BOOK TITLE: The Curse of Brahma
ISBN: 978-8129135339
AUTHOR: Jagmohan Bhanver
GENRE: Fiction / Mythology
NUMBER OF PAGES: 396 Pages
FORMAT: Paperback
SERIES / STANDALONE: Krishna Trilogy #1
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank Debdatta Sahay of Book Review tours for this review copy!
SUMMARY:
"The man who became a brahmarishi. The curse that banished him to the hell of hells. And the revenge that threatens to destroy the three worlds."
In a fit of rage, Brahma banishes his star pupil from Swarglok. Mortally wounded and anguished at Brahma's unfair punishment, the man struggles to survive in tamastamah prabha, the hell of hells. In time, he becomes the Dark Lord, the most feared figure in Pataal Lok, who swears to destroy Brahma
"Brahma's curse sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to alter the fate of the three worlds. Vasudev, the brave Prince of Bateshwar, becomes the hunter of Asura assassins, his closest friend, Kansa, almost dies saving his sister, Devki, from a group of deadly monsters and the most valiant kings in Mrityulok turn over to the dark side, driven by forces beyond their control. Only one person threatens the Dark Lord's well laid plan Devki, the beautiful princess of Madhuvan, who is destined to give birth to the warrior Krishna."
REVIEW:
The book that talks about the other side of the coin!
WHY I PICKED THIS BOOK UP?
The biggest reason would be: I am a huge fan of mythological fiction. I always love books in the genre, even if they talk about things that are the popular opinion and glorify the usual heroes, or if they talk about the forbidden topics and talk about the unsung sacrifices or give the story from the known villains’ point of view.
There is a little truth to both sides of the story. I always go by the quote, “There are always three sides to any story, your side, my side and the truth!”
The story had the promise to offer something more than the usual stories now shockingly a dime a dozen about Indian Mythology.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
I was impressed with the cover. It gave the right message, with enough subtlety mixed with a strange allure. The book’s printing could have been done a bit better, considering that I had to read more pages of the same and the print was uncomfortably small (though not in the usual standards) for me to read at stretches, though I liked the story a lot!
THE STORY:
For a book named ‘The Curse Of Brahma’, from the ‘Krishna trilogy’, effectively combining two of the holy trinity, I almost expected it to be about the third member of the trinity, Mahadeva!
A man who was once hailed as ‘Brahmarishi’, one of the highest honours, is shamed and cursed. This unfair treatment changes him into a villain. In the stories I have heard when I grew up, I always felt that the gods were too quick to grant boons without thinking about the consequences, and when they realised how the same boon they had given could be used for their defeat, they use any means necessary and eliminate the danger.
The alternating story lines of the Dark Lord and the ‘Tamastamah Prabha’, the worst hell, and the story that follows the life of Kansa (yeah the very same evil villain who we heard had killed all his sister’s children) and Ugrasena, are the strong points of the book’s narration. While it was initially hard to adjust to the idea of Kansa being not only a good, but a great human who sacrificed himself for his sister, (that goes to say how much the stories have skewed our perspective), once I got into the plot, I loved reading the other side of story.
The story does not describe Krishna as the glorified God we had come to know. It talks about Krishna from Kansa’s POV and it ends with the arrival of Krishna. The author has struck a fine balance between portraying the human end, and the normal side of popular villains and not vilifying the gods in the exchange. There is a little grey in every story, and this is no exception.
The narration could have done with a bit more editing. For someone who is not a hardcore fan of this genre, the story might seem full of unnecessary plot fillers and extra explanation. Bu the characters have good depth and that makes up for the lack of brevity.
In the land of Mahabaratha and Ramayana, the longest ever epics, it is only natural that any story that talks about the other side has to be long too. But that should be one of the reasons why the author has chosen to give the story as a trilogy instead of trying to cram as much as he could in book one.
More has been spoken about Indian Mythology in the last five years in various books from various authors than in the last millennium. Every story is either a remake of the original epics, a detailed description of a lesser known story, or a tale that sings about the villains and the reasons they became so.
ATTRACTIVE POINTS OF THE STORY:
- The characters and their depth.
- The story of Kansa and Amartya Kalyanesu.
WHAT BOGGED ME DOWN:
- The length. Though I loved the story and the genre, some parts could be edited out to make the book more interesting.
- The summary could have been framed even better for such a really engaging story.
VERDICT:
This is not your usual alternative perspective story. Thankfully, there is more depth to this than I initially realised. A good read that sets a nice pace for the sequels.
RATING: 4/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jagmohan Bhanver has handled national and international roles for top multinational banks and is rated among the top leadership coaches in the country who has mentored industry leaders across the globe. He is considered one of the most powerful speakers in Asia and addresses half a million people every year. Jagmohan has been the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award and the Global Achievers Award, among several other felicitations in education and public service. He has previously authored three bestsellers in the non-fiction space. The Curse of Brahma is his first novel.
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback, Kindle
PRICE: Rs. 207 for Paperback, Free on Kindle Unlimited
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