GOD MINUS: Buddha - The Light of Asia

About the Book

GOD MINUS: BUDDHA - THE LIGHT OF ASIA is a four-act play centered on Buddha’s life and teachings, dramatized through segments of his own early life, search for truth and ultimate enlightenment and attainment of Nirvana, and the lives of several characters whose lives he impacted deeply. These include Emperor Ashoka, the court dancer Amrapali and the ill-fated Angulimala, all of whom renounced their chosen paths through the realization of possible enlightenment by following the eightfold path of Buddha’s teachings.

About the Author

HARSHI SYAL GILL HARSHI SYAL GILL was born and educated in Nairobi, Kenya, after which she has lived and worked in Canada, England and, for the last thirty years, in the U.S. Following her graduate and post-graduate studies in literature, she was a regular guest as a literary critic for the Voice of Kenya radio station and has since worked in multiple professions including teaching, technical writing, systems analyses and medical administration. Her creative efforts have found expression in various genres. In addition to contributions to several anthologies and literary magazines, she has published a poetry collection, “Reflections,” and has co-written several Indian serial scripts in L.A. and India. Her play, “Alka Alka,” among other short sketches, was staged in L.A., and she has performed as an actor in film and on stage. Harshi is also co-author, with her brother Parvin D. Syal, of a collection of stories, “African Quilt – Stories of the Asian Indian Experience in Kenya.” Harshi now resides in Granada Hills, California. PARVIN D. SYAL Born and educated in Nairobi, Kenya, Parvin D. Syal has made Los Angeles his home since the mid 1970s. A practicing physician, Syal has forayed into different fields; as a community activist he promoted the interests of people of Indian origin, as a journalist he wrote political and literary columns for the ethnic press, as a broadcaster he hosted a health program on radio, as an actor he performed in film and on stage for which he wrote as well. He is co-author, with Harshi Syal Gill, of an anthology of stories of the Asian Indian experience in Kenya, “African Quilt.” Following up on contributions to literary magazines, Syal also published his collection of poetry, “Streams of Consciousness.” His adaptation, in Hindi, of the Neil Simon play, “Barefoot in the Park,” was staged by “The Wandering Players” in L.A. Syal’s one act play, “Through a Handcuff,” won a prize in a competition organized by the University of Nairobi, where he was a medical student. “God Minus” is his second collaboration with his sister, Harshi Syal Gill.