Book Review : Sons of Sita

Title : Sons of Sita

Author : Ashok K. Banker

Publisher : Wisdom Tree

ISBN : 978-81-8328-294-9

This story begins from a decade after Rama banished his wife and over these years he never enquired about her family's whereabouts. The Kingdom that he reigns now is far from being the ideal Ram Rajya. For reasons unknown, he is strongly influenced by bad advisors and war-mongering ministers Jabali and Bhadra, even to the extent that his two brothers Bharat and Shatrughan are subjected to a trial for being on the wrong side of the law. But it seems Rama has become immune, almost like a stone to the softer feelings that a human possesses. Under the garb of dharma, he is in the process of (almost) tyrannically conducting a Ashvamedha Yajna but actually using it as a cover for a full-scale invasion. 

Sita and her two sons Luv and Kush live in the isolated corner in the ashram of Maharishi Valmiki where she has effortlessly attuned herself to the duties of the present. The twins are trained by their mother in the art of warfare and they are growing up to become fearless and phenomenal warriors. Their paths cross their father's when they capture the sacred stallion of the Ashwamedha Yajna.

The way Rama is portrayed in the book, he comes across as anything but the undisputed hero or a godly figure. In fact, the narrative almost reduces him to a lackluster character.  Ashok K. Banker is a great story teller, is an established fact now. Backdrop portrayal, depiction of war scenes, building the crescendo towards the final confrontation are quite interestingly handled. But twisting the setting and the proceedings to such an extent that it makes the epic tale almost unrecognisable would surely leave the readers unsettled. It actually reminded me of Amish's Scion of Ikshvaku, which erred similarly. Trying to give mythological fable a contemporary shine through fancy words and settings does little to redeem the authors in these two books.

Though an engaging read, the only part which impressed me in this book is how Sita sums it all up during one of the concluding scenes of the face-off. "You failed utterly. That is why you will always be a broken god. Revered and worshipped, honoured and admired, but also doubted and despised. Each time someone speaks of your great works and exploits, another will remind them of your banishment of your wide and ask what god would do such a thing, and question your divinity. Today you had a chance to answer them once and for all, to silence those doubters, and you failed yet again. Now, for as long as your memory shall live, you shall be adored as a deva yet doubted as a man."

After reading this book, it is hard not to marvel at the way Devdutt Pattanaik portrays Sita and how his Rama exemplifies all the virtues that any human aspires to possess making him a truly anukarniy(to be followed) God . Devdutt's Sita is a strong, confident character yet extremely understanding as she knows she is as much a part of Rama as he is of her and anything otherwise can never exist.

Book Review : Scion of Ikshvaku

Title : Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra Series I)

Author : Amish

Publisher : Westland Ltd.

I remember the time when I had finished reading 'The Immortals of Meluha', the first of the Shiva Trilogy by Amish. It was a marathon reading as the book was truly unputdownable. I marveled at the creativity of the author and his brilliance of connecting dots beyond one's imagination. I had a lot to write while compiling its review.

Another first of another series, this time it is Ram Chandra Series. Again a fast paced, engaging and readable book. While putting down the review I have again a lot to write about the story and the writing style.

In India, growing up with stories form mythology is a very natural thing and stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata form a major part of that experience. There is no point writing about the story but then even the author has not told the same story. He has just picked the characters from the saga and the major events from it but the situations leading to those events and the portrayal of the same characters are completely different. In fact it is so different that one doesn’t see any connection with the great epic that we identify with. Actually he has taken creative liberties with the story to such an extent that barely the skeleton resembles the age old saga now, nothing else. 

Author's great level of imagination and creativity are undoubtedly applaud worthy. The way he pieces things together talks highly about his intelligence and with the mention of a prospective land - Meluha, he just nailed it completely.

Rama considered a bad-omen by Dashrath, Manthra's character as a power wielding entity, her daughter as a benevolent healer, Sita and Urmila as ministers of their state, Swayamvar setting, fun-filled relationship between Ram and Sita, weakening  empire Mithila - are just a few things which completely deviate from our impressions and understanding of the story. 

There are some high points and sections which rise meritoriously making the readers fall in love with the proceedings. However, there are parts where the narrative falters in terms of expected excitement and interest. Amish has tried to give some contemporary touches to the mythological story, like - gender equality, Roshni's case (on the lines of Nirbhaya's tragedy), juvenile justice -to name a few. However, some of these attempts seem superimposed and do not gel well with the natural flow.

So my verdict, if anybody cares, one can read it as just a fictional story having no connection with Ramayana that we know.  Would I look forward to the next in the series? - I doubt.

Book Review : Brahma Dreaming

Title : Brahma Dreaming

Author : John Jackson

Illustrator : Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini

Publisher : JJ Books

ISBN : 978-0-9569212-8-4

"Through the ages of this world the minds of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer think and dream. And from their dreams come all the things that are, and all the things that happen, in the heavens and in the world and in the underworld. From these dreams come all these stories and all the stories that have ever been, and all the stories that are not yet told. "

Brahma Dreaming is an anthology of tales taken from Hindu Mythology categorized under three broad sections - 'Tales of Creation', 'Tales of Destruction' and 'Tales of Preservation'. It is believed that Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh(Shiva) form the holy trinity and hence are the forces to create, nurture and demolish. It is marvelous how the author has done the arduous task of picking up some tales from grand Indian mythological ocean. The stories that are under Destruction and Preservation sections are primarily stories of Shiva ad Vishnu respectively but those in Creation part are not all Brahma stories. The beginning is beautiful which sets the stage for more interesting and adventurous stories full of flying demons, battles, kings and warriors and much more.

Though every religion has its own set of mythological stories, there is an underlying common thread that connects all of them together. All such legends have high amount of melodramatic content and comprise of ingredients of immortal themes like - love, affection, respect, hatred, deceit, revenge, sorrow and greed. As one reads the story, it becomes clear that even Gods experience similar sensitivities, vulnerabilities and challenges like any human does. This subtle reassurance makes the tales relatable and a great medium to learn life lessons.

All the stories are exciting and thrilling God stories, perfect - to be read to small children, for young readers as well as for grown ups. However, the stories are exciting as they are, there is not much of a value addition by the author in narrating the same. They are just re-told and that too in a very simplistic style, not attempting to go beyond what has already been told in so many ways by multitude of story tellers already.

'Brahma Dreaming' is a large book with gorgeous page-length illustrations. Daniela Terrazzini's black and white illustrations with a hint of red here and there, work as perfect accompaniment to the allegorical text. Having said that, illustrations are quite misleading in the sense that they do not bring in the essence of the culture to which these stories belong. The pictures do not have signatory Indian soul in them which is sorely missed while one proceeds through the book.
The paper and production quality of the book is supreme. It is pleasure to read such an exquisitely created book.