Book Review #104: Uttarakanda By Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa

Title: Uttarakanda

Author: Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa

Publishers: Sahitya Bhandara

Genre: Mythology/General Fiction

Pages: 350+ (Hardbound)

Source: Personal Copy

We all grew up by reading and listening to the stories of the Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. We have a sculpted belief that a certain character from certain epic will behave like this and there won’t be any misconduct or any character deviation from their original ones. At times, these beliefs can be shaken to the ground when you come across certain books. At the same time, certain books make you question the reality. This is the very essence of the book “Uttarakhanda” penned by my favorite author, philosopher and a great human being, Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa. He finished writing this book in just 3 months of duration, but took whole 8 months to re-draft each and every chapter before sending it for the publishers. That’s typical SL Bhyrappa’s flavor.

Coming to Uttarakanda, this is the retelling of the Ramayana. But what makes it different from other writers is the theme of the book. This Ramayana is entirely from the viewpoint of Sita. How she sees the entire Ramayana as an event? What was her thought process when she decides to accompany Rama to the exile for 14 years? What were her thoughts when Ravana abducted her from the forest? Etc… The entire narration belongs to Sita in this book. How she endured all those years along with Rama and his brother Lakshmana is pictured vividly, brilliantly. This is one of the hearts wrenching narration of the Ramayana I’ve come across in my entire life.

One thing I must mention in this review, there are no gods in this version of Ramayana. Each and every character is human. Rama is as much of a human as a normal court maid. There are no flying chariots, no 10 headed Ravana but one, no curses, no divine arrows, and Hanuman is a normal 50 year old person, who believes that he belongs to the clan of the Lord Hanuman. I must applaud the brilliance of the author here for keeping the Gods as gods and making this story that touches the nerve of his readers.

As the story progresses further, we get to read the normal tale of how Rama and Lakshmana accompanied sage Vishwamitra to kill couple of rakshasas and eventually reaching the Kingdom of King Janaka, the Mithila, and breaking the Shiva’s bow to win the bride Sita. But a little twist here from the author makes it even more human. The actual plot of breaking the bow, was a setup by the King Janaka who was under the impression that, if any prince would tie the bow string with their bare hands would win over Sita, so that, the actual birth details of Sita would be negligible, since she was won in a challenge!! It is just brilliant to have this thought. It makes us to ponder for a few minutes. The after events keep Rama in high regard. Dasharatha actually learns that Sita is not the biological daughter of Janaka and she was actually found in a land while tilling. He raises an objection to the marriage and decides to cancel the wedding. By the timely intervention of Rama, this was avoided and Rama marries Sita, so does his brothers and Sita’s younger sisters.

The plot carries further in a regular manner but with a humane touch. The promises that Dasharatha made to his 3^rd wife Kaikeyi has been written in an entirely different perspective which I am not going to include in this review. This must be savored from the book. One thing the readers must keep in mind that, Rama was a staunch follower of Dharma even in this version. He learns the ill motives of Kaikeyi and decides not to become Prince. As per Kaikeyi’s wishes, Rama prepares to leave Ayodhya to the exile for 14 years. The event after that takes an entirely different approach where the human nature of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita will begin to unfold.

Now the real story of how Sita tries to analyze Rama and Lakshmana and herself begins slowly. Soon she realizes that it is difficult to adjust to the forest life. Also, she learns that without Lakshmana’s assistance, she and Rama both wouldn’t have been survived in that forest. Rama was a recluse in the forest life. He was enjoying the nature with a least concern to check on his wife and her comforts.

The climax of the book will keep your mind occupied and haunts you like anything. Ravana will abduct Sita, but not by himself. He sends his troops across the sea border to bring Sita via boat. His men will do just that by tying Sita to a boat and rowing across the sea. Ravana abducts Sita for the sole intention of avenging his sister Surpanakhi who got insulted by Lakshmana. Surpanakhi instigates Ravana by narrating the events that took place when she confronted Rama and Lakshmana in the forest. She describes Sita as a beautiful lady and he should abduct her at any cost and rape her. Being a womanizer, Ravana was all prepared to get Sita to his city of Lanka. Once after the abduction, the scene was written in an entirely different fashion, where Sita confronts Ravana and asks him to win the battle over Rama. If he wins, then he can marry her. But Sita was all prepared to immolate herself if the unthinkable happens.

Once the battle was over, the real test for Sita begins when Rama doubted Sita’s chastity. He wasn’t sure whether Sita was raped by Rama or not (sic). Having spent more than a year in another man’s supervision, Rama doubted whether to take back Sita or not. This is an eye opener scene for the reader. When Sita questions the same thing to Rama about his chastity for spending more than a year away from her, Rama didn’t have any answers. Sita’s questions are a mirror test to the present society. Is chastity applicable only to women? Who made this rule? Won’t men also fall under this category? Why women are termed as spoiled when she was raped or abused? Why the same things do not apply to men? Are men not under the purview of rape? Won’t they get raped by women? All these questions of Sita hits the bulls eye to the present society that questions that chastity of a woman or term her as raped when it wasn’t her fault? Rama’s unwillingness to answer these questions denotes the situation of every man in the present society.

The final confrontation of Sita with her husband Rama was a true testimonial of how bad the decisions that Rama took against Sita. When she confronts Rama asking him about his conduct with sage Gautama, asking him to forgive his wife Ahalya when she committed adultery 25 years back, and why he can’t he do the same? When Rama can bow down before a low born woman Shabari and consider herself as his mother, why he went ahead and beheaded a low born man who was doing tapas and reciting Vedas? Rama’s reason was like low born persons shouldn’t do the tasks that belong to the higher born persons. What kind of Dharma he is following? For all these things, Rama was not able to answer anything.

Overall I believe that book showcases the patriarchal society of Rama’s era and why it hasn’t changed even a bit in the 21^st century today. Questioning a woman on her every move is still prevalent in the current society. Rama was no exception either. He just behaved the way he believed it was according to the Dharmic principles. He didn’t even shown the human side of him to the world. Though we revere and celebrate his life and keep him in high regard as the epitome of the justice, but how he wronged Sita will remain as a black mark on him till the earth survives. A must read book. You can go back to the earlier writing flavor of S.L. Bhyrappa. I would definitely rate this book beyond 5 stars and recommend it to every reader.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #103: Europe: Chained By History: What forces can break the chain? By Larry J. Hilton

Title: Europe: Chained By History: What forces can break the chain?

Author: Larry J. Hilton

Publishers: Newport Publishing

Genre: History/Non-Fiction

Pages: 344 (Paperback)

Source: Advanced review copy from Cadence Group

Having read many books on the history and especially on the European history, this book makes a unique read. It stands as a class apart. It doesn’t goad us with the facts and figures in a detailed manner which is painstaking to remember everything. This book will present its readers a riveting and vivid account of the history from a different perspective. The book encompasses the humane angle of the history from the medieval times till modern days. 

How does each phase of the history affect the common human beings like you and me? This very essence was captured in a brilliant way.

The book picks up really good with a note from the author in the preface of what led him to write this book. His love towards the history is evident in each chapter and the reference he quotes from different backgrounds adds a feel good factor while reading. In almost all chapters, the readers can see the references being made to the epic series of 11 volumes of western history "The Story of Civilization" by Will and Ariel Durant. We can also witness the author’s adoration towards the famous French poet, philosopher and playwright Voltaire and endorses his beliefs on the freedom of expression and social justice.

The central theme of the book is the capital of Austria, the Vienna. Starting from its historical background of how the present day Vienna got its name from the historical name of Vindobona which means “Fair Village or White Settlement” that originated from the historical beliefs from the Roman settlement of Celtic extraction. From there, the author takes us on a ride through the many kings and dynasties that ruled the Austria, especially the Habsburg dynasty and the king and queens that ruled for hundreds of years. The interesting account was of Maria Theresa, the only female ruler of the Habsburg dynasty, followed by her son Joseph II that ruled for just 10 years, but yet, made enough progress to abolish many things and bringing in new reforms that helped every sect of the society, especially the Jewish origins.

The more we dwell into the book, the more interesting it becomes. The chapters on the birth and rise of Adolf Hitler are a fascinating read. How Adolf does have his surname “Hitler” is an interesting tale. Adolf’s father, Alois Hitler was the illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schicklgruber; the Baptismal register didn’t show the name of the father, though Marina Anna knew who Alois’s father was. From there, Alois used his mother’s name as his surname. By late 1842, Maria Anna married Johann Georg Hiedler. Alois was infact brought up in the family of Hiedler’s brother Johann Nepomuk Hiedler. In 1876, Alois was legitimized and the baptismal register changed by a priest to register Johann Georg Heidler as Alois’s father has mistakenly changed his name to Georg Hitler. This was, Alios assumed the surname as “Hitler”. The chain followed ever after in the family, and thus we see Adolf Hitler. “Hitler” means the one who lives in a Hut.

Adolf Hitler’s regime was one of the brutal and inhumane phases of the modern Austrian history as recorded in this book. With a nil or deteriorating political backbone of the Austria and a growing strength of Adolf Hitler has left no option for the Austrians but to yield before Hitler. This came at the cost of no bullets. Hitler proudly records this event as “conquered without firing a single shot”. It is quite interesting to note that, Adolf Hitler’s childhood comprises of his friendship with Jews, his mother was treated till death by a Jewish doctor, and his stay in Vienna during his college days had made him to have many Jewish acquaintances and so on. His sudden change of behavior of hatred towards Jews has a long history of his reading habits and understanding the political world.

The book has many such fascinating and interesting tales from the history. One such example is the family of Klaar’s. Their tale of misery has no bounds. Also, the diary of a war widow Anna Eisenmenger will provide a vivid detail of the war and post war life, describing the events and the misery they had to endure. One should read these tales from the book to understand the complete picture of a common family during those times.

Overall, I feel this is an interesting book with the facts and figures covered from a different perspective. It is an easy read. The language used is simple and effective. It holds the readers till the end and it certainly becomes unstoppable. Larry J. Hilton has done a tremendous research to pen this book. I strongly recommend this book to be read by all.

My Rating:

5/5

Note: This book was given to me by “The Cadence Group” in exchange for an unbiased review.

Book Review #102: Think With Me: Fundamentals for making our country ideal By "Saharasri" Subrata Roy Sahara

Title: Think With Me: Fundamentals for making our country ideal

Author: “Saharasri” Subrata Roy Sahara

Publishers: Rupa Publications India

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pages: 150 (Paperback)

Source: Advanced review copy from Publishers

Subrata Roy Sahara is a self made billionaire. Whatever may be the adverse transactions or financial hiccups he might have faced that eventually landed him in jail. But, that didn’t deter him to pen down his thoughts about the country and the ways it can be made better for the future generations. This book is a sequel to his other books “Thoughts from Thihar” & “Life Mantras”.

In this book Roy has argued some of the pressing issues that India as a nation is facing in each and every day.  He has penned down his idea of how we can tackle those problems in a more mature way and including every stakeholders at present. Though some ideas seem out of the box and some may feel it is ridiculous, but one has to appreciate the thoughts that have been put forward in this book.

The book has many ideas pertaining to many current problems. Especially his ideas about the exploding Indian population that is a sure shot threat in the future. Quoting the example of China’s one child policy, Roy has asked the government to take up the stand and device only two children policy for Indians. He has also put forward his ideas of giving financial perks to those families that will stick to the two children policy. The idea may seem plausible if we look at the present problems we have due to over population. Still over 30% of India’s youth are unemployed. Quality of life is deteriorating day by day. Children are suffering from malnutrition. Equal opportunity seems distant possible because the system cannot accommodate each and every individual with a nice living and earning. As a personal opinion, honestly, I feel the idea should and must be implemented.

As we read through the book, Roy has suggested some improvements in the electoral process that we already have been practicing over 50 years. Author suggests that an MP (Member of Parliament) be selected outside the election purview and they should be able to monitor the works and progress of an elected MP. He has to report to the Prime Minister periodically with the stats and figures of n MP’s works. If the report seems to show that an MP has failed in delivering his promises to his people, then he can be sacked immediately. Though this idea seems to be a nice one, but implementing this will be an add-on task on the government exchequer. There are able government bodies and agencies that can keep track of an individual portfolio’s progress and recommend improvements.

At the last part of the book, Roy talks about the role of media, the fourth pillar of our constitution. These days’, the media’s role has been largely opinion oriented than the facts driven. Print and Visual media both are in a rat race to deliver fast new to their viewers and readers, that makes them to deliver news without checking the facts and relevance. As per the author’s suggestion, he recommends the government to curb the media and put forth a stringent guidelines and recommendations in terms of delivering the authentic news. There are lots of people who are persecuted due to the false propaganda of media. He suggests to setup fast track courts in dealing with the media’s propagandist nature. These courts should be able to deliver justice quickly and make the media to behave in a more responsible way. Through this even lawyers would get employment and many of other staff members. Given the context that author has come up with this idea, I see that he has been a personal victim of the false media propagation. Anyway, there are courts to decide whether Subrata Roy was indeed innocent and was actually framed by the media. I really liked this particular idea. It should be the need of the hour to control the mainstream media in a country like India. People are constantly fed with the false stories, propaganda news, malicious content, inappropriate allegations, and so on.

Overall, I feel this is a nice book. The ideas and thoughts mentioned by the author was really an eye opener. The very impressive idea that made me to think for over few minutes was to have a national religion for India. Does that really work? We have no idea. But, author’s urge to have a national religion for a diversified country like India seems too unconventional. Never in the wildest dreams of any Indians, would this become a reality. Even though majority of the country are wishing to see it happen in near future. This book is not a recommending material, but to read once is not a crime.

My Rating:

3/5

Note: This book was given to me by the Publishers in exchange for an unbiased review.