Skip to main content

Asura by Anand Neelakantan



I am quite sure that every Indian is aware of the story of the Ramayana that had been told to us innumerable times since we are young kids. Diwali, the festival of lights, is based on the theme of same story i.e. the victory of Rama over Ravana claiming victory of good over evil. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is an epic story heard by every child in an Indian family. But have you ever wondered that there would have been another version of story, from the voice of the vanquished that remained lost in silence for so long? What if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell?

The story of the Ravanayana, a tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3000 years. Anand Neelakantan has gave a way to the voice of Ravana, who has been vilified and whose death is celebrated year after year in every corner of India. Time has come to hear the Ravanayana, for Ravana, the Asura has a story to tell about the ancient Asura empire that lay shattered into many petty kingdoms reeling under the heel of the Devas. In desperation, the Asuras looked up to a young saviour, Ravana. Believing that a better world awaits them under Ravana, common men like Bhadra decided to follow the young leader. With a will of iron and a fiery ambition to succeed, Ravana led his people from victory to victory and changed the history of the world. We all know how the story ended, but it’s a different experience to look at the story from other side, the defeating side.

I believe that if the courage, the rigour and the passion are enough to judge a man then Ravana was not to be ignored as he was a man of power and will. He deserves one chance to be heard. So if you are ready to hear the story of Ramayana or to put in right words, the story of Ravanayana, then grab the copy of Asura – tale of the vanquished people and let Ravana and his people open their mind and let you decide who were right and who were wrong. Or is any of them, devas or asuras, were wrong.. 

Please share your views on the book through comments as I believe that, me and Asuras, both are open to criticism.

Quotes from the book:
"Most humble men are either hypocrites or have much to be humble about. Success breeds pride and vanity. And pride is the only reward of success."
"A defeated race often uses its cultural supremacy to cover the shame of defeat."
"Most humble men are either hypocrites or have much to be humble about. Success breeds pride and vanity. And pride is the only reward of success."

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

There is a quote in Srimad Bhagavad-Gita in Sanskrit which says “Jatasya Maranam Dhruvam”. It literally means that the star called Dhruv which rise in night has to set but the implied meaning of the saying is “That which is born shall die”. We know that our life is not eternal and there is an end for our life too, but we don’t want to think about our end or even the journey called life. We keep ourselves too busy in our goals and fight so hard to reach those goals that we forget to give time to the most important things in life.  Here is a story by Mitch Albom where he shares the lessons of life he learnt from his long-lost professor. In his last days, Professor Morrie, or what he would like to be called ‘Coach’, would act as a mentor for the writer and answer the questions which were bothering writer from long time. The questions which our generation doesn’t want to think about, may be because we are too scared to know the answer. The writer and his professor takes us ...
1 comment
Read more

Summer Lies by Bernhard Schlink

Thought provoking seven Short stories from best-selling author of "The Reader" exhibit the most humane aspects of our inner inhibitions, our desires and the willingness to go distance to satisfy our deep down insecurities.  Psychologically, the cold winter months cause people to have Seasonal affective disorder with less positive mood but the Spring/Summer months bring the exposure to bright light which in turn increases the Brain hormone Serotonin which elevates our mood. The aptly named book contemplates the human tendencies transforming from dark, grey emotional downside into bright revelation which is not necessarily happy. But the revelation is definitely more clear and open to all kinds of possibilities. All the stories start with an emotional turmoil that journeys through the difficult decisions and are all left open ended for readers imagination for the possible closure of the story.   This 240 pages book is a collection of 7 short stories are unrelated ...
Post a Comment
Read more

So you think you can market Cricket in India..

          Well, everyone knows that if you ask an Indian about his three most favorite sports then the obvious first choice is Cricket and (not surprisingly) the second and third choices are highlights of cricket and repeat of cricket matches. Jokes apart, but it’s a known fact that Indian sports enthusiast is highly inclined towards just one sports and that’s cricket, even more than the national game hockey. Like any other girl, I too had a very little liking towards sports, and that means any kind of sports. But a book by Shyam Balasubramanian and Vijay Santhanam titled “The business of Cricket: The story of Sports Marketing in India” caught my attention. The book opens up with the Inception of sports marketing in India through cricket, and follows through Indian cricketer’s contribution towards nurturing the sports marketing, Companies involved in Sports marketing and Rise of Cola wars, The fall of Hockey and the Rise of cricket, IPL and T...
1 comment
Read more