Title: Pink Conch
Author: Raj Behera
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-7960-2350-3
Genre: Fantasy, Travel, Philosophy
Pages: 160
Reviewed by: Carl Conrad

Read Book Review

The book Pink Conch, by Raj Behera, adopts an interesting new twist on an old idea: let’s take a journey around the world to some of the world’s most interesting places, although let’s do it – underwater! Introducing two charming characters named Goldy and Neil, who are BFF (best fish friends), the reader accompanies them on their journey as they see and explain the important features of different cities they swim past, and describe historical, geographic, and even musical highlights from those areas as they swim around the world.

Beginning their quest from the Golden Gate Bridge area of San Francisco, which is their home waters, Goldy and Neil swim to the west, the north, the south, and east – as those “waves” are designated by the four sections of the book – in search of the Pink Conch which is said to possess what is called the “peace formula.” As fish gather at the PCAB – the “Peace Call from the Aquatics of the Bay” – Goldy and Neil are dispatched to search for the Pink Conch who will surely be able to give them the wisdom necessary to create a pollution-free environment where all beings live in peace and harmony.

Goldy’s grandma is known as “Mincey Granny,” and she plays an important role in guiding the quest of Goldy and Neil as she tells them that the Bahamas is the land of the Pink Conch, that they must venture there for the answers they seek. Also by meditating on the Lord of the Milky Ocean so that they will “develop the taste of being at peace in the midst of turbulent paths and remain the same always” is her encouragement to them as she explains the origins of life and tells them that the goldfish existed long before humanity appeared in the world.

As the fish swim into the beauty of the Pacific Ocean, then into the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, they see and discuss many meaningful land and seamarks where cultural treasures abound, and they push on toward what they learn is the Ultimate Conch which holds the greatest of answers in the most magnificent of underwater cities.

As they approach the Land of the Opulent Conch, called Puri – which is the “eternal abode of inexhaustible, indestructible, and complete peace, bliss, and happiness, where every article is precious to others” – in the closing chapters of the book, the descriptions of the beauty and elegance of this conch-shaped city is simply breathtaking. Filled with many East Indian names and legends that reveal the myths of creation and the destiny of its inhabitants, this tale will captivate the reader with hope for the future and grace for the past. Pink Conch is truly a book that will open the reader’s eyes to the land above and below the surface of the oceans.