Book Review #81: Stolen Hope: Ramayana Series: Book #3: By Shubha Vilas

Title: The Stolen Hope (Book 3: Ramayana Series)

Author: Shubha Vilas

Publisher: Jaico Publishing

Genre: Mythology

Pages: 300+ (Paper bound)

Source: Review copy by the author

After receiving this book from the author for the review, I’ve thought for a while and purchased the first two books in the series (The Rise of the Sun Prince, and The Shattered Dreams) to get along with the plot and the subplots. Though as an Indian, I’ve known the entire story of the Ramayana and how it had happened by reading numerous books, this book series seems to be very specials regarding its authentic style of narration and the anecdotes, life lessons explained in every page of the book.

The book 1 explains about the birth and growth of the Rama as a toddler to a responsible scion. The book 2 explains the details about the decision of the King Dasharath to coronate Rama as the next king of Ayodhya, and the later events of Kaikeyi asking her two boons from the King Dasharatha resulting in the banishment of Rama to the exile for 14 years and Bharata to be made as a King of the Ayodhya, hence the dreams of the Dasharatha has shattered.

The book 3 begins from the story of the Dandakaranya where Rama, Sita and Lakshmana planned to spend their exile of 14 years. The journey of all three in the forest, their encounters with several rakshasas, and meeting several learned rishis like Agastya, and also the intervention of the Surpanakha and a small fun incident with her that turned out to be a major breakthrough in the story has been captured brilliantly by the author. The killing of Surpanakha’s cousins Khara and Dushana in an epic battle, and a beautiful narration of Rama meeting Shabari has been explained elegantly.

With a brief history of Ravana the story moves on stealthily and Rama is urged to go after the golden deer who is actually Maricha. Then Sita urges Lakshman to go after Rama despite of his unwillingness after hearing her husband's cry.

Ravana comes in form of sinister sage and he praises Ravana and belittle Rama, but Sita praises Rama instead which infuriates Ravana and he takes away Sita. Sita could only inform Jatayu about her abduction. Rama is informed about the abduction by dying Jatayu. Rama meets Shabri who tells them that only Vali can help him find Sita.

There is a short part of story from Lakshman's point of view too.

In-between the relay of the events, the author discusses and analyses certain acts of characters. For instance, at one place, Sita boldly reveals her mind to Rama about choosing the ascetic life instead of his bow and arrow, and immediately the next moment, she could not hold his gaze and begins to stare at her palms. That is, she feels guilty to have counselled Rama. Here the author discusses Sita's act of giving feedback as follows:

Does one have the right authority to give the feedback?

Even if one has the right authority, does one have the right motive to give a feedback?

Even if one has the right authority and motive, is it the right time, place and circumstance to give the feedback?

Although this story is written in parts, it doesn’t feel like it is limited to any particular storyline dividing the epic. The addition of little less important stories all along the way across the entire book has added much value as it would be very useful for the first time readers to obtain sufficient knowledge about the epic. The book is written in a gripping way that it is hard to keep it down, but it seems to be little bit lengthy as we tend to study each and every footnote at the bottom. But to a normal reader the footnotes would provide a Maslin of thoughts which will be forgivable for the length of the reading time.

This book is a must for the readers those who want to know about the Ramayana. Also the author has made this one to be a useful notes by sharing his wisdom and thoughts in every page. Further the summary of the books at the inception of the book makes it clear for the new readers that it’s not a must to read the other two initial books to get a clear view about this particular book.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #80: Shattered Dreams: Ramayana Series: Book #2: By Shubha Vilas

Title: The Shattered Dreams

Author: Shubha Vilas

Publisher: Jaico Publishing

Genre: Mythology

Pages: 250+ (Paper bound)

Source: Personal Copy

The first book in the series (The Rise of the Sun Prince) will end on a happy note of 12 years of successful marriage of Rama to Sita. They enjoy each and every day like never before. They were the true testimonial of how a married couple should behave towards each other. The book also explores further into the growing up Rama where he takes his responsibilities seriously and serves his elders with utmost respect. All days were passed without any deviations. People of Ayodhya were able to lead a peaceful and prosperous life until the King Dasharatha decides to coronate his son Rama as the next heir apparent of the Ayodhya.

The Shattered Dreams narrates the entire story of how the unblemished Rama was unfortunately awarded the exile of 14 years. How the deceitful Manthara was successfully able to brainwash Queen Kaikeyi by asking her to remember her two boons from Dasharatha that he had promised her long back.

The story in this book showcases the sacrifices made by many people including Rama who happily agreed to go to the forests for 14 years without even asking a single reason. He had respected his father Dasharatha’s words by every bit of it. Sacrifices made by Sita who readily asked Rama to take her to the forests along with her. Though she was never accustomed to the life of forests, she lived up to her name following the Dharma as a loyal wife of Rama. Apart from these, there is a radiant Lakshmana who accompanied Rama and Sita despite the strong protests from both. And lastly, we should never forget the sacrifice made by the wife of Laskmana’s wife Urmila. She readily agreed to stay back and look after her aged and widowed mother-in-law’s and wished all the success to her husband Lakshmana.

All said and done, the conduct of Bharata is worth to mention here. He readily disagrees with his mother Kaikeyi and repents for not being around in Ayodhya when all these things has happened without his knowledge. He ridicules his mother and tries all his might to get his beloved brother Rama back to Ayodhya. When Rama declined to the requests of Bharata, Bharata made sure that he also never steps in to Ayodhya. He constructed a small hut outside Ayodhya and placed Rama’s footwear on the throne and was ruling the kingdom on behalf of Rama.

Though we have grown up hearing this epic from various sources and watching many television series covering the same but after reading this book, one would definitely understands the real meaning of the tale and how it can be adopted to real life scenarios.

The footnotes and anecdotes in every page is the biggest plus point in this book. It adds a great value to the story. The notes are very educative, knowledgeable and a great source of quotes for those who are quote collectors. There are also great leadership and management lessons given under various circumstances. Two particular incidents worth to be mentioned on this aspects are the questions that Bharata asks himself whether he is eligible to rule the kingdom and the other scenario where Lakshmana asks himself whether he is allowed to advice Sita or Rama.

Overall, I have experienced a very new tale of Ramayana. Leaving its main plot as a known phenomenon, I have also had the fortune of reading many sub-plots and intricate details of the Ramayana. This book series is a must read to get a new perspective of how to look at things from a more broader perspective and definitely an eye opener towards myriad duties and responsibilities which we forget to value at times.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #79: Ramayana: The Game of Life – Book 1 – Rise of the Sun Prince

Title: Ramayana: The Game of Life – Book 1 – Rise of the Sun Prince

Author: Shubha Vilas

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Year: 2013

Genre: Hindu Scripture/Epics

Pages: 256 (Paperbound)

Source: Personal Copy

Ramayana is a story that has seeped into every soul of Hindustan. Ramayana is no longer a mere story to read and forget. There is so much to learn from these epics and can be easily adopted into our daily lives. Many books have come and gone, and each of those books adds a taste and personal viewpoint. As a reader, I feel fortunate enough to read many version of Ramayana.

Shubha Vilas has drawn inspiration from the original author of the Ramayana, Sage Valmiki and tried to present us a best possible version of the epic. The little anecdotes and footnotes explaining the real story and the interpretation of that particular event related to the modern day world is a good way of showing how Ramayana can be seen and adopted into our lives. Shubha Vilas has broken this epic in to a series of 5 books, of which, the first book which covers the birth of the protagonist of Ramayana, Lord Sri Rama.

This book mainly covers the Bala-Kanda of Ramayana i.e. the childhood days of Rama. But, the author puts it in a different way. As per this book, the Bala-Kanda refers to the days of sage Vishwamitra, the spiritual guru of Rama. The book entirely focuses on the birth origins of Rama and his brothers Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. Also, it covers how Vishwamitra became the celebrated Bramharshi after failing to seek revenge against his arch rival, the ever greatest sage, Bramharshi Vashishta.

The book has been written a lucid manner. Once you start reading it, you won’t feel like to stop it in midway. It keeps its readers hooked to the book. The book has been organized into main chapters and subchapters. Including the tale of Ramayana, the book also presents us with the many short stories that directly or indirectly linked to the Ramayana. One such stories is of Ahalya’s curse by her husband and Killing of the demons Maricha, Subhahu and Tadaka. The fascinating tale of how Vishwamitra became the revered Bramharshi by doing severe austerities and the sad story of Trishanku being held upside down for his lifetime in the heaven created by the sage Vishwamitra, etc… Each and every story happened outside the purview of Rama has been linked in one or the other way to Ramayana.

As the story keeps running further, we get the read the stories of how Rama and his brothers have grown up from being toddlers to infants to teenagers. As expected, we also read about Vishwamitra’s visit to Ayodhya to ask King Dasharatha to send his son Rama with him to achieve some predestined tasks.

The books ends on a happy note of the wedding proceedings of Rama with Sita. The stories of breaking the Bow by Rama and an encounter with his predecessor Parashurama will add a good factor to see Rama’s growth as a divine incarnation. Finally, the book ends when Dasharatha reeling from a nightmare decides to coronate Rama as his successor to the throne.

A nice start to this series. What’s more interesting from this book is the regular footnotes that you read at almost every page. The interpretation of the story or a particular event and how it can be juxtaposed to the modern day is a true testimonial of the author’s command over the Ramayana. If you are planning to read a condensed yet a riveting tale of the Ramayana, then you can begin with this book. I highly recommend this book.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #73: Scion of Ikshvaku - Ramachandra Series Book 1

Title: Scion of Ikshvaku

Author: Amish Tripathi

Published Year: 2015

Publishers – Westland Publishers

Genre – Mythological Fiction

Pages – 350+ (Paperbound)

Source – Personal Copy

There are many version of Ramayana being told over the many centuries past and present, yet, whenever any new version of the tale is being foretold; it gives us altogether a new meaning and a new way of looking at our epic. This book by the well acclaimed author Amish Tripathi (The Shiva Trilogy famed) does scores some good points. This is a new, refreshing and brilliantly imagined novel. This is the first novel in this series and may be a couple more to follow. The humane version of the characters is a new thought. May be the author might have inspired from the other existing novels where these attempts have been made.

This is a fast paced book. The characters description is made well and each character were given its due space and credits. The protagonist Ram and the story behind his birth and background are imagined quite brilliantly. Whoever thinks that, the beloved Son of Dasharatha is actually hated by Dasharatha himself? (Spoilers alert). Well, to be able to digest these kind of new thinking requires a mind where we are not ought to juxtapose this novel with the actual epic where Ram and Dasharath has shared an unique camaraderie. The other stories regarding Rama’s brothers such as Lakshmana, Bharat, and Shatrughan are quite the same, except for the fact that, all their upbringing and childhood days are new thoughts and experimenting.

The plot setup in this novel is not the existing epic story. It is quite opposite to what we are so far believed as truly happened. The role of Guru Vashista in educating our protagonist and his brothers are quite an interesting section to read. It is believed that, the princes of any kingdom are not to reveal their true identity at their Gurukul. Hence, Ram and his brothers were learning in incognito and with different names than their actual given names.

As the book progresses further, we get to see the mastery of Amish in blending the current society problems with that of the Vedic period. Who can possibly imagine that, the gory incident of Delhi gang rape will find a place in this book? It is just brilliant and I was impressed at the sheer magnitude of Author’s brilliant work here.

Depicting Rishi Vishwamitra as a descendent of Naga clan and thereby connecting the story to his Shiva Trilogy is just awesome. The killing of the Rakshasas such as Subhahu, Tadaka and the way Ramchandra deals it in his own way is something unexpected. Kudos to the author!!

Sita Swayamvar is another section in the novel where the story takes it major twist and turns. The story behind the bow Pinaka (The Shiva-Dhanussu) is an interesting section to read. The Bees tower kind of city being imagined at the capital of Mithila city is truly an interesting point. Sita being the chief of Police in the Mithila Kingdom is another new aspect in the story. The humiliation faced by Ravana in the Swayamvar and the way it was dealt is pictured brilliantly. The Daivi-Astras from the Shiva Trilogy finds a place in this novel where Ram had to use it on the troops of Ravana though it is prohibited to use. Thereby, Ram imposes himself a punishment which I am not revealing it in this review as it contains spoilers!! (This is the stage where the next whole section of the story takes it turn).

There are few things which could be well avoided. For example, the story is being set in 3400 BCE and the metric system the author uses to measure distances in Kilometers!! Also, he often uses the country name as India where many characters discusses. I believe India is relatively a new term and he could’ve used either Bharat or Hindustan. Other than this, the novel is exceptionally good.

The rest of the novel can be read with ease and there are quite a bit of incidents where it is the pure imagination of the author’s work. One must read the book to understand it completely. I liked the book as it gives us a new, refreshing and, riveting story. I am sure, Amish lives up to the expectations that he had created in this first book from the series. I can't wait to read the sequel of this.

My Rating:

4.5/5

Book Review #36: Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don't Tell You By Devdutt Pattanaik

This is short and very informative book on the most infamous QUEERNESS ideology in India and other parts of the world. He has researched every nook and corner for the queerish tales from the epics of Hindus and several queer examples from the Greek, Egypt and China as well.

This book is an important book for India and Indians considering the LGBT community is not getting enough support from the government for their recognition in the mainstream world. To add ghee to the fire, Our Indian supreme court has ruled out a judgement an year ago which was against the LGBT community. So, these people became criminals and outlaws overnight. Author Devdutt has written an excellent piece of information that serves as a befitting reply to all those moral policing morons that roam around in the country in the name of culture and tradition.

This book is just about 170 odd pages covering close to 30 short stories of queer people from the Puranas, Vedas and epics such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc.. Devdutt also established the context of "Queerness" from the global mythological sphere bringing stories from Vikings, Egyptian Gods, Chinese legends, Bibliographic readings, etc..


In the first half of the book Devdutt explains the pretext behind this "Queerness" and its origins from various places around the world. Later in the 2nd half, there are 30 stories that was available from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vedas, from even the gods, etc..

Having read his previous books Jaya, The Pregnant King and Sita, I was aware of most of the "QUEER" stories that he has captured in this book. Especially the story of Yuvanashva from The Pregnant King is a fantastic one. Also, I was well accustomed to the stories of Shikhandi, Mohini, Brihannala, Ardhanareeshwara, etc.. I am glad that I came to know about many other queer characters such as Chudala, Gopeshwara, Aravan, Sudyumna, Makara, Samaran, Alli, Pramila, Samba, etc.. The fascinating tales of Narada the messenger forgets that he was a man, God Krishna is a cross-dresser and most of all, Rama when he was leaving for his 14 years of exile, he informs his fellow citizens to head back to the kingdom and wait for his arrival, but addresses them as "All you men and women of my kingdom, please go back to Ayodhya and wait for my arrival", and Rama forgets to address the Queer people who didn't go back but stayed on the banks of the river. Hence, all these people of Queer nature wait for the arrival of Rama at the same river shore where Rama had left 14 years earlier!!.

These are amazing tales that proves time and again that Queerness is not a crime and it is existed since time immemorial. Author has added an excellent note from the vedas at the end of the book which says "Vikruti Evam Prakruti" that can be translated as "Queerness too is a part of nature".

My Rating:
4/5

Book Review #27: Sita - An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana By Devdutt Pattanaik

This is yet another good book by my favorite mythological author Devdutt Pattanaik. We might have heard many versions of Ramayana's till today from our parents, teachers, grandparents, friends, colleague, etc.. But, this book stands class apart. This book tries to give us the various details of Ramayana not only a regular Valmiki Ramayana as in practice, but various versions of Ramayana that have been foretold around the world. It even includes the plays and folklore tales through which Ramayana has been passed on from generations to generations.

As I finished reading the book. Not only many of my questions have been answered. But also, many of the misconceptions have also been demystified. It is certainly a well researched book.

I am not going to give you all a regular review of the Ramayana. As most of us know the overall story, at least the overall Ramayana happenings. Instead, I will mention only those things, which I found worth to be noted in my review.

Sita:
First and foremost, the character Sita. She is one of the main protagonists of Ramayana. Is that enough to be known.? Certainly not. This book gives us the various traits of Sita and her tryst with the entire Ramayana. She is a well educated, well versed woman, full of wisdom, love and courage. She assesses the situation from her own point of view. We all admonish Rama as a bad person when he sent out Sita to the woods after their 14 years of exile, by questioning her chastity. But, in this book, Sita assesses her situation from Rama's point of view and she was happy to go!!. She tries to reason with her situation and comes to a conclusion. At sometimes you may feel, Sita is more mature than Rama in terms of actions, decisions and what not. I can say it aloud that, from this book, my respects for Sita has been multi folded.

Hanuman:
Another character worth to be noted is of Hanuman, the monkey god. He was the greatest devotee of Rama that mankind ever came to know. He actually teared down his chest to show the world that his lord, Sri Rama resides in his heart. But, that is not enough. He is full of knowledge and wisdom. He is a vedic scholar. The main section of the book, where Hanuman sets out to find Sita in Lanka. And, when he finds out Sita, the dialogues between them is a treat to read from the book. It is captured in such a fashion by the author that, you actually feel, this might have happened for real between Sita and Hanuman.


Hanuman the funny side: 
A funny incident which I would like to mention here. When Rama's 14 years of exile was over and they come back to Ayodhya. During Rama's coronation ceremony. Sita gifts Hanuman a pearl necklace for his help to fight Ravana. As Hanuman receives the necklace, he starts to bite every pearl and throw all the pearl one by one. Surprised Sita asks Hanuman why he was doing such things?. For which, Hanuman replied, "I was finding Rama in each of those pearls, and I threw it one by one after checking there was no Rama in it!!". This shows us that Hanuman's unconditional love for his master, lord, Sri Rama.

Hanuman the "generous":
It so happened after all the Ramayana tales that. Valmiki, supposed to be the original Ramayana writer was about to complete his writing of Ramayana. Then suddenly, a voice from the space told him that, Hanuman's version of Ramayana is better than yours. Saddened Valmiki thought no one will read his version of Ramayana. So he meets Hanuman and borrows Hanuman's version of Ramayana. To his astonishment, it was indeed a better version than his. So, Valmiki told Hanuman that, "Your version is way better than mine. And, no one will read my version of Ramayana". By hearing this, Hanuman tore down his version of Ramayana once and for all. Surprised Valmiki asks Hanuman, "Why you did that, your version was better than mine!!". Then, Hanuman replied "I wrote Ramayana because, I didn't want to forget my Rama and all those days I spent with him. You expect your version of Ramayana to reach to public, hence your Ramayana deserves to be saved than mine!!". This again shows us that, Hanuman is not just a mere monkey, but above all a generous, wisdomful person, who rose to be a godly figure.

Ravana:
When it comes to Ravana, there was no greater details in the book. As this book mainly focuses on Sita. Still, author had covered Ravana in greater detail and let his readers amuse by reading the knowledge and power that Ravana has possessed. The interesting section arrives when Ravana was shot by an arrow and he was about to leave his physical body. Rama asks Lakshmana to go and learn all the possible things from the greatest brahmana Ravana to gain his knowledge. When Lakshmana was not so welcomed by this idea. Rama himself will go to Ravana and lay down in front of him and asks him to educate him by his vast knowledge. This shows us that, even when you are fighting with your enemy, respect your enemy for his knowledge!!

Not only these tales that the author wrote, he also mentions the cycles of the Yugas and its a repeating phenomenon. Thereby, justifying his writing that, there may be thousands of Ramayana's that have happened in this never ending cycles of Yugas. As per the author, the 4 yugas (4 - Kritha Yuga), (3 - Treta Yuga), (2 - Dwapara Yuga) and the final one (1- Kali Yuga) that marks the end of the Yugas as proclaimed by Brahma. And this cycle repeats from Krita Yuga again. So, there are possibilities that, there may be many many Ramayana's happened that can't be imagined by humans.

This kind of surprising things are lot to find in this book. As a signature writing of Pattanaik, even in this book, he has produced some of the modern age practices that were directly linked to the practices that were followed in the Ramayana times. He also traces some of the modern places that can be directly or indirectly linked to the ancient Ramayana tales.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. It surely helps you to gain and expand your knowledge on Ramayana.

My Rating:
5/5

Book Review #23: Asura - The Tale of the Vanquished By Anand Neelakantan

As I started reading this book, I was in a hope to understand the Ravana's side of the Ramayana. As the author himself proclaims at the end of the book "And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors, that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence." I was thrilled to read this line and I was all ears to hear the Ravana's version of the Ramayana. What the mightiest Ravana has to offer us, the mere mortals, about his version of events that unfolded in the name of Ramayana.

Well, the book picks up really good, opening up with the soul of Ravana gazing upon the remnants of what is called as an epic battle and was thinking in his mind about what all the events that led to his downfall, the downfall of the mightiest king that India or was it the Lanka ?? has ever produced?.

Later what is I expected of the book all went in vain. I judged this book by the cover of it, literally. This is not Ramayana. Instead, it is Ravana-yana.Let's give the benefit of doubt to the author, who said, this is a work of fiction. So, expected a little damage to the original mythological epic that was revered with at most respect and kept at high regards among Indians ,well, Hindus.

As the book unfolds in subsequent chapters, I realized, wait..., this is not I am expected to read, right ??. I continued, Author had no clue what he was telling in every chapter, with an urgency to finish of this book, author had done great damage to the original version of Ramayana and went a step ahead to give a character certificate to Lord Rama.

Let me get some of the points I thought it is disgusting:

The Writing Style and Editing:
Author had not realized the numerous spelling mistakes and errors in sentences formation. When an author is capable of writing such a huge volume, It is expected to make some grammatical errors. But, not in this case, he doesn't even know the difference between "STRUCK" and "STUCK", "ADVISE" and "ADVICE". This is repeated in various section, and I had to bear the entire novel, correcting the grammar myself and continue to read. I don't even know what sort of proof-reading has been applied for the novel. You would read it anyways. Enough said for this grammatical aspects.

Writing Style:
This must and should be mentioned without fail. As I read through the novel, Author depicted Ravana as a fickle minded person, who is not sure of what was going around him. And, author let Ravana continue in that stage throughout the novel. Poor Ravana, I thought, he is schizophrenic. Later, realized, it is the author, who is not capable of maintaining the order while writing the events. At times Ravana seems to be happy and content, and in split seconds, he is sad or angry. In one of the chapters, Ravana is holding his Prime Minister Prahasta's dead body and utters something "I always loved you and want to scream to the world that, you are one of the nicest persons I have ever met" and in next sentence "But, I didn't liked the advices you were bestowing upon me, hence, I would hate you for that". From love to hatred in just 4 sentences???!!!. What the f***??. Common man, I do not have time for this fickle trail of words from you.


Protagonists:
The story unfolds between 2 main protagonists. Bhadra, the self proclaimed, close aide of Ravana, who sprung into action from nowhere. And, the main protagonist Ravana.

Bhadra a close aide of Ravana, or, that's what he thinks. He comes from nowhere in the novel and declares his unconditional support to Ravana. He declares, Ravana as the king he was looking for all these years and he can vouch for Ravana, who can battle the "BAD" Devas and restores the "GOOD" Asura rule throughout the India.

I never seen a disgusting character as Bhadra's. He is a spineless, jobless, character less, drunkard who always finds himself in ditch. Any story narrated by him has the final ending of seeing him in a nearby ditch. But, why ??. Author had to explain to us. Bhadra's version of story is truly disappointing, he always finds himself in mess, his thoughts runs like a gutter water, he has no clue what was going around him, neither author helps him to regain his lost glory. Bhadra has a wife and daughter, who never appears in the novel, rather he wanders wagging his tails before ravana, he do not have a purpose in life, he was used as a mere pawn by Ravana or he gets this opportunity himself ??. Sometimes he loves Ravana, he does anything to gain Ravana's trust, he kills Ravana's sister Soorpanakhi's lover, he poisons Kubera's entire army, but still he was not recognized by Ravana, why??, Towards the end, he outrages against Ravana, he kicks ravana's dead body and he leaves lanka and settles in Ayodhya??. I mean what the f*** again??. Why we have to bear so much confusion is one single character ??.

Ravana is as confused as Bhadra or rather more. He has no clue what was happening and why was happening. All he wanted was to becomes the king of Asura empire. Author had miraculously wiped off all the values that many people have kept on several mythological characters. Brahma becomes the Asura teacher, Shiva becomes the Asura god and Vishnu is a bad ass. Why??, you won't even find a clue in the book. All his life, Ravana thought Devas as bad, Brahmins are bad. He thought, Brahmins and other North Indians hated the black people. Author's constant use of words "BROWN", "BLACK" and "WHITE" while describing people shows how much hatred that author is imbibing into people's mind. It is better not to mention Ravana's character much, as people will lose all the respect that Ravana has gained all these centuries. It is pointless.

Ravana realized that Sita will not be happy with Rama (with just an assumption!!). Hence, he abducts her. What the f*** again??. Author goes on supporting this claim that, all these white skinned aryans, and brahmins are not good. They will not take of their wives.

Some points worth to be noted:
As per the author,

• Lord Rama commits suicide by realizing that he has done grave injustice to Sita mata.
• Sita mata commits suicide by jumping off to the Sarayu River, when her chastity being questioned by the citizens of Ayodhya. This is such a bad interpretation, I am sick about the author.
• Lakshmana will be executed by the orders of Lord Rama, because people accused Lakshmana for not taking care of Sita mata in the forests.
• Maricha's the close aide of Ravana, disguised himself as a golden deer by wearing a deer skin and jumping around like a mad deer infront of sita!!. OMG!!!
• Sita Mata, is none other than the daughter of Ravana, who had a sexual relationship with Vedavati when he was in a battle against Devas.
• Lord Rama was beheading all the people (of low caste) who was reciting vedas.
• According to the author, entire India spoke Tamil, so if someone seen speaking in Sanskrit, has instantly became an alien language.
• Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, will be abducted and raped by Hanuman, Angada and his troops. (Sick)
• Kumbhakarna is a big time drunkard, who was always high.
• Brahmins always hated the Black skinned people.
• Vibhishana, Varuna are portrayed as a mere traitors, because they joined Rama's army.

At the end of the novel, Author had given some 3 chapters of how the caste system has evolved. He writes that, Rama has pronounced Vibhishana as the king of Lanka. And, Vibhishana has abolished all the asura practices and introduced all the vedic practices. He writes that, vedas are the root cause of Jati and Varna system in the country. He narrates through Bhadra that, all the vedic rituals led the people of lanka to migrate to different parts of the world.

I am so flabbergasted while writing the review of this book. So much to vent out, but not sure where to begin and end. I am sure my central amygdala has gone haywire. Credits to the author.!! :). I can sum up the entire alternate version of the story in few lines:

Ravana: "Hey you, all my supporters, what's up dawgs ??. Well, as you can see, there was nothing under my control, and all happened in quick sessions. I do not even have time to protect y'all. All I wanted is to become just a king. I am not responsible for all your miseries and difficulties. I should've realized this long ago. May be instead of becoming a king, I should've chosen music or teaching or something"


What I liked about the book ??

ENOUGH SAID!!!

My Rating: 1/5