Aastik (आस्तिक) by Sane Guruji (साने गुरुजी)

"Aastik (आस्तिक)", a Marathi novel, by Sane Guruji (साने गुरुजी). This edition of the book is published by Riya Publications in 2011 and has 216 pages.

Everyone knows the mythological tale of how King Parikshit (Son of Abhimanyu and Grandson of Arjun) garlanded a meditating sage with a dead snake. How he was cursed to die by bite of  Snake Takshak (तक्षक). How, despite all precautions, the curse came true. How after Parikshit's death his son Janmejay (जन्मेजय) started a fire to burn all snakes (नाग) of the universe called Sarpasatra (सर्पसत्र). How Indra, the king of Gods, promised protection to Takshak and how Sage Aastik talked sense into Janmejay and stopped the madness.

Sane Guruji has retold this tale in a realistic manner. He narrates it in the fashion it might have really happened. Author has given it a socialist angle and preached for the betterment of the society.

How does the story take place? What do the characters of Vatsala and Naganand contribute? Is there another war like Mahabharata in the offing? What does Sage Aastik (आस्तिक) preach? Can he really stop the madness, forever?

In this story there are no snakes. Naga (नाग) is a race of aboriginals. There is a social divide between Naga and Aryans (आर्य). Marriages between them are not uncommon but aren't encouraged either. Sarpasatra is actually the attempted ethnic cleansing of Nagas by Aryans.

The story is well told. The socialist perspective gives a different angle to the story and the readers think that it may have really happened like this. This story rings true to realism because the problems discussed here exist in today's world in almost all countries with varied  degree of severity.

Marathi language used in this book is very articulate and heavy. Some of the casual readers may not remain interested due to this. Sane Guruji has preferred to preach socialism through the story rather than letting the story convey the message. There are a lot of philosophical discourses in the book. It was possible to let the imagination of author loose in order to make the story even more interesting, but the author has refrained from doing that remaining true to the message.

Don't read it as a novel, read it as an attempt  to improve society through a story. Read it for a change.