Scion of Ikshvaku

Scion of Ikshvaku
- Amish Tripathi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Amish started off well, but it appears that he ran out of his well-known imagination midway through. And this made me dislike an otherwise interesting and imaginative story.

Some of the deviations from the story as we know it, were quite interesting, such as old existing enmity between Dashratha and Ravana, and portrayal of Manthara as a shrewd businesswoman. However, quite a few of them strained imagination, specifically the depiction of Rama as an unwanted, unloved son.

Incorporating the deplorable "Nirbhaya" incident in Delhi to support the idea of Ram's dedication to law above all else, was highly insensitive and vulgar. I thought he could have come up with some other, better reason for Manthara's hatred towards Ram. And I wonder if he confused Ramayana and Mahabharat – he ended up matching Draupadi's swayamvar onto that of Sita – where Ram shoots an arrow through a fish’s eye while looking at the reflection. If an author wants to present the facts (can they be called facts?) from an epic in a different manner, I’m all for it, but borrowing from another source (and an equally well-known one at that) is unpardonable.

Bad editing in first work(s) of an author can be excused (at least I can), especially if it is counter-balanced by an imaginative story or good content. And you expect an improve in subsequent works, both in readability and in content – hence I had a higher expectation from this series though I found the third book in the Shiva trilogy quite average. But this book failed so miserably on both accounts, that I cannot bring myself to read the book 2 (Sita) or any subsequent works of his.

The Oath of Vayuputras

The Oath of Vayuputras - Amish Tripathi

 

Having read the first two parts of the Shiva trilogy, I eagerly awaited the release of the third and the concluding part, for over a year. After a couple of tentative release dates, when the actual date of release was finally confirmed, I pre-ordered my copy and counted the days. However, owing to the amount of publicity surrounding the release, I had an apprehension that perhaps it may not live up to the hype. And sad to say, my fears turned out to be somewhat true - overall, it was a little disappointing compared to the first two parts. One of the reasons could be having too many expectations with it, which in general is a difficult thing to live up to. Or perhaps, due to the increasing familiarity with the theme and the characters – the “newness” wearing off [which is why, I hold in high respect an author like Rowling, who managed to keep us intrigued with the world of Harry Potter through seven books in the series].

One of my grouses is that the book is too long – almost twice as long as the other two. Now, you don’t mind that length, if it holds up the interest. But in this case a major part of the middle of the book was essentially devoted to chase-and-war, which though a part of the story, did not give much to discover or think about. This is perhaps one of the reasons it feels dull in comparison – the first two parts introduced many new concepts/ideas; this was primarily a continuation of those. I really feel that had this part of the book had been trimmed, and offered something more for readers to discover, it would have make it much more interesting. Actually the pace of the story is quite good (and I am all for thrillers with fast-paced action sequences), but I think in this story I was looking for more meaning and depth, because of which I found the war sequences something of a deterrent.

In his endeavor to depict Shiva as a mortal man, and avoid attributing any special powers to him, Amish seems to have over-rationalized (if there is such a thing) things. He provides a scientific explanation to many aspects, and though many of them are interesting or sound logical, some of the explanations appear rather far-fetched, while some are quite disappointing. Even though Amish attempts to underline and understand the greatness of Shiva, because of which he came to be revered, he almost contradictorily, sometimes painfully, emphasizes Shiva as an average man with some special skills. I think it would not have been amiss for his Shiva to have some extra-ordinary powers (which is not the same as super-natural powers), and would have made a few things more plausible. An example – his explanation of the cause of blue throat of Shiva could have made anyone (fulfilling some requirements, of course) a Neelkanth. I really would have preferred to learn that Shiva was special :-)

The Synopsys of the book [from Amisha’s site, and the blurb on the back cover] says: “Evil has risen. Only a God can stop it. Shiva is gathering his forces. He reaches the Naga capital, Panchavati and Evil is finally revealed. The Neelkanth prepares for a holy war against his true enemy, a man whose name instills dread in the fiercest of warriors.” Well, for me, the book did not convey or recreate that feeling of dread. And I also think that in the end justice was not done to him.

Then, the title being “The Oath of Vayuputras”, I expected much more involvement of the Vayuputras. Even though they play a critical role in the story in this book, it is but a small role. Featured as they are in the title, they deserved to have far more importance. In fact, Vasudev’s seem to have played a far significant role, in earlier books, as well as this one.

But above all, I felt that the climax was a bit of let-down. [Not elaborating to avoid giving it away.] The way Shiva’s moral character is built up, it felt quite uncharacteristic. Though one can find a good justification for this in the mythology – Shiva is the destroyer – when he opens his third eye, there is catastrophe all over. Why does Shiva chose what he does – this is perhaps one of the few unanswered questions Amish left for the reader

For, in this book he ties up many ends, and brings the story of Shiva to a conclusion. Many of the questions are answered, including the most important one – what is Evil. Not just the identity of the evil in this story (which is revealed in the first few pages, and does take one by surprise), but also the depiction how good and evil are the two sides of the same coin, and thus a good can turn into an evil. I liked the explanation and conversation in this part of the book. This all-important discovery is not dramatized, but kept simple and matter-of-fact.

As the story progresses towards its conclusion, different pieces of the puzzle fit together and fall into place. This is done quite seamlessly, as is tying up of legends from mythology with the events that take place in the book. There is sadness and violence, but then, how can you fight a war, and a holy one at that, without any casualties

This book is better edited than the previous ones, making it a much smoother read. No more jarring expressions, no (obvious and painful) attempts at a literary flare. Except for some occasional “Hells” and “Damns”, not many expressions stand out sorely. And I was quite amused to find “does God play dice”, too amused to accuse him of plagiarizing the phrase.

I do not mean to say that the negatives outweigh the positives. Just that this did not match the expectations set by the previous two books, and it could have been crisper and better. If you have read the first two, (in words of a friend) – “You can’t not read it. You need to have a closure in life :)”. And if you haven’t read them, I would say that the whole series is worth reading, it’s one of the best mythological fiction works I have come across.

The Secret of The Nagas

The Secret of the Nagas - Amish Tripathi

 

One of the advantages of getting on to a series late in the day is that you don’t have to wait for the sequels :-). So, when I finished with "The Immortals of Meluha", I could simply go and pick “The Secret of The Nagas” on my next visit to a bookstore. (Tough luck, that I still have to wait quite long for the last book in the trilogy - The Oath of Vayuputras).

 

It took me a long time to write and post my thoughts on Book 1, and for Book 2, it has taken even longer. But, at last, I have got around to it, and here it is, ready to share.

 

The Book 2 (The Secret of The Nagas) covers a lot of ground, literally and figuratively. It sees Shiva undertaking more travels, in search of the evil, the truth, and the self. During this journey, more revelations and realizations dawn on Shiva and his co-travelers, and many more characters and events from mythology are weaved into the narrative.

With so much happening, it is difficult to write an outline of the plot, especially without giving away the story. To summarize, I would just say that Shiva finds himself confident enough to own the responsibility that people's faith have given him, to question the acceptable/accepted conventions of the society, and to think, decide and lead. Though he is not prepared to assume the divine aura of Neelkanth that legend attributes him, he no longer refutes it if he believes that it will empower the people, and strengthen the common cause - that of finding and destroying the evil. He unites the people for this cause, and the end of book 2 finds Shiva entering the highly secret and fiercely guarded Naga territory, alongwith Suryavanshis, Chandravanshis and the Nagas.

Many of the threads started in book 1, and earlier parts of book 2 come to their conclusion. There are others that start taking form, and I expect that these would conclude in the third book. However, there are a few things I hoped to find an answer in this one, but did not. The end, or the "secret" of the Nagas, was rather an anticipated one, but many other revelations in this story were not.

I enjoyed the second book far better than the first one. It relates sub-stories of several other characters, and does the due justice to these. The jarring tone - the use of the modern language in dialogues - does not break the flow as much, since you have got used to it by now. The language at some places, specially the dialogues, could have been much better, but as far as the storyline goes, it is one of the best books I have read in recent times. It moves at a fast pace, but with just enough details, and kept me on the hook - what happens next?! It was really difficult to put it down - I kept reading it through a lot of interruptions on a long and partly bumpy journey, and could not go to sleep before finishing it, at the end of a tiring day :-) 

 

When I had finished reading The Immortals of Meluha, I felt it was no doubt a good book, but not worth all the hype the book and the series was accorded. Well, I am glad to report - I stand corrected!!

The Immortals of Meluha

The Immortals of Meluha - Amish Tripathi

I read/heard a lot of raves and recommendations on 'The Shiva Trilogy', from friends (though in all honesty, I think the news reached me only after the second book had been published). I love to read fiction based in mythology (Mrityunjay and Yajnaseni are amongst my favorites). So, the "description" of Amish Tripathi's book(s) - a radically new interpretation of life and times of Lord Shiva - interested me a lot, specially because of the fact that it presented a different perspective altogether of what we understand from mythology.

The story is set in 1900 BC, and is centered on the premise that Shiva was an ordinary mortal, who came to be revered as a God, acquired the title of 'Mahadev', through his actions. It continuously takes references from mythology, as well as from history, but it is essentially a work of fiction.

The first book in the series, "Immortals of Meluha", focuses on details and sets the context for the story. Shiva is the leader of a small Tibetan tribe, fraught with a struggle for day-to-day existence. He accepts the invitation of the Suryavanshis, who are the descendants of Lord Rama, to settle in their country, Meluha (what we now know as the Indus Valley Civilization). The immigrants are amazed by the prosperity of the country, which is due to the extreme stability and planning of the society, based on strict rules and regulations (believed to be proposed by Lord Rama himself). Though over the times some of the rules have been bent and diluted (by and for, who else, but the nobility - the people in power). This seems to be an ideal society, an Utopia, except for a few rules that Shiva finds unfair. The country is however on an edge, feeling the presence and power of strong evil, and Shiva is soon recognized as Neelkanth, the savior from the evil.

The people believe, and convince Shiva, that the evil is represented by Chandravanshis, who live in the opposite side of Indian subcontinent, in the area between Ganges and Brahamputra rivers, which also includes Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama. There also is an indication of presence of the Nagas, people who are physically deformed, and believed to be evil and sinful beyond redemption, and therefore held in extreme dread. Although the Suryvanshis find it impossible to believe, it appears to them that Chandravanshis have enlisted the help of Nagas to launch surprise attacks against them. This belief leads Shiva to lead Suryavanshis in a difficult war against Chandravanshis' much larger army, on an unfavorable ground. With their skill, organization and will, the Suryvanshis manage to win the war. And then comes the intriguing part - the Chandravanshis also believe in the legend of Neelkanth, and have also been awaiting deliverance from evil!

The book offers very interesting, imaginative views on the origin of some of the aspects of mythology - the invocation of "Har Har Mahadev", Shiva's Trishul, the role of Shiva as the destroyer (of evil). The credibility of the story is built through elements like gradual development of Shiva from a brave warrior who is uncertain of the faith that is entrusted in him, to the confident leader. Adding to the flavor is quintessential struggle to identify good and evil, and the mutual disbelief of two complimentary powers in their ignorance.

 

One significant jarring note for me was the language - a little too modern for the era the story is capturing - with use of terms like Immigration department, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Radiowave communication, etc. But it was not big enough a deterrent to enjoying the story. Also, it was a little slow, but I guess that is to be expected, as being the first book, it has the onus of creating the background. In all, I liked the book, with all its premises and imagination, though not to the extent the reviews extolled it, but enough to go for the sequel(s).