Siege of Mithila by Ashok K. Banker
One genre of books that I have started enjoying a lot recently is, without a doubt 'Indian mythology' or 'mythological fiction'. The two
great epics of the Indian history are Mahabharata and Ramayana. I have already
read two Mahabharata centered book – Jaya by Devdutt Pattanaik and Palace of Illusionsby Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, so my next choice of mythological book was
Ramayana centered. One of my blogger friends suggested me to read the Ramayana series by
Ashok K. Banker. That I did as I got the first book of the series from the local library here. I enjoyed the book thoroughly only to discover later that the
library does not have any other books of this series
and hence I had to wait for my India visit to get my hands on the rest of the
series.
Synopsis:
The bestial demon
hordes roar towards Ayodhya having swept all before them. Rama cannot return
home to defend his family. He must journey to Mithila—a city lying directly in
the path of destruction—to join a small band of heroes planning a valiant stand
against the armies of darkness. Can Rama unearth a hidden dev-astra to help in
his battle against his nemesis, the demon lord Ravana?
Of course, we all know that Rama will be able to defend the
city of Mithila. That is the beauty of Banker’s writing, despite knowing (almost)
what happens in Ramayana, the reader’s interest in the story doesn’t waver even
for a moment. The author’s has used his
own imagination in sketching the characters and in describing the events that
place during the course of the novel. The story builds on where it was left in ‘The Prince of Ayodhya’, so if you want to read this book, I would suggest you to
read it as per the series.
For me that star character of this book was Sita, of
course, apart from Rama and Lakshmana. She is introduced not as a delicate
princess but, as a warrior princess who is well versed in the art of archery
and swords play. The demon lord Ravana is depicted as pure devil whose only aim
it to conquer Ayodhya. There is Manthara who to please Ravana plots one evil
plan after another to poison the sisterly relationship between Queen Kausalya
and Queen Sumitra. She even schemes to get rid of Rama. There is also the story
of Ahalya and how Rama releases her from her husband’s curse. The
story seems to pace slowly as by the end of the novel we only reach till the
swayamvar of Sita. But, the novel is filled with numerous sub plots and stories
that keep the novel interesting and enlightening. All the sub plots culminate
toward the bigger picture and a momentous climax.
Ashok K. Banker takes you on an amazing fascinating journey, from Ayodhya
to Mithila. It is an enriching experience. You will feel
drawn towards the world of Ramayana as you turn pages of this book, that is the
magic of Banker’s writing. I am very looking forward to reading rest of the
series.
Highly recommended.
