Jun 21, 2015 12:25 PM
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Asura is a powerful portrayal of that eternal saga we reverentially call Ramayana but not from Deva's viewpoint but Asura's viewpoint. The hero of this outstanding tale is Ravana. His early days of acute poverty, his fiery ambition to carry Asura civilization to pinnacle of glory, his strengths, weakness and fears, all are beautifully depicted in this book.
The story also carries the times of Rama and Ravana from the viewpoint of a lowly untouchable, common man Bhadra. How he survives and witnesses every event and even contributes to the story line is a highlighting aspect of this book.
According to the book, characters are not as black and white as they are made out to be. All characters have some shades of grey also. We have been listening this tale since birth but from victor's side only. Victors could exaggerate some facts and downplay others to make people deify them and demonize the vanquished thus distorting the reality for posterity. What if vanquished have a different tale to tell!
So book is a refreshing read. though it mentions Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman as'Barbarian' and'Terrorist' but it can be understood from Asura's viewpoint and sounds more amusing than blasphemous. Ravana's argument are forceful and thought- provoking and generate sympathy for him rather than hatred and hence serve the purpose of the book to provide alternate version of this great epic.
Author's writing style is descriptive and narration is in first person and make it a gripping page turner. Although it appeared to me a little voluminous and could be shortened by 40-50 pages easily.
