One thing that
majorly differentiates Mahabharata from Ramayana is the fact that the former
has a lot many characters with intricate level of relations and loyalties.
Further each character has a very definite role to play which is revealed in
the Mahakavya at an opportune moment. All this made Mahabharata complex and not
so easy to understand for many. Well, that’s a general consensus about the
epic: a complex plot with a web of characters and each of them having different
layers to it.
So in an
effort to quench thirst of inquisition about the epic one can buy ‘The
Chronicles of Aryavarta’. Consisting of three books: Govinda, Kauravas and
Kurukshetra the novel is a description of the events as they took place in Aryavarta
(consisting of North, Central, East and West India) (never understood the
neglect of South India in Indian History). Initially in the preface the author
gives an insight into her mind while penning down this book. She considers this
work a logical interpretations to the symbolic happenings as mentioned in the
original work of Vyas. As the occurrences were passed from one generation to
the other the events acquired more of mysticism and heroism around them and
ordinary people who did extra ordinary karma became legends. So according to
the author Krishna Udayshankar there is a need to see through this veil of
mysticism into the events as they occurred- as the tagline says the epic as
never told before.
The book
basically sets two clans against each other: the Firstborn and Fire Wrights.
The Firstborn represent the philosophical side of the life while the Fire
Wrights are the known for their materialistic prowess, an expertise in
knowledge of weapon making. They worked side by side and contributed to the
fortunes of Aryavarta. But due to some events the Firstborns decide to destroy
the whole lineage of Fire wrights. There is again a more closed group among
them, The Secret Keepers who pass on the knowledge (or some secret) of the
FireWrigts to the next generation. All this in the backdrop there is race among
the vassals to rule over the Aryavarta. But will they succeed with a tyrant
like Jarasandh commanding their loyalty? Will the true lineage of the First
born again reign over the kingdom? Was the massacre of FireWrights justified?
Were they really evil? There are answers. Some very obvious and some very
obscured. The problem with the number of characters continues and one might
have to keep up with that. But then always remember each one of them is there
for a particular reason which will be revealed sooner or later.
At the center
of this storm there are the heroes the Pandavas, the Kauravas and other
legendary characters we are familiar about. But the one that stands apart from
everyone else and makes the title of the first book is Govind Shauri aka
Krishna. There is always an aura of secrecy and numinosity about this character
which is nicely depicted by the author. His dialogues are crisp and will
definitely make you note down a few of them in your notebook. A political
genius as always been referred to, the story clearly brings out the best out of
him. His role in marriage alliances, wars, peace and his dispassionate delivery
of philosophical thoughts make him the unchallenged protagonist of the book
among the hordes of other powerful characters.
Another character that will definitely impress the readers is that of
Panchali aka Draupadi. She stands for the feminist side in male dominated
patriarchal society.
There is a lot
of geography involved and that gives the novel an authentic feel. The story
will make you look at the map given in the starting of the book a number of
times with all the places and ancient kingdom with their terrain qualities
clearly marked. Prominent characters are generally referred by their second
name like Govind for Krishna, Partha for Arjun, Dharma for Yudhishtir and
Panchali for Draupadi. This definitely does bring about a sense of subtleness
in the inspiration from Mahabharata. Another notable feature is the human like
behavior of the characters whom we always have considered god-like. The
inherent flaws in the characters of Pandavas like sticking too much to what
Yudhishtir says and his love for betting are nicely brought up. Among all the
iconic scenes, the scene of coronation of Yudhishtir stands apart for its lofty
presence of all central characters at one place and the dual between two
prominent characters with your favorite character winning it (any
guesses).
You will be
really excited to pick up the second book after the events that startled you at
the climax of the first one. You must be really looking forward to the
detailing of two particular scenes - the betting game between Pandavas and
Kauravas and the final war of Mahabharata. With no supernatural occurrences
allowed, we hope the author does a good job in justifying the happenings.
Review
contributed by Vaibhav Bajpai
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