The Forest of Enchantments - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Palace of Illusions was one book that had blown my mind. Chitra's portrayal of Draupadi was real, complex, rebellious yet submissive at times, arrogant, enigmatic, powerful and what not. She is flawed and yet perfect....very much human. Palace of Illusions was written from the perspective of Draupadi. We have read the epic Mahabharata from so many writers and from many perspectives and yet Draupadi's perspective was refreshing to know. And my expectation form Chitra was already set high. After this book I reread Mistress of Spices. Here too her portrayal of Tilo left me craving for more. I started off with high expectation when I brought the book The Forest of Enchantments. I knew that the author had written the book form the perspective of Sita. And I had wanted to read Ramayana from the perspective of Sita very badly.

I have grown up being told that it is not good to name any girl child Sita or any of her other names like Janaki, Dhara, Dharitri, Siya, Maithili, , etc. The reason being that all Sita did in her lifetime was suffer and nothing else and if we name our daughters Sita or any of her other names, the same fate maybe in store the child. So in general we all know that Sita suffered throughout the epic story of Ramayana, So I was naturally curious when I picked up the Forest of Enchantments. I wanted to read about her experience as an adopted kid, her relationship with her peers and parents. I was very curious to know her perspective of being a bride and entering a household which had three mother in laws and other concubines. What was she going through actually when she went with Rama into the forest. Did she ever regret going into exile with her husband? After all, we are all humans we naturally question our each and every move. Did she question her decision and regret it ever? How did she feel about Lakshman for abandoning Urmila for so many years? I wanted to learn about Lanka and Ashoka Vatika from Sita's perspective. And most of all I wanted to know her relationship with Rama... the intimacy and the realty of being a wife to someone and her reaction to all the betrayals she faced.

The word play by Chitra Banerjee is brilliant. This book did answer many of my curiosities about Sita. Her story telling is as always too good and there can be no other opinion about it. But it was definitely not Palace of Illusions and most definitely not like Draupadi's character. The book felt more like just another Ramayana book to me just told from Sita's voice. I guess I wanted Sita to be filled with rage, hate towards the injustice, more emotions and most of all I wanted her to be real.... human. There was rage, emotions and everything that I wanted, but it was all very muted. Sita surpasses her emotions as much as possible. Eventually Sita rebels and stands up against the system, but I waned to feel Sita's rage against the injustice and not my rage.  Sita felt very much like how we have read in other Ramayana versions..... It was in a way a bit disappointing for me personally as I have felt that female characters in our epics are very strong characters and yet mostly they are pushed into the background and every major decisions are taken by the male characters. A female is always either a revered or a servile character but when it comes to decision making, they are never taken into consideration and always female characters have to be either a damsel in distress or made a villain . How often have we heard people saying that in Ramayana and Mahabharata war took place because of Sita and Draupadi as if by blaming the female characters one can hide the fact that the male characters created the circumstances that led to war. 

Overall this Sitayan had its hits and misses. The author also writes about other neglected characters in this book like Sunaina - Sita's mother, Kaikeyi - Rama's 'evil' stepmother, Urmila - Lakshmn's wife ( although I wanted more) ,  Surpanakha -  Ravan's sister and  Mandodari - Ravan's wife. We get to know each one of these female characters more and from other perspectives. Chitra Banerjee weaves all the characters so well and makes us desire more.  She makes the character of Ravana as a very learnt and an intelligent man who respects Sita. Overall I did enjoy the book and is a must read for everyone as it teaches us how one should treat others especially women and also how not to treat them. 

We Are All Made Of Glue!

 I am finally back to blogging!! Or so I am hoping.

I have been wanting to write reviews of the books that I have been reading recently and my first post would be of the book  "We are all made of Glue". I mean .... just look at the title!! If this title doesn't attract anybody to pick up the book then I don't know what else will :)

This was the first book I read this year. I love exploring old book stores, second hand book stores and the likes, more than I like the big bad book stores in the malls (I love them too....slightly less I guess). So in the month of December of 2019, when going out was still prevalent and life was normal, I had made a trip to Jehangir Gallery in Mumbai and if you have been to the area you might have seen that if you walk towards Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus from the gallery, there are quite a few small stalls and small shops selling new and second hand books near the Hutatma Chowk. I simply love those quaint little shops and road side stalls. You cannot guess what you might find there! You might just stumble upon a rare book or just a generic one. They sell academic related books, art catalogues, magazines, novels and everything that one can find. And in one such shop I brought this book. This book was published by Readers Digest which are called Readers Digest Condensed Books or Select Editions where they put four different novels in a single book. I have quite a few of those readers digest collectible books and I was thrilled to find this one. This book had John Grisham's The Associate, Nicci French's What to do when Someone Dies, Death or Glory by Michael Asher and the last one was We are all made of Glue by Marina Lewycka.

And to be honest, I had never heard the author's name nor the name of the book. But this title itself was so intriguing that I had to read this one first. Marina Lewycka is a British author of Ukrainian origin and a quick Google search led me to her many other books which I am planning to read in the near future. This book has many characters but the main stars are Georgina Sinclair and her elderly neighbour, Mrs. Shapiro and I must add her cats too ;).  It is set somewhere in the late 1980s or early 1990s I think as one can see the usage of computers and the likes. Also the kind of relationship the neighbours had back then cannot be found in this date and age, especially in the Metros. The novel begins with Georgina being dumped by her husband RIP, and her struggle trying to find a balance with her work, her 'End of World' obsessed son and her strange, dirty and mysterious neighbour, Mrs.Shapiro. She is a wannabe novelist writing articles for an adhesive company where she is writing articles and articles about glue, epoxy resin, etc.

There are too many things happening in the novel and at the same time it feels like things are moving very slowly and one is in a different era. The story makes one quite uneasy as its a comedy novel but at the same time it revolves around the theme of old age, neglect, ugliness, separation, dilapidation, holocaust, racism, etc. Its not easy to read, let alone write a novel where the basic tone is comedy and humour and yet the author plunges into the darker themes of holocaust and other themes and mixes them so well that it was difficult for me to comprehend the talent that Lewycka has. It is a very simple book that has layers and layers to it like an onion, and every time you peel one layer, another layer comes up which looks more interesting than the other one. It is engaging and intriguing and makes you laugh at an unexpected moment. The subtle nuances, the backdrop of holocaust, the betrayal, the tragedies of old age and abandonment are weaved so beautifully along with the small incidents and accidents that will make you laugh at an unexpected moment in this novel and I simply couldn't put the book down till I finished it.

I do hope that I write more frequently now. Do come back and check my blog in a few days or weeks for another article.

Ramayana- Stolen Hopes

Title - Ramayana - The Game of Life - Stolen Hopes (Book 3)
Author- Shubha Vilas
Publisher -JAICO Publishing House
Total pages 312
Price Rs. 299
Formats available - Paperback and Kindle
  

Its been very long since I reviewed any book. But when you receive a signed copy of the book by the author himself, you have to blog about it for sure. Ramayana- The Game of Life - Stolen Dreams is third in the series written by Shubha Vilas. And if you have missed the first two books, not to worry. The book has summery of the first two books. But summary is only about the general story and not the short stories / Upakatha that you get to read in a Shubha Vilas book. So it is good if you can get the first two books too.

The book starts in Dandakaranya and then to the sages and their trouble with the Rakshasas and the massacre of Rakshasas of Janmasthana. After the massacre at Janmasthana there is Sita's abduction and the story ends with the meeting of Rama and Lakshmana with Shabari and their quest for the wonder monkeys Sugriva and his group in order to save Sita from Ravana's clutches.

As Indians, Ramayana is not new for us. We have heard the story from our parents and grandparents, read in Amar Chitra Katha, seen on television and read other books too. What is different about this book is Shubha Vilas's writhing. The language is pretty simple and eloquent and can be easily understood by kids too. The other major plus point of this book are the short stories / Upakathas. I mean, one gets to read so many back stories, short stories / Upakatha, in this book which makes this book all the more interesting. All these back stories helps us to know more about the relative characters other than Rama, Lakshmana and Sita in a better way and in turn helps us to understand our epic better. 

The many stories of Agastya Rishi helps in a better understanding of him. Without the upakathas Agastya would have remained just another character that we read in our epics. but Shubha Vilas has written so many small stories about Agasthya that we get a good understanding of him. Similarly Rama's meeting with Shabari has been elaborated so as to provide us with a good knowledge about Shabari and her role in Ramayana. There are Upakathas about Ravana, Virada, Vatapi and Illvala, etc. There are references to Meru Parvata, Nahusha, Mandarkini, Kabandha, Matanga Rishi, Sati, etc. 

One should read this book once to know about all these characters and also about life lessons that Ramayana teaches us. There is this one instance when Sita who disapproves of Rama involving himself in killing the demons to cleanse the forest of Panchavati and protecting the Sages. Her reason being that they are in exile and so should refrain from violence. But Rama explains that Kshatriya dharma is to protect the helpless ones from the evil. He explains to Sita that by wearing a sage's attire, he cannot forget his duty of following the Kshatriya Dharma.

This book provides a proper insight of how Gods in the form of human think. Even if they are the incarnation of God himself, one can always see the human touch and human trait in the characters. For example the scene before Sita's abduction, in a desperate attempt to send Lakshmana to Rama's rescue, Sita doubts Lakshmana's character. These traits shows the human side to God like characters of Ramayana.

Also the specialty of Shubha Vilas's Ramayana series is the little foot notes throughout the novel. These footnotes usually contain some explanations, back stories or some philosophical notes about life lessons. Shubha Vilas is a spiritual seeker, motivational speaker, holds a degree in engineering and law with s specialization in patent law. So along with narrating the story of Ramayana, the book contains the philosophical narrations which gives us valuable lessons about life.

The designs in the foot note throughout the book is also very interesting. In the Shattered Dreams, Rama's Paduka / Slippers were used very effectively in the footnotes throughout the book to show the departure of Rama from Ayodhya for exile. And in this book, Stolen Hope, similar approach has been taken. Design of a deer is used throughout the book in the footnotes. The deer changes its position and there is movement throughout the book. I liked the cover of Shattered Dreams much better compared to Stolen Hopes though.

The book has a mixture of traditional as well as a modern approach in narration. And apart from the story, the foot notes are the highlights of this book. Its worth a read if you are in to mythology, spiritual and self-help kind of books. You can buy the Kindle edition here

Ramayana - The Game of Life- Shattered Dreams Book Review

For may years Ramananda Sagar's Ramayana was the original Ramyana and Arun Govil  Lord Rama for me. Though I had got the opportunity to listen to many Ramayana stories form my Mom and an uncle , the television series had a great influence on me. Later on I got to read Ramayana from Amar Chitra Katha and some other books too. A few years ago my friend introduced me to Ashok K Banker's Ramayana series. Though I was reluctant at first, I simply fell in love with his vision and narration style and I started to  read and love these epics again. 

Mythology is one of my favorite genre and Mahabharata and Ramayana are always classics. No matter how many times you read it you get to read new stuff. And according to me every author has his own perspective of these classics. Every Author brings his own version of the epic whenever he or she writes the Ramayana or the Mahabharatha. Shubha Vilas's Ramayana, The Game Of Life is a series of 6 books. I am writing the review of the second part of this book called Shattered Dreams. 

In Shattered Dreams, the author narrates the beginning of Rama's exile. The book starts with Dasaratha deciding to hand over the throne to Rama, his eldest son. And then starts the twists and turns that changes the course of the story. This book deals with the emotional aspect of Ramayana rather than the story itself. Shubha narrates the agony of the King, Kausalya, and the other queens, the courtiers and the common people when Rama , Lakshmana and Sita leave for the forest for fourteen years.  

It begins with a happy note of Rama's coronation. Then comes Manthara's scheming and then sthe story moves to Keikeyi who falls for Manthara's evil scheme and brings havoc to Ayodhya. And then one gets to see the human emotions where Rama, Sita and Lakshmana give all the worldly happiness and move to the forest just to fulfill Dasaratha's promise to Keikeyi. 

What I liked most the most about this book is the mention of Urmila, Lakshmana's wife, who has been ignored in many books I have read so far. I have always felt sorry for her character because we never get to read much about her though she has sacrificed as much as the trio has. Also the small small back stories about Ravana, Dasaratha, Indra, the fisherman, etc add so much depth to the book. I won't be writing more because I don't want to be a spoilsport here. Please do read the book to know more. 

If you are the philosophical kind then this book is a must for you because of the various footnotes provided by the author. He has given explanations to almost all of the actions of all the characters and also provided a few back stories here and there. Sometimes you will also get to read  comparisons with Mahabharatha and other stuff.

Overall the book is worth a read if you are into mythology and philosophy.What I didn't like were these little foot notes were more about morality, spirituality and philosophy than about the story itself. That might be because I am not a very spiritual or philosophical person. I felt that the book was a bit lengthy in some places. Otherwise Ramayana is a classic and any day you read it, there is something to learn, something more to read and something extra to know and ponder upon. More over we need a bit of spirituality and philosophy in this age more so because we have become more materialistic. And Ramayana teaches us that Rama is Lord Rama because of his virtues and he sacrificing the worldly pleasures just to fulfill his father's promise.

This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own and this review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers for Blogadda . Participate now to get free books!

BANKSTER- Review

This is the first time that I have read any book by Ravi Subramanian and I must say I loved it. I had read John Grisham's Rainmaker a few years ago. It was intriguing and was interesting after the first half....but boring at times... Ya ya.... I know... People admire Grisham... But this is my opinion.... Anyway, when I read the cover "meet the John Grisham of banking" I thought it to be a similar thing. But I must say all the characters in this book were interesting.... Never did I feel bored or uninterested. I thought that a bankers life is very mundane and I have to read through the boring financial aspects about banking....but I was wrong. And there are so many Indian characters ,their habits, the places they live and other daily stuff ..... You feel more interested as you read on...

The way Ravi has taken characters from different places, put them through different situations and intervened their lives, their stories.... it is soo interesing book. Being a banker's daughter, it was difficult for me to think that banking , especially corporate banking was so complicated and filled with crimes and stuff.  Like the book says , banking is based on mutual trust , and murders in the bank ... Whoa!

Also the other fact I liked about this book is the little little details thrown here and there...... Like this one character who owns an I-Pad but have no idea about I-Cloud and its uses. The character uses the IPad  just for reading books and taking pics.... Humour is thrown just here and there and not in your face.

You got to read this book.... You don't get to read about guys like Vikram, nor the reporter cum ex-banker Karan nor Tanuja nor Krishna Menon nor Indrani in all the books....... Ravi Subramanian is a master story teller of financial crime. He has received Golden Quill Readers'Choice Award for his book If God was a Banker. His other books are Devil in Pinstripes and The Incredible Banker and I bought the Monk's Ferrari. I am planning to read all these books as soon as possible.

This is the first time I am writing a review... All opinions are my own and please feel free to write your comments back to me.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!