Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Good story. Not-so-good story-telling.Allowing for the usual liberties storytellers take in bending truths, this is one story that started losing its charm midway. What starts off as a truly real and "human" vantage of a god's tale slips into a bunch of excuses the once-mighty old king makes, apparently to justify his actions. No, the king that has lost the war should not have to justify his actions in his own version of the story, for he made choices that seemed right to him at that moment. People don't usually make deliberate decisions to lose.However, kudos to the author for a neutral portrayal of the cultural differences between the two diverse civilisations. For the plain acceptance of the fact that "being different is not being bad", this tale deserves a read. Asura tale of the vanquished. This was on Flipkart’s suggestion list for me since long time. I had read the synopsis on the website ample times but was not sure if I wanted to read this book or not. The theme seemed interesting; Ramayana from the view point of ‘Bhadra’ a lowly Ravana servant, a third person’s point of view. One day finally I decided to read the book and ordered it. The book is not for those who think of Rama as god or who do not wish to shatter the perceived image of Rama and read anything against him which portrays him to be a vulnerable, cunning (qualities of a human being) and a self-declared righteous god. One needs to keep an open mind to understand what writer wants to convey. Best described this is a Ravanayan. In the entire book he has not even once glorified Ravana but portrayed him as a human being, an imperfect one but a human being. It questions the age old beliefs and makes a reader think. I do not know if the book is based on some facts or backed by thorough research, the writer doesn’t claim so, and hence some readers may question the credibility of this version. But nevertheless if a reader believes that history is always written by winners and that there is a possibility that the defeated may have altogether another version to offer, then this book has a story untold for ages. One can definitely challenge the credibility but cannot undermine the writer as he has at least dared to question the history which is now an epic and its winners who are now gods. Though writer questions the events and beliefs but he never sounds cynical about Rama or Ramayana. The book is not one sided but it narrated from the person on the side of Ravana, from the point of view of a lowly man ‘Bhadra’, Ravana’s servant. In between Ravana to tells us his story. The events described in the book are the same ones which we have heard or read ample times since childhood and even have watched on TV, but the book describes them more realistically. Just take one of such events, Hanuman burning the Lanka; we are made to believe that Hanuman’s tail was set on fire and then he in turn set Lanka on fire. If I assume Hanuman was a human being then possibility of he having a tail is bleak, even if he had a tail and it was set on fire, the first reaction would have been to extinguish it rather than setting something else on fire. Here lies the distinct quality of the book; it describes this event more logically and in a realistic manner. It tries to describe what might have actually transpired. How Hanuman had intruded the Ashok Vatika and when caught how he tried to defend himself as envoy of Rama, with which Ravana must have got irritated and decided to brand him and how this whole event turned in to a disaster and how Hanuman methodically must have sneaked out and set Lanka on fire. Other stories, such as Victory of Vamana over Baliraja (referred to as 'Mahabali' by the author) and Agastya rishi drinking entire ocean, narrated too are more realistic compared to the known versions. The book also poses many questions such as, if Rama was god, why he did not behave in just manner with Shoorpanakha, howsoever grave her sins might have been? Why did he allow Laxamana to cut her ears and nose off? How Rama allowed his people, under cover of night to burn cities? How could Rama, a god, hide behind a tree and shoot arrows to kill Bali when he was engaged in a duel with Sugreev? It also gives a possible answer to how the Brahamanism might have evolved and how few castes assumed importance and the rise of caste system. According to me history is not only written by winners, but written in such a way that the winners become heroes and later gods and the defeated ones become villains. Its easy for the winners to be gods of tomorrow if vanquished are portrayed as evils. And the generations after generation are fed on this skewed history. Though there is a disclaimer by the publisher and writer that the work is purely a fiction, most probably to avoid any possible controversy, to avoid offending some beliefs and invite trouble. Nevertheless, fact or fiction the book will definitely challenge the fundamental assumptions about Ramayana and we might sympathise a bit about Ravana. ******We never question our history and never seek answers. We are content and believe blindly what we are made to believe. We cherish yesteryear's winners turn them into heroes to worship them later as gods. One day the gods become our religion.
What do You think about Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished (2012)?
Beautifully written... It's much more than just a story... M happy I read it....
—ermaflorsanosa
feel bad for the author and myself, to get to know this piece of shit work!
—schug97
