Book Review [88] : Abhyudaya

Ramayana has inspired and has been inspiring countless writers since time immemorial to write their take on this immortal epic of mankind and Narendra Kohli's Abhyudaya is no exception. Narendra Kohli has been a huge discovery for me and i thank my friend Sachin Bhadane for that. His take on Mahasamar inspired me to start reading Abhyudaya. It is a two volume work, about 1200 pages strong, on Ramayana with more practical take in context of modern values and issues. Its a great book and tough to review it in words, it can only be read. I totally believe that Narendra Kohli is modern age equivalent of Acharya Chatursen Shastri, if Chatursen Shastri had written books like Somnath, Vayam Rakshamaha, Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu etc then Narendra Kohli has Mahasamar, Abhyudaya etc at his disposal. His writing style is really heart touching and the use of historic incidents and characters in modern context is unparalleled. Must read book for all and if for nothing then please read it for the sake of our own Hindi.

Highly Recommended (10/10)

Book Review [76] : The Oath Of Vayuputras

I started hating Amish Tripathi after reading his dud 'The Secret of Nagas' but he vindicates himself by writing marvel of a book in his epic trilogy. The 'Oath of Vayuputras' is a great book and meets all the expectations created by first two books, The Immortals of Meluhha and The Secret of Nagas. To be honest i am not a fan of fiction based on actual Gods and their stories but i cant deny the lucidity and great plot of this book. Although the climax steals some sheen out of this book but still its a great book to read and cherish. I read first two books in March 2012 and immediately liked it but i classified them in the genre of cheap fiction but this third book destroys that classification and redeems Mr. Tripathi to a greater echelon.

Shiva creates a grand federation of Nagas, Brangas,  Ayodhyans etc and destroys the evil Somras with the help of Divine weapons from Persia. Like the sacrifice of Sati in real Indian mythology, in this book also Sati dies fighting the enemies of Shiva and in his vengeance Shiva destroys the Meluhhan Empire. Amish brings the Egyptian cult of Aten and various other elements of middle east History in the plot making the already spicy plot more spicy. In the end 'Shiva The Destroyer' destroys the evil and balances the equation.

May be this style of Amish will take the legacy of Amar Chitrakatha forward and will popularize the rich Indian mythology among the masses of India. If i will ever have time, then i will write historic fiction about the wars of Gupta Emplire against the Hunas and their eventual decline.

Highly Recommended (8/10)