BOOK TITLE: ASURA:
Tale Of The Vanquished.
ISBN: 9789381576052
AUTHOR: Anand
Neelakantan
GENRE: Fiction
/ Mythology
NUMBER OF PAGES: 504
FORMAT: Paperback
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya
Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I
contacted the author via Goodreads and he sent me a copy through the
publishers. A hearty thanks for giving me a book I have been hoping to read for
long.
SUMMARY:
The
epic tale of victory and defeat… The story of the Ramayana had been told
innumerable times. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who
slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. 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.
But what if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayana has never been told. Asura is the epic tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed castes of India for 3000 years. Until now, no Asura has dared to tell the tale. But perhaps the time has come for the dead and the defeated to speak.
“For thousands of years, I have been vilified and my death is celebrated year after year in every corner of India. Why? Was it because I challenged the Gods for the sake of my daughter? Was it because I freed a race from the yoke of caste-based Deva rule? You have heard the victor’s tale, the Ramayana. Now hear the Ravanayana, for I am Ravana, the Asura, and my story is the tale of the vanquished.”
“I am a non-entity – invisible, powerless and negligible. No epics will ever be written about me. I have suffered both Ravana and Rama – the hero and the villain or the villain and the hero. When the stories of great men are told, my voice maybe too feeble to be heard. Yet, spare me a moment and hear my story, for I am Bhadra, the Asura, and my life is the tale of the loser.”
The ancient Asura empire lay shattered into many warring petty kingdoms reeling under the heel of the Devas. In desperation, the Asuras look up to a young saviour – Ravana. Believing that a better world awaits them under Ravana, common men like Bhadra decide to follow the young leader. With a will of iron and a fiery ambition to succeed, Ravana leads his people from victory to victory and carves out a vast empire from the Devas. But even when Ravana succeeds spectacularly, the poor Asuras find that nothing much has changed from them. It is then that Ravana, by one action, changes the history of the world.
But what if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayana has never been told. Asura is the epic tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed castes of India for 3000 years. Until now, no Asura has dared to tell the tale. But perhaps the time has come for the dead and the defeated to speak.
“For thousands of years, I have been vilified and my death is celebrated year after year in every corner of India. Why? Was it because I challenged the Gods for the sake of my daughter? Was it because I freed a race from the yoke of caste-based Deva rule? You have heard the victor’s tale, the Ramayana. Now hear the Ravanayana, for I am Ravana, the Asura, and my story is the tale of the vanquished.”
“I am a non-entity – invisible, powerless and negligible. No epics will ever be written about me. I have suffered both Ravana and Rama – the hero and the villain or the villain and the hero. When the stories of great men are told, my voice maybe too feeble to be heard. Yet, spare me a moment and hear my story, for I am Bhadra, the Asura, and my life is the tale of the loser.”
The ancient Asura empire lay shattered into many warring petty kingdoms reeling under the heel of the Devas. In desperation, the Asuras look up to a young saviour – Ravana. Believing that a better world awaits them under Ravana, common men like Bhadra decide to follow the young leader. With a will of iron and a fiery ambition to succeed, Ravana leads his people from victory to victory and carves out a vast empire from the Devas. But even when Ravana succeeds spectacularly, the poor Asuras find that nothing much has changed from them. It is then that Ravana, by one action, changes the history of the world.
REVIEW:
Ramayana – one of the two greatest
epics of India. It is a story everyone has at least heard the gist of.
Therefore, it takes a really open mind to contradict such a popular age old
story and deliver it to the masses successfully. Ramayana has been told in many
ways. There are books, musicals, verses, prose works and innumerable other
types of interpretations of the epic. The longest work is written into volumes
and the shortest is a song that is only three verses long. Anand Neelakantan
has attempted to contradict this hackneyed epic boldly.
From the page one, the book shakes the
reader’s basic idea about the Ramayana. This book has been very smartly named
‘Ravanayana’- The story of Ravana’s journey. The story opens with Ravana’s
lament in the war field. As his body lay rotting, scavenged by rats and wild animals,
Ravana recounts his childhood and how he came to be the feared Asura king.
There is not much to tell in detail about the story itself.
It will suffice to say that the author
has taken some shocking liberties while writing this story. Starting with the
moment Ravana lies on the battlefield helpless (the original epic says
otherwise) and while he says his purpose in life was to make someone else god,
the readers get an idea of how the story will go. The story as to Sita’s
original identity and the unbelievable acts of Lakshmana, (allegedly) this book
is sure to rub many people on the wrong side.
These liberties apart, the whole story
is told from a new perspective, making it the first real story from the loser’s
point of view. In addition to Ravana’s perspective, there are interludes with
Bhadra, a common man, a soldier and confidante, and from this view, we can see
that no matter who rules, the position of the common man is no different.
Asura is a story that is to be read
when the reader is ready to face other alternative views and is not hesitant to
open their mind to a whole new perspective. But before reading the book, kindly
note the following.
1.
The author has taken certain
liberties while writing the story. Not everything is as described
2.
Every great war has two stories. The
victor’s side and the loser’s side. While the victor’s side story is more
popular, there are always those hidden facts. Only people with enough clear
mind to stomach the other side of the coin should attempt to read these stories
3.
Asura is a tale of Ravana. One must
learn to read about Ravana and his life story of how he grew up, grew wealthy
and reigned the Asuras and the reason for his downfall without remembering that
his foe, Lord ram, is one of the most glorified Gods of Hinduism.
WHAT I LIKED:
The alternate perspective of Ravana,
and the fact that even he is not glorified.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
The book is too long. It could have
been edited better. But considering Ramayana’s Yuddha Gaandam is longer, this
is not a major fault.
The author could have reduced the
shock value of the story. This book has more reach towards today’s youth than
the original epic itself. This puts added responsibility on the author to make
sure his words do not offend even the most devout devotees of Lord Rama. (Pun
intended)
VERDICT: A
book that is sure to challenge your views on age old stories and beliefs. Go
for it if you are ready.
RATING: 3.8/5 (for
the length and the contradictions with the events of history)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I
was born in a quaint little village called Thripoonithura, on the outskirts of
Cochin, Kerala. Located east of mainland Ernakulam, across Vembanad Lake, this
village had the distinction of being the seat of the Cochin royal family. However,
it was more famous for its hundred odd temples; the various classical artists
it produced and its music school. I remember many an evening listening to the
faint rhythm of Chendas from the temples and the notes of the flute escaping
over the rugged walls of the school of music. Gulf money and the rapidly
expanding city of Cochin have, however, wiped away all remaining vestiges of
that old world charm. The village has evolved into the usual, unremarkable,
suburban hell hole, clones of which dot India. Growing up in a village with
more temples than was necessary, it was no wonder that the Ramayana fascinated
me. Ironically, I was drawn to the anti-hero of the epic – Ravana, and to his
people, the Asuras. I wondered about their magical world. But my fascination
remained dormant for many years, emerging only briefly to taunt and irritate my
pious aunts during family gatherings. Life went on… I became an engineer;
joined the Indian Oil Corporation; moved to Bangalore; married Aparna and
welcomed my daughter Ananya, and my son, Abhinav. But the Asura emperor would
not leave me alone. For six years he haunted my dreams, walked with me, and
urged me to write his version of the story. He was not the only one who wanted
his version of the story to be told. One by one, irrelevant and minor
characters of the Ramayana kept coming up with their own versions. Bhadra, who
was one of the many common Asuras who were inspired, led and betrayed by
Ravana, also had a remarkable story to tell, different from that of his king.
And both their stories are different from the Ramayana that has been told in a
thousand different ways across Asia over the last three millennia. This is then
Asurayana, the story of the Asuras, the story of the vanquished
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle,
Paperback, Hardcover.
PRICE: Rs.
179 for Paperback
BOOK LINKS:
http://www.amazon.in/Asura-Vanquished-Story-Ravana-People/dp/938157605X/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=bookandalotmo-21&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=938157605X
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