BOOK REVIEW: RAAVAN: ENEMY OF ARYAVARTA (Ram Chandra Series - Book 3) by AMISH

Raavan: The epitome of evil as per our Hindu mythology. We know him as a man who was egotistical, evil incarnated, kidnapped the wife of a pious and honorable king, and considered himself to be way above than the heavenly Gods above!

While growing up in a simple Indian Marwari household, granny would always warn us against growing up to be someone like Raavan as he was a "bad man". Moreover thanks to Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana, we took this to our heart and believed it with all our faith!

However, as with all childhood 'truths', this one too took a bad fall! We all realized that in reality, Raavan was a highly educated man, a Shiva worshipper, a great warrior, a loving brother, and above all a just king!

There have been many stories written, plays written, and even movies being made to showcase the story of Raavan from a different perspective, to highlight his positivities, and to bring to life his story

from his point of view!

Amish as an author needs no introduction. He is a master storyteller who seamlessly weaves mythology with fiction. The Shiva trilogy was an absolute delight to be read. Till date, no author had been able to write Lord Shiva's story with such a unique and out-of-the-box storyline!

The Ram Chandra Series is another brilliant gem by this genius man. To come up with a storyline that is completely tangent to what has been passed on since ages as our great Hindu truth is not a simple task!

This is the third book in the series after Ram: Scion of Ishkvaku and Sita: Warrior of Mithila. 

At the onset, I have to give in to my fangirl emotions and have an "OH! MY GOD!" moment.

A very well-crafted story that begins with the early childhood of Raavan in the ashram of his father, sage Vishrava. Raavan did not have a happy childhood and was never loved by his father. This had a deep-rooted effect on his mindset and decisions later in life. He is shown to be an exceptionally talented man who was not only a brave warrior but was also a highly accomplished musician and an artist. He was very loyal towards his family and in fact, took up the job of looking after his mother and younger brother, Kumbhakarna from a very young age.

Raavan had a lot of hatred and negativity inside him and the responsibility of earning for his family since a young age made him a bitter and hard man. He rarely gave in to his softer side and preferred to be feared by others. Regular people crave to portray themselves as good and pious for the world, but Raavan was just the opposite. He enjoyed the stories circulated about him being cruel and barbarian. He reveled in his negative image and took immense pride in being considered as the larger-than-life barbarian of all times!

However, there was another side of Raavan that was privy to Kumbhakarna alone. The two brothers had a very strong and close relationship. Kumbhakarna was the only one who knew about Raavan's inner turmoil and did his earnest best to be there for his brother, both physically and emotionally. When Kumbhakarna realizes that Raavan has lost his moral compass, he does his utmost, through cash and kind, to cut down on Raavan's adharma and make additions to his dharma quota!

The story comes to an end when Raavan kidnaps Sita and is en route to Lanka in his pushpak vimaan along with Kumbhakarna. 

The fourth story in the series will be the grand finale bringing the stories of all the three principal characters together!

I have purposely not written much about the story as I did not want to reveal the suspense here and spoil it for all you wonderful readers out there.

If you have enjoyed the Shiva series and have in fact read the previous two books of the Ram Chandra series, there is absolutely no way that you can stop yourself from reading this book. This is a fantastic story, although slightly boring in some parts, but one that you will want to finish in a single sitting!

Amish has written in the Introduction of the book that he had changed the title of the book from Raavan: Orphan of Aryavarta to Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta as he felt that Raavan alienated himself from his motherland through his own actions. I am not in full agreement here. Yes, Raavan did distance himself from his motherland owing to his wrongdoings, but one should also consider the reason behind his hatred and anger. I am not justifying Raavan or his behavior but I do feel that he does deserve a benefit of the doubt!

Till next time happy reading and please do leave your comments to connect with me on this book!

BOOK REVIEW : BURNT SHADOWS by KAMILA SHAMSIE

Books are my guilty pleasure. Rather they are my single, most cherished, and satisfying soul cleansing pleasure. I love escaping to the world created by the authors, be it some fairy tale or a mushy romance or an adventure or a thriller or a story which is a combination of all the love and more, full of hard-hitting events casting everlasting shadows!!! There are certain books which make you feel light and happy and full of positivity but then, there are those books which hit you hard, really hard and especially when it is least expected! It comes with a surprise, leaving you completely reeled up and experiencing sensations long after you have moved to another book!!!!
This book, THE BURNT SHADOWS is one such perfect example. It made me so emotional and sad and withdrawn in my shell, that it took days to get over that tragic melancholy!!! Nevertheless, I would rather read a book which garners such an impactful reaction from me, than a so-called light read where you can literally shut your brain off and just let it all flow!
It is very difficult to write the summary of a story of this magnitude with a scope so huge. It spans about 60 years, from the A-Bomb in Nagasaki to the partitioning of India and Pakistan, to war-torn Afghanistan and to post 9/11 America.
This is a profound and powerful novel of family, nations, and wars. If you ask me, I found two-three themes in this story to be very interesting and relatable. First of all is the power of language, not solely as the means of communication, but as a cultural and attitudinal divide.
Second of all was is how identity plays a very important role in our lives and how a sense of identity can be damaged by the horror of an atomic bomb, or by failing exams, by subterfuge, or by looking different to those around you.
Another intriguing theme which stood out was what happens when we try to be nice to others and "do good" to them without treating them as equals, resulting in far-reaching, inhumane and humiliating consequences.
 Besides all this, this book is special as it explores the wonderful ties that bind people together. The loves, the loyalties and the sense of belonging that makes up the beautiful and intricate web of our lives, the knots of which cannot be snapped by a sudden breeze or disturbance.
It is an intelligently written story wherein Shamsie has explained some of recent history’s more complex issues through a family saga.
The characters are well drawn and believable. They are shown with flaws, making mistakes that have serious consequences. Although it is these traits that make the characters more humane and relatable.
Its a good read albeit a very emotionally draining one (true for me, at least)!!

BOOK REVIEW : THE AMERICAN GODS by NEIL GAIMAN

Hello people... Let's start this post with an interesting insight ( at least from my point of view )....... Here's the thing: How important are the looks of the author while choosing a book to read??? Weird question huh!!! I disagree!!!
Looks of an author are as important as the storyline, the content, the characterization, the flow of the story.. Trust me!!! It's a serious thought process and nothing to laugh about!!!!
I, for one, have been known in the past to choose a particular book because the concerned author was good looking...And I stand guilty for doing it even today......
Authors like John Grisham, Khaled Hosseini are such excellent storytellers and their good looks are just like the "cherry on the icing!!"...
And girls, you seriously can't deny this fact...
The recent addition to this club is Neil Gaiman - my favored author of the season !!!! You have to check out his pictures to believe me...He is NICE!!
And honestly, this was the only reason I choose this book. I had never heard of this guy before and I downloaded this book on a whim.
I was in for a shock when kindle shows me that this book "The American Gods" is of 10,000+ pages. I decided then and there that I am going to skip through half the story and finish it in record time and that too only for Gaiman's face...
Otherwise, me and read another big fat book after the Pamuk disaster...
 No Way!!!
The reality was way different from what I had presumed... I enjoyed this book so much that I did not want it to finish...Instead of hurrying through the story I was taking it real slow, savoring its unique storyline but alas it all got over real fast!!!
Now that I have piqued your interest, let me tell you about its story....
Tell me something... Whether we are overly religious or not, we always carry our faith, our Gods with us to distant lands,  right... We carry them with us across the seas and oceans to protect us, to guide us in a new strange land with strange customs amongst total strangers... With the passage of time, we become familiar and comfortable in the new land, till we start treating it like our own and eventually become one with those strangers and their customs, even accepting the new Gods...Now, what happens to the Old Gods who had come with us, with our ancestors in this faraway land??? Do they continue living here, long forgotten by us or do they go back to their origin or do they perish in this new land uncared and unloved?
This is the premise of Neil Gaiman's book The American Gods...It is a story about Gods and their survival...Are they as human as we are??? Do they too need love, dedication, care, and faith?? Or are they above it all??
It is a story of trust, betrayal, cunningness, love, faith and most importantly of a person who is good and has a pure heart...
Here in Gaiman's world, you have old Gods and new Gods. The old Gods are long forgotten by their believers and are living an almost non-existent life at the periphery. Some of them have accepted this cruel twist of time whereas there are some who are not willing to fade away without a good fight. Standing facing the old regime are the new Gods...Gods of plastic money and bank and real estate and the media who are riding the high wave!! As is the rule of nature there is a big gap between the 'have nots' and the 'haves' which leads to discontent and the beginning of the war: War of Gods!!
I am in love with Gaiman's imagination and am more than game to read his other books just to see how far he stretches the imagination of his readers!!!!