Review: Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished

Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished by Anand Neelakantan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had read a few reviews about this book that were thrashing it for distortion of facts but hey, this is a work of fiction. I just loved this book! Earlier, I only knew the story of what happens after the Rakshasa Ravana, kidnaps Sita. But I didn't really know much about him. I had taken for granted that Asuras were Rakshasas and when I heard there was a 500-page book called Asura and someone had written the story from Ravana's perspective, it piqued my interest.
The story begins with Ravana vanquished and lying somewhere waiting to be eaten by jackals. Right from Ravana being ambitious about becoming a King to becoming one and then getting destroyed at the hands of another one, the book keeps you hooked. All the conversations like the ones between Ravana and Maricha or Ravana and Prahastha were great to read. I particularly loved the way Ravana feels about Prahastha and Kumbhakarna after they're both dead. You just can't resist your tears in moments like those. I totally fell in love with Ravana by the end of this book. Ambitious, Angry, Proud, Happy, Sad, Selfish, Jealous, Afraid, Passionate, Intellectual - he truly was a complete human being. But the best character in this book has to be Bhadra. Sure, he does have different methods and they may be ignoble, but I have to admit that I simply loved him. Be it his scorn for the upper class or his attitude towards life, you'll find him endearing. Their narratives are slightly different with contrasting perspectives and that is the biggest strength of that book. Sita being Ravana's daughter was really interesting. This one thing changed the way I looked at the whole battle. I don't know if this is true or not though I've heard this somewhere, but it was great for the story.
I think Anand Neelakantan deserves immense respect for the amount of research he has put into it and being bold enough to bash the caste system and other religious taboos. While the writing style may not have been perfect at all times, the narrative more than makes up for it. Of course, Ram is the hero and we already know his side of the story but do give this one a read. I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone who's interested in mythology. And please have an open mind when you read it.

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