LORDS OF THE LAST BENCHES BY AUTHOR JULIAN D

IN HIS NEWLY RELEASED COLLECTION OF STORIES, ENTITLED, LORDS OF THE LAST BENCHES, AUTHOR JULIAN D. UNIQUELY CAPTURES THE ESSENCE AND THE EXCITEMENT THAT IS INDIA.StarBuzz Weekly, Toronto-Author Julian D. is thankful to be born and raised in Bombay, India with its many contradictions and teeming with life with exciting happenings taking place on every corner, every minute of every day. 

“My collection of stories, Lords Of The Last Benches takes you back to re-unite you with your inner child,” explains Julian.  “The power of these stories is intended to allow the reader to re-live their childhood which brings with it a sense of childhood spontaneity, creativity, combined with unique ideas presented in a compelling, entertaining way.”

Julian asks the question, when was the last time you visited the school or the class that you studied in?  Perhaps it was during a school reunion.  Can you remember which teacher instilled an interest and made you what you are today? As you grew up which aunt or uncle was your best friend? Can you recall with whom did you fly kites? Was catching a fish an experience of losing a worm or was it based on reeling in a fish? As a child what games did you play, now as an adult how have you’re playing habits changed?

So many questions, so many left unanswered, it’s likely that more questions are created for us today.  As adults we are expected to know the answers. Not always ….do we have the patience for the answers to unfold in our day to day lives? We are always in such a hurry to solve every uncomfortable situation. Certainly, we can solve these issues if only we hurry back to our childhood and begin listening to our inner child.

One of the stories in the book is entitled More Bones, More Juice, More Taste. It’s a tale of a mother and her son shopping for their fresh catch of the day at a local fish market, in India.  What we learn from this story is the fact that the boy is genuinely amazed how a fish can be compared to a human being.

Another story in the collection is called Lift Ourselves Above, it describes the preparation involved in organizing a festival.   Residents in the community, from every culture and region co-operate and work together to make the event a huge success, providing a positive impact message of co-operating one day but on the next day the question arises, why are we tearing one another down?…why can’t we continue to focus to lift one another up?

Still Flying, is a unique story concerning a plane crash and the destruction and debris that was scattered over the ocean floor of the Arabian Sea.   Four kids ventured down to the water’s edge to obtain a glimpse of the crash site. There the kids meet up with a wise fisherman who witnessed the crash and they learn about eternal life as he informs them that “the souls of the passengers are still flying.” 

Peter Gonsalves, Author of Clothing for Liberation: A Communication Analysis of Gandhi's Swadeshi Revolution, writes… "It amazes me to think that Julian D.  dared to enter the mind of a child to articulate the everydayness of life from there...and yes, he succeeded rather well in coming up with tid-bits of wisdom for ‘children’ of all ages.  Our adult-erated world needs to listen and be healed by the voices of innocence.”

Julian’s background includes conducting one of the first research studies on street children and addiction.  Acclaimed by UNICEF, the research findings were used jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP).  His ground-breaking qualitative analysis of addiction in families in India’s drug capital was part of the first Benchmark Survey conducted nationwide. His proposal for immigrant men who Abuse their spouses was adopted in North America and continues even today to bring value to communities in the Peel region.  As a result of his extensive research background, becoming a writer was a natural progression for him.

Even today Julian D., a Mississauga based, Registered Social Worker and Author struggles with the battle of mind over heart, research over stories and of course the adult self versus the inner child.  As you read the stories in Lords of the Last Benches you may say “I| am no different from the author.” True, this may be the case but with one difference, we need to go back to the time when we were kids and visit our triumphs, our failures, experience our smiles and tears and this will bring about the Champion in us.  Currently, the author is working on a sequel, aptly entitled, Champions In Us.

Julian is very excited about participating in media interviews and upcoming book signings and readings within the GTA.  He was a special guest on the World Record (Guinness) Talk Show with Suresh Joachin, on Rogers Peel T.V. recently and looks forward to other media interviews in the near future.

Lords of the Last Benches takes the reader back to one’s own life stories. The stories in this book will stir an awakening and help you on the path to discovering the Champion in You. Stories have the power to transform your adult life and to bring about a paradigm mind shift of positive change.

This collection of stories will help you find the Child hero who can guide the Champion in every adult. Lords Of the Last Benches by author Julian D. is available online at: www.joy2all.ca and will shortly be available in various local, independent book stores and in libraries.