Had a very interesting opening!! but it dint last long, then the narration in itself might make you feel that you are jumping from scene to scene, the flow was a major let down. Between, as you get restless and rush pages with intention to get done with it, towards the end it gets better and when you close it - NOT BAD!! and its over!!But Ravana could have been portrayed better - He is a Hero, but the author intention of portraying him is skeptical. I'm not sure what the author intended!! Lacks consistency!!But the real lead Badra's character narration is impeccable. Over all -- Yeah, not bad. I’m always on the Other Side. I’ve never liked that goody two wooden slippers Rama, selfish guy. This book is from Ravana’s side. No, he doesn’t come out as the hero here, not even the anti-hero. He is still the bad guy. But when the sole purpose of someone’s birth was to make someone a god, there’s no winning anything.As Ravana lies on the battlefield, dying, jackals feasting on his intestines, he narrates his version of the story. Shunned by his father, insulted by his half brother, with the responsibility of taking care of his mother and three siblings, he vows to restore the Asura supremacy again. A meeting with Mahabali proves to be the turning point in his life and he declares himself king and gathers his army to overthrow his half brother Kubera and become the king of Lanka. Ravana comes out as a well meaning but extremely impulsive and immature person. He makes a deal with a captured pirate instead of executing him and he rushes forward to reward a spy from the enemy side, not realising that such spies should be killed. He follows the rules and ethics of war and judges Rama for the way he killed Vali.In this book, Sita is his daughter, the one destined to bring about his downfall. His object of lust is Vedavati, the brahmin widow whose spirit enters the abandoned baby, Sita. Slight Greek tragedy effect here. Mandodhari is the strong woman, educated, mature and independent. Soorpanaka is the silly, pampered younger sister who gets what she wants, be it marrying the revolutionary Vidyutjiva or the revenge she seeks for her nose that was cut off.There is a parallel narration by Bhadra, a low asura farmer who has lost everything to the Deva atrocities. I won’t call him the catalyst, but he is the enthu cutlet who is the reason behind everything. He poisons the army and wins Lanka for Ravana, he betrays the revolutionary leader Vidyutjiva, he abandons Sita instead of killing her and so he indirectly becomes the reason behind The End. He immigrates to Ayodhya and becomes that dhobi who plants the seed of suspicion in Rama’s mind.This was a real story, everything magical and mythical was humanised and explained logically, be it the ten heads or the flying machine or the golden deer or Hanuman burning the city. There are terrible typos and grammatical errors , each mistake was like biting into a stone while enjoying biriyani. The book could have been crisper, there is a lot of rambling in both the narratives.Makes me want Ravana to be reborn and win the story atleast once.
Do You like book Asuran- Tamil Version Of Asura (2014)?
Well not great language or diction. But liked it because of a different perspective that it got.
—Cupcake01
A new angle to look and observe the ancient tale. Bold writing and convincing.Enjoyed it.
—gemini_9422
