The mists of Brahma by Christopher C. Doyle

"The mists of Brahma" by Christopher C. Doyle - Nothing to do with Brahma!

This edition of book is published by Westland in 2019 and has 462 pages. This is Book 2 of 'The Patala Prophecy" series. 

Shukra's army of Nagas attack another gurukul in Corbett national park. Maya is taking training from Satyavachan trying to demonstrate that she is not a Sadh. The Saptas (Tanveer, Agastya, Varun, Maya, Adira, Amyra and Arjun) are separated as reward for valour of some of them. Maya enters into the mists of Brahma. Something is pulling Maya. She is sentenced. Raman Kapoor, the investigating officer, is still investigating and slowly but surely he is getting somewhere. Saptas take a decision. 

Why is another Gurukul attacked? Can Maya save this one? What does she find in the mists of Brahma? What is pulling her? What decision do Saptas take?

Author launches into story directly, this being a sequel of 'Son of Bhrigu'. The adventures are interesting. The story flourishes nicely. It doesn't become uninteresting at any time. In fact, it becomes a page turner. What is Shukras plan and what is the counter plan still remains to be revealed, wait for sequel. Death of an important member makes the matters even more interesting. 

Maya takes center stage. She is capable of Atma travel, learns instant travel from Satyavachan, but still struggles with normal mantras and is considered Sadh (one with no special abilities) and is on borrowed time in the Gurukul to prove that she can be a Rishi. She goes through five adventures, second and fifth being Mists of Brahma. Although the book is titled after it, the adventures last only few pages. Also, there is no apparent connection with Brahma. It could have been Mists of Vishnu, Mahesh or simply only Mists; and it would have made no difference.

Shukra's plans are not known. The counter plans of the good guys are not known. Where will the police investigation go is also not known. Author has opened up numerous possibilities. They should now converge in next book. Looking at where the story stands at the end of Book 2, I think this may not complete in a trilogy and if it does, third part will be a big one. 

Although author presents the story as an authentic Indian fiction, the basic ideas are lifted from Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. E.g. Gurukul like Hogwarts, One or two word mantras like spells, Sadhs like muggles, Saptas like Percy and friends etc. Detailing, however, is Indian mythology and history based and authentic. A lot has been inspired by various parvas of Mahabharat, Upanishads and Vedas.

Christopher is an author of various historical and mythological fictions and all his works are somehow related to Mahabharat.

Why did I read this book? Author. 

What I didn't like? No relation to Brahma. Lifted ideas. 

What did I like? Story. Narration. 

Recommend reading.

Ajaya: Rise of Kali by Anand Neelakanthan

"Ajaya: Rise of Kali" by Anand Neelakanthan. This book is published by Platinum Press in 2015 and has 530 pages. This book is Book 2 of Ajaya series.

Anand's story of Mahabharata continues, from Suyodhana's point of view, from where the first book ended i.e. with Draupadi Vastraharan. The war starts at around 60% of the book and ends at around 90%.

Dhaumya is the fanatic. Kripa is a maverick. Kirishna is the ultimate manipulator. Samba was the loutish son of Krishna, who Krishna had no control over. Shakuni is a schemer. Ashwathama craves for recognition as warrior and wants to be Suyodhana's best friend, better than Karna. Karna and Eklavya are emotional brave hearts. Suyodhana is a well meaning, righteous, emotional fool.

This book is the struggle between two philosophies. Pandav, Krishna and Parshuram are proponents of cast and class system, followers of scriptures for stable society whereas Duryodhana, Eklavya and Takshak favour merit based system. It's a fight between orthodoxy (Pandav) and liberals (Kaurav).

Author States that Pandav's portrayed themselves as epitome of Dharma and Kaurav's as evil whereas it was the other way round. Pandav used all illegal means to win war and Kaurav abided by the rules. He says Pandav used propaganda to depict themselves as torchbearers Dharma. But he does not say why Suyodhana did not do anything to counter this?

Author has given spin and twist to the known incidents from Mahabharata to put forth his point of view. Some interesting twists: Bhishma and Vidur's retirement. Eklavya taught weaponory to Ghatotkach and Iravan. It was Eklavya, not Lord Shiv, who defeated Arjun in the jungle. Samba, son of Krishna, raped Lakshamana, daughter of Suyodhana. Krishna killed Eklavya in a shameful fashion. Sarpasatra happened when Janmejay was a baby.

The first book was the story of Suyodhana. It tried to put forth the other side of coin. Second book though told interestingly, becomes story of Mahabharata instead of Suyodhana. Suddenly Suyodhana takes back stage and story moves on. There is no justification of Vastraharan, no second side to it. Suyodhana's point of view goes missing. From being a hero in first book, he becomes a supporting actor and an 'also ran' in this book. Mind you, the story is good but author has lost the soul of his story. End of the book is over stretched. He could have stopped at the end of war. But no. He continues and narrates death of Vidur, Kunti, Dhritarashtra & Gandhari, then narrates deaths of Pandav, then narrates death of Parikshit and ends with Sarpasatra with baby Janmejay as the puppet of Dhaumya and Yuyutsu.

You read a good book but it is not what you bargained for. You feel disappointed. A good story that strays from its objective.

If you have read the first one, you have to read this. If you haven't read the first one, well, read that then!

For complete review, please visit:
Mandar's Book reviews
http://mandarbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Bhima: Lone warrior by M.T. Vasudevan Nair

"Bhima: Lone warrior" by M.T. Vasudevan Nair. This book is published by Harper Perennial in Oct 2013 and has 373 pages. This book is the translation of original Malayalam book and is translated to English by Gita Krishnankutty.

This is the story of Bhima, the second Pandav. He was the fiercest warrior of them and the mightiest as well.

Everyone considered him blockhead, all mussels and no brain. He was credited more for his size and strength than his skills. However author tells us that he was skillful, agile and adept at all war forms including archery and fighting from a chariot. In this book portrayal Bhima is lonely, sometimes helpless and always taken for granted by everyone. His size and strength become a hindrance and advantage at the same time.

Whenever there was a danger, be it Baka or Hidimba or Kichak or any other, it was always Bhima to the rescue. Bhima was always the point man in the war, the most important position, while Arjun (the greatest Archer) and Dhrushtadhymna (the commander-in-chief) covered flanks. He was the only one to take view of revenge at the time of Draupadi Vastraharan and singlehandedly killed all Kaurav's.

He had there wives. Hidimbi, who was a forest dweller and who he never m meet after impregnating her. Draupadi, who was aroused by stories of war and violence, who always expects from him without giving and who he still loves unselfishly. Balandhara, princess of Kashi who stayed with him for a long time. Author unpeeles the human side of Bhima. He repents for not asking after his wives when he was away or not sending messengers to them. He is anguish that his son, and eldest of the next generation of Pandav's, Ghatotkach is not respected by Pandav camp, despite proving that he is an unmatched fighter, because his mother does not have a royal lineage and that he is not accorded respectful funeral. He even abdicates the throne.

Towards the end author even dispels the myth that Pandav's were born of Gods and even goes on to reveal identities of Yudhishthir and Bhima's fathers.

Author has consciously avoided the myth and magic from the story and has tried to give a logical explanation to everything that happened. He has an easy writing style and has put the things plainly rather than making them dramatic. Although you read the story of Mahabharata, the writer has introduced the readers to Bhima, the human, rather than Bhima, the hero.

Cover is not eye catching. It looks more like a caricature. Hence I was reluctant to read it and kept postponing the purchase. Finally I read it when Ravi recommended and loaned it.

A good book and different perspective. Recommend reading.

Karna's wife by Kavita Kane

"Karna's wife : The outcast's queen" debut novel of Kavita Kane. This book is published by Rupa Publications India in Aug 2013 and has 295 pages.

Uruvi princess of Pukeya & daughter of King Vahusha and Queen Shubra was a beautiful, brilliant, kind, brutally frank, lively and tempestuous lady. She fell in love with Karna at first sight. When her Swayamwar was due she declared her intention to marry him. Obviously there was a lot of resistance from her parents to marry a low cast and be at the receiving end of insults and ignominy of the society. Moreover Karna was already married and had 6-7 sons. Despite all the attempts to convince her otherwise, she had her way and married Karna to become his second wife (His first wife was Vrushali).

Karna is a classic case of a capable, kind and brave person yearning for recognition. Uruvi understands this, worships Karna for what he is, is indignant about the injustice meted out to him, wants his well but is unable to save him from clutches of Duryodhan and his definition of 'right'.

Uruvi can not believe that Karna can stoop so low during Draupadi's disrobing (वस्त्रहरण) and wants to leave Karna. Author has given an interesting angle to the tale at this juncture that Draupadi and Kunti try to persuade Uruvi not to leave Karna. Her father eventually succeeds in convincing her but can not make her go back to him. This section (her father's speech) is a master piece of wisdom and full marks to the author for putting up such a convincing argument. Another master piece is Uruvi's spirited berating of Bhishma Pitamah for allowing unspeakable and unpardonable things to happen under his watch and not trying to stop them from happening.

It was very brave of Uruvi to marry Karna for love. She knew that he will always be considered inferior due to his parentage and will always be insulted. She being his wife will have the receive same treatment and would be additionally hated by Khsatriyas for choosing a low cast over them. Her anger and sorrow know no bound after Karna's despicable behavior at Wastraharan.

Interestingly, author has emphasized that Karna new the outcome of impending war and his inevitable death since the Draupadi vastraharan fiasco. Uruvi loves him, wishes him well but can not change his destiny.

Mahabharata is full of larger than life characters. It is very difficult to establish an unknown character in the same story and  and that too a central character, in the melee of such personalities. Author has mostly succeeded in this attempt.

I don't know if the character of Uruvi existed in Mahabharata or its a fictional character created by Kavita. As I remember Karna's second wife was Supriya.

A good book. Recommend reading.

The palace of illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

"The palace of illusions", by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. This book is published by Pan Macmillan in 2009 and has 384 pages.

This book is the story of Mahabharata from a female perspective. A female who is supposed to be the cause of Mahabharata war; Draupadi. All the events are seen through Daupadi's eyes. Author has avoided the temptation of narrating entire Mahabharata and chosen to narrate only those incidents that have direct relation to her.

Epic story of Mahabharata is, has been and will remain fascinating for generations so I will not delve into the story line. The story is so fascinating that an author need not work on the storyline and needs only to concentrate on the section and angle she wishes to narrate and the presentation.

Draupadi was proud, stubborn, impatient lady with a sharp tongue. She was dark, not considered favorably in those days, yet beautiful. She was ambitious and bold. She was treated very badly. She was attracted towards Karna and could not forget him until she died.

Fire ceremony was done by Drupad to obtain a son who can take vengeance. His prayers were answered when Drishtadyumna came out of fire with Draupadi. Drupad tried to pick up only Drishtadyumna when he came out of fire thereby rejecting Draupadi implicitly. Draupadi was uninvited.

Draupadi had a chance to make a decision that would mitigate catastrophes to come three times in her life. First when she did not allow Karna to participate in her swayamwar sighting his low cast. Second when she laughed at Duryodhan and insulted him in the palace of illusions. Third when she cursed Kaurav's that culminated in war after her wastraharan (वस्त्रहरण). The choices she made on these occasions altered the course of history.

Draupadi was raised motherless in a palace she did not feel home. Pandav's were raised in Hastinapur in their uncle's palace and did not connect to it as their home. Hence when Maya built the palace of illusions for them in Indraprastha it meant a lot to them. They could call it home. A home that was owner's pride and Duryodhan's envy.

I expected the author to have given a convincing explanation as to why Draupadi laughed at Duryodhan in the palace of illusions, because after all it was the reason why Duryodhan hated her and de-robed her later causing the great war. But the justification given by author is at best lame.

Did Bheeshma hate all women due to the behavior of his mother? Was Kunti a  dangerous woman who succeeded in bringing up her sons in a hostile environment? Did Draupadi long for a beautiful palace of her own? Was the relation between Draupadi and Kunti uncomfortable? Did Draupadi love Karna?

Draupadi quips 'Doesn't anyone have normal births anymore?' How true. All Kaurav's, all Pandav's, Draupadi, Drushtadyumna, Karna, Bheeshma, Dritarashtra, Pandu, Vidur and even Krishna; all had abnormal or unusual births.

Character of Vidur is completely omitted. Death of Dussasan and Bheem applying Dussasan's blood to Draupadi's hair is also omitted. Although author has tried to justify the name of book, she has not effectively drilled home the importance of Palace of illusions to Draupadi.

All in all it is a good book to read that looks at the epic from a different angle. Did Draupadi really think like the Draupadi of this fiction? Only Maharshi Vyas can answer it.

A good book. Recommend reading.

Yugant" (युगांत) by Vinod Gaikwad

"Yugant" (युगांत) a Marathi novel by Vinod Gaikwad.

This novel is written from the point of view of Bhishmacharya (भिष्माचार्य). Novel starts from the curse to Ganga (to be born on earth) and ends with the death of Bhishma.

The book is written in first person but the narrator keeps changing. First narration is by Ganga and is then taken over but Devavrat, Satyawati, Amba, Bhishma, Vidur and Krishna. Since every one knows the story, I will avoid synopsis.

Although it is the story of Bhishma it is not a retelling of Mahabharata, though Mahabharata is inseparable part of it. Kauravs and Pandavs enter when book is 80% over.

The Marathi used for this book is very refined, flowery, difficult and influenced by Sanskrit. Marathi lovers will enjoy reading this book for the language alone.

Bhishma is the central character of this book. Whatever he did is analyzed, explained and justified. His Bhishma Pratidnya (Terrible oath), his refusals to accept throne after deaths of Chitrangad (चित्रांगद) & Vichitavirya (विचित्रवीर्य), his refusal to impregnate Ambika & Ambalika, Draupadi vastraharan (वस्त्रहरण) and fighting final war on behalf of Kauravas are analyzed and justified.

However I felt that the author has fallen short while explaining why Bhishma remained silent during vastraharan (वस्त्रहरण) . The justification is neither satisfactory nor  elaborate enough. His siding with Kauravas should also have been elaborated further. I would have preferred if author had spent few pages for Bhishma's relationship and understanding with Krishna.

Some times a couple of modern words have slipped into the book thereby creating a sour note (रसभंग). The page space allocated to the period  from the birth of Kaurav and Pandav till the end of war of Kurukshetra seemed insufficient. This caused the author to fast forward incidents and miss some details. Although this book is 352 pages long, it should have been longer by @50 pages.

Character of Bhishma is very well presented. His power, bravery and knowledge, his sagacity, impartiality, his skills and foresight. His unimaginable sacrifice for his father and oath to relinquish claim to throne & of remaining unmarried. His mountain like resolve makes him unique. You can not help but admire him for willingly becoming a keeper of what was rightfully his (the throne of Hastinapur). And you can not help pity him for having to see the  destruction of all that he had strived to maintain and prosper and having to see the demise of his own clan.

A good book. Recommend reading.