What a read!!!
Jul 24th, 2006 by Ashok
Ashok Banker’s Ramayana…
What a read!!!
Its got me ‘book’, line and sinker!!!
Its been just one week since I got the first book of the series, I have got the rest of the them which are available in the market and have almost finished all of them! I never expected to find the Ramayana so interesting.
My only previous encounter with Ramayana, was the one aired on DD1 when I was in school. The Ramayana where people wore funny headgear is about all I remember of it visually, though I can still remember the bare bones of the story.
This one though, had me right there with Raman with every move he made. From the Seer’s Tower in Ayodhya to the Banks of the Sarayu where he fights the bandits who later become his friends, to the sheer power he had through the maha mantras and his absent mindedness at Sita’s swayamwar.
There are more incidents for me to describe, but it would be best left for each ones imagination. For me each page of the book, had me travelling along with Raman whether he was on his way to Tataka or on his fight against Surpanakha’s asuras. I could picture it very clearly in my mind like a running movie ( but no gaudy headgear in this one!)
For all those who thought the Ramayana is a bore this is a must read. I have not completed the 5th book. But I am already eager to get the 6th one in my hands.
I digress at point to wonder how M.T Vasudevan Nair would have written Ramayana. He probably has written it and its just my ignorance that makes me think he has not. But I am sure MT would have a different view of the roles played by Raman, Lakshmanan and Ravanan.
I have not read any of MT’s books, though they are most admired by the entire book reading population of malayalam literature. My only experience with MT’s story telling abilities is the movie ‘Oru Vadakkan Veera Gaadha’. The story of Unniarcha and Chathiyan Chandu. The original folklore depicted Chandu as the traitor which was why he was called Chathiyan Chandu, but after seeing the movie, there would not have been a single person coming out of the movie hall thinking, “Maybe.. just maybe.. Chandu has been misjudged after all…” And all this was brought about by just slight changes to the original story. It was for me the work of a master story teller, how he twisted the tale and put it in an entirely different light. There are many books by MT which have been recommended to me. But sadly, I have not put in the effort to get any of them.
Ashok Banker’s Ramayana is so entertaining for me because of its use of contemporary English. Easily decipherable (no crazy twisting of words just so to make it sound like pompous literature here),the story goes along at an unrelenting pace. This is Ramayana for the ordinary man. At times it makes me feel like I am Hanuman (laugh with all your might!!), eavesdropping from a tree listening in on every word and action by Raman.
What I would not do to get the next two days off giving me time to finish the book in peace!!
