Vanara: The legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara by Anand Neelakantan

"Vanara: The legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara" by Anand Neelakantan - formula continues. 

This book is published by Penguin books in 2018 and has 304 pages. 

Baali and Sugreev were brothers from Van Nara tribe, forest people. Devas and Asuras treated them as untouchables and made them slaves. Baali has a grand dream of a city and kingdom of his people and builds Kishkindha against all odds. Baali and Tara are in love but Sugreev too loves Tara.

Does Sugreev love Tara more than Baali? Does Tara have feelings for Sugreev? How will the entry of Ram and Ravan change the scenario? 

Anand has clearly defined characters in this book. Ahalya is kind Brahmin lady who treats Baali and Sugreev with love but as untouchables. Baali is strongest man on earth, virtuous and wants Van Nara tribe (considered crude,  black,  good for nothing forest dwellers) to be treated as equals and not as Monkeys. Sugreev is a coward and no match for Baali. He loves his brother and is jealous of him. Riksarajas is an eunuch and foster father of Baali and Sugreev. He too fights for upliftment of downtrodden Van Nara tribe but is not taken seriously. Tara is the wisest lady. She loves Baali but also has a soft corner for Sugreev and is torn between them. 

Similar to his previous books, author leverages the Arya-Dravid theory, without naming it. He also exploits the Untouchable- Brahmin spat in the context of Van Nara aka Vanara.

However, the characters have flaws. Baali is a born leader. He is righteous, courageous,  powerful and loves his brother and Tara. He rarely thinks about anyone else and is determined to get what he wants. He builds Kishkindha against all odds with help of Sugreev and Tara. But turns from Progressive to Regressive, suddenly, based on an event of little relevance. Baali's condescending behaviour towards Sugreev, his ordering him around and Tara's affection towards Baali creates and widens the wedge between them over a period of time. But character of Sugreev undergoes transformation from righteous but coward to sly, shrewd and scheming person, who loves Tara whole heartedly, rather abruptly. Character of Hanuman is shallow. Initially he is saintly,  then he is stoic and then he is easily fooled by trickery. If he was an elevated soul, how can he fall for a simple trick? Then he suddenly becomes Ram bhakt. Tara loves Baali. Sugreev loves Tara. Although Tara rejects Sugreev repeatedly, she can't get him out of her mind completely and is secretly confused. Her mixed feelings do not get enough attention of the author. It appears that she really does not care for Sugreev.

Book starts with a bang when little Sugreev discovers Ahalya and Indra cheating on Goutama. The story is interesting. It has a flow for most of the time but slows down occasionally. Baali is the hero and Ram, Lakshman and Sugreev are shown in negative light. 

Like other books by the author, this too is a one sided account from the point of view of the protagonists. As a result others are dark characters. I would have liked if author had added another dimension to the narrative and made it more balanced. 

Anand's books always have a title and subtitle. Here it is 'The legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara'. Amish has done it in his Ram Chandra series. Vineet Bajpai has done it in his Harappa series. It appears that subtitles are in fashion. 

Why did I read this book? Author.  

What did I like?  Other point of view. 

What I didn't like?  Uni dimensional. 

Recommend reading.