Wednesday 31 July 2019

The Forest of Enchantments—Sita, through her own eyes.

Book reminds her readers that the Ramayana, besides being a morality tale, is a love story at its heart.



About the Author :


Chitralekha Banerjee is an Indian-American author, poet and the Betty and Gene McDavid professor of writing at the university of Houston creative writing Programme. 

The Forest of Enchantments is not just Sita’s story, this is the story of the women of the Ramayana, and Divakaruni does more than enough justice to them in her retelling
 

About the book :

We all know how the Ramayana plays out. This great Indian epic has been retold multiple times. Writer’s verison reminds us besides Ramayana being the tale of the greatest man and his moralities, it is about a love story- a tragic one, created by misunderstandings and boundaries of faith and fidelity. 

Primarily the book being about and around Sita, its also about major and minor woman characters in Ramayana. Writer cleverly deals with this and gives them all unique voices. Even while the love, compassion being described for Sita, writer beautifully depicted Urmila- one of the least noticed sacrifice done by this woman. Writer has elegantly shown the vibrant nature of Urmila in the most decent manner. She gives voice to Urmila who has often been muted. 

We see Sita as writer wants us to see her, and yet there are so many shades to her. She reasons. She fights. She agonises. And above all, she wants to claim her voice and say what she has to. Reading The Forest of Enchantments, one can’t help but compare it with the other versions written before — they are generally more about Ramayana as a whole than Sita really. 


Often we drift apart from Sita and go with Ram when Sita is abducted by Ravana. However, the writer take you along with Sita on the other side of the story, often left neglected. A fictional glimpse of  Sita who comes across as a fierce conservationist, she revels in her own being, is mindful of pleasure and grief, of empathy and understanding, and is brimming with dignity for herself and for everyone else. She is the original feminist.

My favourite thought provoking lines from the book are : 

“You aren’t some weak-willed wench. You can control your emotions. Remember all that you’ve survived. Behave like the queen you are. No one can take your dignity away from you. You lose it only by your own actions.”

“Motherhood taught me something new about love. It was the one relationship where you gave everything you had and then wished you had more to give.”

“I don’t agree with you that the private life must be sacrificed for the public one. And that is the final advice that I leave for my children: my dearest boys, balance duty with love. Trust me, it can be done.”

“Forgive me, Sister, I said silently, you who are the unsung heroine of this tale, the one who has the tougher role: to wait and to worry.”

 
Conclusion:

The Forest of Enchantments is a work of grace and kindness, of pluralities and possibilities. This is the Sitayan of its own kind to learn how a woman is to be treated, and how exactly not. Post reading this book you may have more words of praise for Sita than for Ram.
 
Go, grab your copy  now!



Buy your book from Amazon here:


https://www.amazon.in/Forest-Enchantments-Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni/dp/9353025982

Saturday 16 March 2019

The palace of Illusions!!


A breathtaking, world-famous Indian epic, the Mahabharat—narrated by and from the point of view of Panchaali.



About the Author :

Chitralekha Banerjee is an Indian-American author, poet and the Betty and Gene McDavid professor of writing at the university of Houston creative writing Programme.

Divakaruni's book ‘The Palace of Illusions’, was a national best-seller for over a year in India and has also been included among a list of 12 books of Indian authors you must read now released by Indiatimes.
About the book :

This book gives us a new interpretation of an Indian epic-Mahabharat. Re-interpretation from the perspective of the most powerful women of that ancient time, Panchaali (Draupadi).
Palace of illusions trails the life of princess Panchaali, beginning with her birth from fire and following her high spirited decision of marrying five brothers and balancing the act as a woman with her husbands who have been cheated out of their father’s kingdom. Panchaali then swept into an insulting gesture by her brother-in-law who tried to disrob her in an open court which led to a terrible war amongst the Kuru-vansh; brothers on both sides.
 
Listen to her words while you walk through her life. Panchaali almost spent her entire youth in exile, who sacrificed herself for the Men in her life. Meanwhile, you never lose sight of her strategic duels with her mother-in-law, her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands' most dangerous enemy.
 
Panchaali is a fiery female redefining for us a world of warriors, gods, and the ever-manipulating hands of fate.
My favourite thought provoking lines from the book are :

“Love comes like lightning, and disappears the same way. If you are lucky, it strikes you right. If not, you'll spend your life yearning for a man you can't have.”
“Because ultimately only the witness -- and not the actors -- knows the truth “

“A situation in itself,” he said, “is neither happy nor unhappy. It’s only your response to it that causes your sorrow.”

“Above us our palace waits, the only one I've ever needed. Its walls are space, its floor is sky, its centre everywhere. We rise; the shapes cluster around us in welcome, dissolving and forming again like fireflies in a summer evening.”
Conclusion

This is an excellently well written fiction based on Hindu mythology that will enlighten the readers' minds and souls as well as keep them entertained all through out the book. Post reading this book you may never think of the Mahabharata in the same way again.

Go, grab your copy now!
 
Buy your book from Amazon here:

 

Saturday 2 March 2019

Chanakya in you!!

Adventures of a modern  kingmaker
Written by an author who has an MA in Sanskrit and is a certified explorer of the magic of Chanakya and the Arthashastra, Radhakrishnan Pillai.


About the Author :

Radhakrishnan Pillai has completed his education from the University of Mumbai, Department of Philosophy. He is the founder-director of Chanakya Institute of Public leadership (CIPL), a research based organisation that is working to promote Indian concepts in management. He has done an extensive research on “Kautilya’s Arthashastra”, the well known book on management written in 4th BC. He is a visiting faculty in prestigious institutes of India and abroad including the IIT, IIM amongst others.

About the book :

'Chanakya in You' is a lighthearted yet profound tale of a man inspired by his grandfather to seek the wisdom of the Arthashastra. Journey with a modern-day principles of Chanakya as he goes from being an aimless youth to the richest man.

After the huge success of his first best selling book Corporate Chanakya, expectations from his other books raised tremendously. However, In my opinion this book failed to live up to this expectation. There is too much of positivity and success in the book. One may feel that growing from a common man to becoming the richest man is like a cake walk which kind of seems unrealistic.

Author attains spiritual satisfaction or freedom of mind during the later chapters of the book, that is to say, when he had become so rich that he can give no importance to the money. Insights of this book may give a wrong impression about a successful life one attains after struggling throughout.

My favourite thought provoking lines from the book are :

'In life, the right guidance at the right time makes all the difference';

'The best way to develop a strategic thinking is to...play games!';

'I may not agree with what you say, but till my death, I will not take away your freedom to disagree with me';

'Spirituality is man's search for god; the search for the meaning of life. It is a journey from being ordinary to becoming extraordinary, to discover your huge inner potential and the ability to achieve the impossible. Yet, spirituality is about overcoming your ego.'

Conclusion :

My interest in Chanakya made me read this book but, I shall stop here and leave it to you to find your own way to Chanakya in you.

Go, grab your copy  now!

Buy your book from Amazon here:

The Forest of Enchantments—Sita, through her own eyes.

Book reminds her readers that the Ramayana, besides being a morality tale, is a love story at its heart. Written by Chitra Banerje...