Asura ...

Asura – The vanquished by Anand Neelkanthan  has been a delightful reading. Anand’s imagination and logical thinking throughout this book has been impressive and makes the story of  Ravana more believable and real than the story of Rama or Ramayana. All I hope is that this book (which comes under Fiction ategory)will not get the attention of the religious fanatics and caste pride bearers who with their limited/narrow mindset might get offended.

The book has 2 main characters one Ravana and another Bhadra and I found the narration of Shudra (low caste) Bhadra more appealing Bhadra -  the cook turned washer man , the common man’s story is what kept me hooked to the book. Anand has been brilliant in being able to link/connect the socio economic life of common man across the different ‘yug’ time period. “I am a non-entity – invisible, powerless and negligible. No epics will ever be written about me. I have suffered both Ravana and Rama – the hero and the villain or the villain and the hero. When the stories of great men are told, my voice maybe too feeble to be heard. Yet, spare me a moment and hear my story, for I am Bhadra, the Asura, and my life is the tale of the loser.”