everything. The power one attains while sacrificing ones happiness for a cause of a friend is incomparable.

Sometimes I wonder what is more powerful? The power of love, that can make a person wait for many long years, or the power of sacrifice that can make a person sacrifice love. For me the power of love is supreme. But it is immensely interesting to wonder where do we all derive our powers from, what all consciously and unconsciously we do to get these powers and most of all what does these powers mean to us.

Book Review: The Rule of Four

"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

“The Rule of Four” is a mystery thriller, which revolves around four friends and the mystery is solved by a rule of four steps. The protagonist, Thomas, faces a typical love triangle with the other lady being, but a book, Hypnerotomachia. This love affair happens despite the fact that Paul, a friend, is doing a thesis on this book. Gil, president of Ivy club at Princeton and Charlie a part time medic share an apartment with Paul and Thomas.

Pauls’s father was in love with Hypnerotomachia and did his research with Vincent Taft and Richard Curry, until the three friends fell apart due to treachery, always doubted and latter disclosed is done by Taft. A generation later Thomas’s father is dead, Taft is guiding Paul for his research and Curry is supporting Paul as a father as he is an orphan, Gill Supports Paul with his clout in the Ivy club, Charlie with is ability to induce fun anywhere and Thomas by actually doing research with him and still Thomas is the Protagonist.

The first half of the novel only tries to build a scenario that can help one understand the plot and, most of all, the second half of the novel. Hypnerotomachia written 500 years ago and researched by many scholars of their times couldn’t unravel what it is about yet no one gives up. This entire book, which is written only in codes, contains a secret bigger than imagination. The reader is not disappointed due to the hype created.

It is only with an un-experimented method of cipher that Paul is able to start decoding the Hypnerotomachia. One clue in the book leads to another and so on, like a maze Paul keeps solving each and every one of them. Right when Paul is very close to solve the novel Taft’s assistant Bill is killed. There is a threat to Paul’s life itself and the compass of doubt starts wavering between Taft and Paul, when Taft is also killed. This mysterious killer will definitely astonish the reader but not his logic.

Like father like sun, Thomas couldn’t strike a balance between his two loves but he takes a smarter decision to choose Kaitie over the book. But the reader realises latter that it’s not the end. Like a typical movie the second half engulfs the reader into itself. Right when the reader starts feeling it’s a drag and the novel should have ended, it reveals an unexpected mystery.

Some critics and reviewers have compared it with the “Da Vinci Code”, by Dan Brown, but it seems that they overlooked the eye for details with Dan. The novel itself looks like a project where the authors had to fill a certain number of pages, which could have been avoided otherwise. If the reader is able to sit through the first half of the novel he would surely find a reason to avoid anything else for the second half.