The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
What makes a book good?
Is it the story? Is it the author? Is it the language, the usage of words? Most
of us will agree that it is a combination of the three that makes a book what
it is. When the story is one you know well, you expect the retelling to be
brilliant, which puts the onus on the author. Krishna Udayasankar’s Aryavarta
Chronicles series, as we know by now (or at least those of us who have read the
first – Govinda – know) is her rendition of the Mahabharata. When I began
reading ‘Govinda’,
I wondered how she would treat a much retold story, and if you have read my review,
you would know that she succeeded in surprising me.
Image Courtesy: http://govindashauri.blogspot.in |
When I picked up ‘Kaurava’,
the second book in the series, I wondered if the book would live up to the
expectations, post ‘Govinda’. Would Krishna Udayasankar succeed in surprising
me again? How would she take forward a story I knew so well? And this is where
Krishna scores in her retelling. She refuses to stick to the well-known
narrative, taking instead, a completely different view of things, bringing
people we have barely noticed in the original to the fore, altering events so
they fit her notion of Aryavarta, thus making the story her own, rather than
the one familiar to us all.
This is what made the
book so interesting. It made me want to keep reading, forgetting all my pending
chores, which is what, honestly, I like my books to do!
The story of Kaurava
begins soon after the events in Govinda. Dharma is the Emperor and Govinda an
outcast, shunned for being a Firewright, exiled from those he loves the most.
The Firstborn seem to have achieved their goal of finally ridding Aryavarta of
the Firewrights. Yet, there are undercurrents, of people with hidden agendas,
politics at its best (or worst, depending on which way you look at it),
relations strained and egos at work, and of course, secrets kept and leaked.
All of which lead to a chain of events which shatter the foundations of
everything that the empire is built on. Krishna stays true to the epic, to the
extent of the major events. How they come to occur, is another matter
altogether. That is the crux of the book, and you have to read it to find out
for yourself how she integrates her version of events with the events we are
familiar with.
Some might argue that her
distortion of the events changes the epic beyond recognition, but I enjoyed
reading the book for that very reason. This is an epic, first composed
centuries ago, then passed down the generations verbally, before being written
down in the form we know, and then translated and retold once again, in various
languages and dialects, at various periods in time. The epic, as it passed
through time, grew, as did the story, amalgamating and blending history with
myth and legends, deifying heroes and demonizing villains. To read a simplified
story, sticking diligently to the narrative as we know it, almost seems like a
sacrilege to the epic itself! Which is why, reading Krishna Udayasankar’s
version had me smiling all through, admiring her for concocting such a story,
stopping now and then to wonder just where she got all her ideas from!
The best thing about the
book are the characters; or, to be precise, Krishna’s characterization. As with
‘Govinda’, each of her characters is well written, and each speaks so well with
his / her voice that they seem to come alive. We almost begin to expect
characters to behave in certain ways, which only helps us imagine them better.
If the first book was
almost wholly about Govinda, this book is almost entirely about the Kauravas. Hence
the title. However, it is primarily about the two Kauravas who are pitted
against each other for the throne – Syoddhan and Dharma Yudhisthir. And it is
in this book that they grow, as characters, as men, showing their personality,
coming into their own. I absolutely loved the way events moulded the way
Syoddhan thought, and how the exile changed Dharma’s actions. However, there is
no doubt who are the primary actors in the story of Aryavarta – Govinda and
Panchali continue to sway decisions and events, no matter how much it costs
them both.
Having said all that, the
book is not without its faults. It starts out on a rather slow note, and the
first few chapters were rather difficult to get through, after all the
excitement of ‘Govinda’. And if you are wondering, yes, I read through Govinda
once more before starting out on ‘Kaurava’. It is only as the story progresses
that it picks up pace, and gets interesting once again. However, at times, I had
to stop and think, because the story is getting more and more complex. For a
story which is already complicated in its entirety, all the twists and turns
are sometimes difficult to cope with, and I just hope Krishna holds all the
threads firmly in her hands for the final book. Once again, towards the end,
the big denouement is not as unexpected, or such a big surprise as intended. Somewhere
along the way, I thought it was almost inevitable, and I wasn’t really
surprised. And this book actually had one proofreading error – on page 312. No,
I am not going to tell you what it is. Those of you who read the book, see if
you can spot it.
Over all, it is Krishna’s writing
which keeps us hooked to the very end. Her book is set in a time long past, and
she brings that time alive, making it clear that its very much in the past. However,
she also constantly shows us how things remain the same, even as they change
beyond recognition. For, some basic things do not change. Love does not and
neither does lust, nor does ambition, or even courage. Thus, human nature
remains much the same, no matter when they live. We do not need a connection to
the present to understand the past, but an understanding of the past can indeed
help us in the present, as well as the future.
Which is why, I look
forward to the final part of the Trilogy. Krishna, hurry up please!
Related Posts:
Nice review Anuradha. I totally agree that at times we love to see our mythical tales revamped. And going by plethora of books available after the success of Amish's Shiva Trilogy, I think the trend will continue. Sometime back I read Thundergod:Ascendance of Indra by Rajiv G. Menon, a totally different take on Lord Indra depicted as a common man. Have you read it?
ReplyDeleteThanks Anu. I did read Thundergod too, and wrote a review also. btw, i enjoyed Thundergod, Govinda and Kaurava a lot more than the Shiva trilogy. what about you?
DeleteI had read the first book and felt it very average. Bought this one hoping for some improvement and explanation for some things I found loose in the first book. But I was disappointed to see that the story is just going on in a similar fashion with more loose ends and no explanation for many things. This just re-emphasized my belief that very little research has been done on the topic.
ReplyDeleteWell, Rahul, sorry to hear you did not like the book. On the contrary, I felt that the book was extremely well researched, well written , and probably as close to the original story as possible.
Delete