“History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.”

My brother and I had a pact. The understanding was that we would buy a book every month and exhange it with each other, once we are done with our reading. Lately, he's been buying the books and I have been reading them for free. LOL! That's the advantage of being the younger sister. I had also lost touch with some of my reading habits for some reason. It's like painting. I don't get into the mood often. But when I do, I am engrossed. Same goes for the book. Getting back into the mood!!!

This week, 'Asura' is the book that  I have started reading. Anand Neelakantan's "Asura: Tale of the Vanquished" challenges the readers to review the entire 'Ramayana' from the viewpoints provided by Ravana, the vanquished King. So as stated in the introduction of the book...this is 'Ravanayana'.

History is all that is preserved or remembered of the past, especially in written form. I kind of liked the premise that this book is drawn against. How many of us would want to know about History from those who were the defeated party? Are their versions of a story even published? Would we want to know more about Alexander or Napolean or our own Kings if they were defeated parties? I don't think so. So this creative thinking on the part of the author gets some add on brownie points for sure.

This is the gist of the story in the book. The Asuras had their own empire, which disintegrated due to conflict and were overrun by the Devas, who treated them as outcastes for almost 3000 years. So, to the Asuras, Ravana appeared as a savior under whose rule they tasted freedom and saw their empire reaching culmination. The credit for this goes not only to Ravana alone but to countless and unsung heroes like Bhadra. However, in spite of the resurgence of the Asuras, the fact remains that their position does not change much. They wake up to this fact when Ravana changes the history of the world with one sweeping act of his. And what is that? Learn it straight from the book. That's the catch. I have just started with this book. So I really can't reveal anything more on the mystery element in the book. You have to read it yourself. LOL!

The author has been very adept in including the caste system to depict the stratification that existed in those times. He has mentioned different groups such as Devas, Asuras, Vanaras and Nagas who unfortunately weren't the best of friends. Occupational divisions are also mentioned. I believe I read about the differentiations done amongst people on the basis of 'varna', in one of the chapters.

There are times when i honestly cringe after reading some portions where the Hindu 'gods' who are known to us as 'gods' in the real terms are symbolised as mere mortal beings. Depiction of 'Vishnu' as a powerful King who supports the war antics of Devas isn't something that you normally read in different sources of Hindu mythology. His image is that of a 'larger than life' god, adored by millions and more. So you do have to be prepared for some tolerance when you read this book, I guess :)

The first chapter of the book does get you to feel a bit sympathetic towards Ravana and encourages you to read further to hear his side of the story. I have begun the third chapter.

I am not reading the book to change my religious orientations or perceptions. Interpretations can differ during different historical phases. The enjoyment lies in reading about different viewpoints with an open mind.

You can read more about the book and the author on this website

http://asura.co.in/

Until my next musing....

“That's one of the central problems of history, isn't it, sir? The question of subjective versus objective interpretation, the fact that we need to know the history of the historian in order to understand the version that is being put in front of us.”

― Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending


Meanings

* Ramayana-The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki.The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata
*Ravana-He is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who was a king of Lanka and belongs to "Raksha" tribe
*Vanaras- vaa-nara also means nara-like or human-like. Thus it is the animal that is man-like, or an ape.Vanar are mentioned in the Ramayana. Lord Rama took an army of vanars with him when he attacked Ravana's Lanka *Nagas- The word Naga in the Sanskrit language means snake or serpent. It seems likely that the Naga people were a serpent-worshipping group. *Devas-A member of a class of benevolent divine beings in the Vedic period. A god! *Asuras-In Hinduism, the Asuras are a group of creatures looking for more power, sometimes called demons. They went against the devas. *Vishnu-Vishnu is a popular Hindu god, venerated as the Supreme Being in the Vaishnava sect. In the Puranas,Vishnu is described as having the divine colour of water filled clouds, four-armed, holding a lotus, mace, shankha (conch) and chakra (wheel). Vishnu is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as having a 'Universal Form' (Vishvarupa) which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception or imagination.