Lessons from Ruslana

In Search of Transformative
Thinking
This book is written by Mr. Amit Dasgupta our Dean for the Mumbai
Campus of SP Jain 2015. A little about Mr. Dasgupta, he is a diplomat for
over three decades. He has travelled extensively on assignment within
India and abroad. This unique experience has brought him in contact with
different cultures and ways of seeing things. After retiring from diplomatic
service, he is now become a full-time writer, in both non-fiction and
fiction. In which, he seeks to explore ideas, that are related to the
meaning of life and the pursuit of happiness.
(The following excerpt is attributed to: http://siyahi.in/2014/01/lessonsfrom-ruslana-by-amit-dasgupta/)
Human beings are taught from their very childhood on how they must

think and behave. While most of us tend to conform, so that those around
us might accept us, many others consciously choose to deviate. They are
willing to think and see differently, despite social pressures, including
ostracism and other forms of punishment. The book explores the
innumerable stories when thinking different brought about not only
change but rather, transformational change. The core inspiration behind
the book is, quite simply, the basic question: How does this happen? But,
more importantly, why does it happen in some cases and not in others?
Drawing extensively from philosophy, social sciences, art, literature,
culture, management sciences and inspirational biographies, this book
takes the reader through a sweeping journey to unravel the mysteries
behind the one question that bothers us all: Why am I unhappy, why do I
fail and will I ever matter?
Ruslana Korshunova, a Russian supermodel, was, for a while, the face of
a Ricci perfume and the toast of the season. She was much sought after
by the glitterati for her beauty. Once described as the face to look out
for, she was hailed as a success story in the professional world of
modelling. Yet, in 2008 not even twenty years of age, Ruslana jumped
from her luxury apartment in Manhattan and killed herself. In one of the
last messages she posted on a social networking site, she wrote, I am so
lost. Will I ever find myself?
The book in the first chapter, starts off with the explanation of different
mind-boxes which people usually have while they make their decisions.
Later the author is trying to draw our attention towards different areas of
the world which needs more attention; cultural issues such as stereotypes,

glass ceiling effect, identity crisis, Socialization has been put forward. In
the middle, an illustration of how societies react to deviances is captured
wonderfully in a short story. And finally in the end of this chapter, the
author gives us a brief of what we might gain in the subsequent chapters.
It will demonstrate ways that help us in rewiring our mind-boxes.
Coming to chapter 7, which is the last piece to decipher in this jig-saw
puzzle; The author, writes about how great Dalai Lama is and his
methodology of seeing things through different perspective. Later the
book gives us stories and reflections which revolved around concepts such
as anger jealousy and other negative emotions that control our mind. To
the end of the chapter the author gives us 5 core ideas to take back and
think upon.

7
1-shannon, 2- Karan ,3 -Neha 4-Shiwangi 5-hanna
I and Karan will do the 7th Part and the girls will do the 6th part

According to us, this book falls under the category of motivational, as

the author narrates out his views of the world and his learning from the
incident which occurred with Ruslana (who is a Russian supermodel)

I went and checked online before reading how influential is this book and
it has got praises from everyone** whoever has read this book** it has got
5/5 from the site good reads. **

Category: Motivational
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India
This book in the start is a little bit more Preachy, and it is very deep at
various levels.
In his first Chapter the author starts off with a saying suitable enough
which becomes his thesis statement I mean which gives a jest of his
thinking ... then each of his chapter is divided into two parts

Firstly, when I got the book from Mr. Amit Dasgupta, I was very
excited and quite happy. The same day itself, I went to my room
to see whats so exceptional about this book and why people
admired this book so much. I didnt start reading the book the
same day, but went through the book from above, just to collect
as much specifics as possible.
Beginning with the cover, according to me, I felt that the book
was a richly manufactured item, which aimed at collectors. Then
the cover illustration indicates that this book is about a girl, who
was shown as a puppet with strings attached to her body. Further
deriving that, this girl name is Ruslana from the title. At the back,
above was a positive comment given to Mr. Dasgupta related to
the book. And then below that there was a brief review about this
book related to the girl Ruslana which stated Ruslana was the
face of a Nina Ricci perfume. With her striking features, she took
the fashion world by the storm and quickly became the toast of
the glitterati. But who was she really, and why did she look so
unhappy? No one would know until, one day, they discovered that
she was just another lost and lonely girl.
Hence my conclusion with these blurbs, ultimately helped me to
figure out the target audiences for this book, * According to me
they might be people with . *

Later, instead of reading I just opened the book and flipped

through the pages of it focusing on how the words were arranged
on the pages.. the book was shaped.. With the first Letter
capital and very distinct of every new chapter. Coming to the
peculiars of the book, from above, the book has got 7 Chapters
with nearly 200 pages and having roughly 400 words per page.
Even the paragraphs were well structured. Having noticed all of
this, the books readability was clearly well-thought-out.