Colonel Rajesh Deshmukh's military career ends in disgrace when he refuses orders during the 1994 Siachen operation, prioritizing the safety of his men over blind obedience. Twenty-four years later, his controversial decision is finally vindicated, but it also launched him on an internal journey. From Stoic discipline to existential freedom, from Buddhist non-self to terror management theory, from religious faith to absurdist acceptance.
As he navigates family reconciliation, institutional reform work, and his own evolving worldview, the Colonel tends both a literal garden and a metaphorical one—the landscape of consciousness itself. Each philosophical exploration adds new "plants" to his internal garden, but also raises a deeper question: must he choose between competing wisdoms, or is there another way? Are geometrically laid gardens always more beautiful than wildflowers? His garden—both literal and metaphorical—becomes a living testament to integrated consciousness.
The book is a philosophical novel about one man's evolution from rigid certainty to nuanced wisdom, exploring how we might hold multiple truths simultaneously in an increasingly polarized world. Those who appreciated Kazuo Ishiguro's explorations of duty and memory in "The Remains of the Day," Hermann Hesse's spiritual quests in "Siddhartha," and Yann Martel's philosophical allegories in "Life of Pi", will enjoy this immensely.
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Alok Asthana
Alok Asthana is a retired Indian Army officer. With a philosophical mind and a questioning attitude, he seems just the right person to author a book of this stature.
The topics covered herein—placing the needs of the individual and conscience over those of the group, active engagement with institutions rather than servitude to them, exploring wisdom from wherever available, and doubting oneself too—are all very personal to him. He lives these.
He writes about these topics in a fresh and readable way by converting the narrative into a dialogue-driven story, with plots that change seamlessly.
An author of seven books, a Substack by the name of IndianSalute, a blog by the name of Question-Sacred-Cows, and countless articles in print media, he has honed his writing skills over the decades.
His writings have immense depth, yet are very readable.
