Devdutt Pattanaik writes, illustrates and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. He has, since 1996, written over 30 books and 600 columns on.
We all havegrown up listening to the story of Ramayana and even today when we are giventhe story of Indian mythology, we end up going back to our childhood andlistening to all of them with as much eagerness as we did back then. What Ifeel glad about is in today’s time we have authors like Devdutt Pattanaik whostrive to present a more interesting take on the mythology for people of allages. His latest offering “The Girl Who Chose” is an illustrative version ofthe Ramayana. How could I just not read it?
According to theblurb- ‘You are bound by rules, but notI. I am free to choose.’ Two thousand years ago, the poet-sage Valmiki wrotethe Ramayana. It is the tale of Ram, the sun-prince of Ayodhya, who is obligedto follow family rules and makes no choices. And of Ravana, king of Lanka, whodoes not respect anybody’s rules or other people’s choices. Over the centuries,hundreds have retold the tale, in different languages, adding new twists andturns. But few have noticed that the tale always depends on the five choicesmade by Sita. What were Sita’s five choices? India’s favourite mythologistbrings to you this charmingly illustrated retelling of the Ramayana that issure to empower and entertain a new generation of readers.
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The moment Ireceived the book (and I am not exaggerating!) I had a smile on my face. It wasn’tjust a smile, it was a huge grin. The illustration of “Sita” and the fonts usedfor the title of the book is something that made me go back to my childhood. Sincethe author has himself made the illustrations, I couldn’t have been happier.Kudos to the author for doing so! As I always do with every book I receive, Iflipped through the pages and immediately got drawn to the illustrations thatare made there. This book is written in such a way that you are easily able torelive the epic story through the illustrations that are done in the book.
I would be truehere, currently I am having a lot of pressure at work and everything is goingas per schedule but when I was flipping through the pages, I ended up readingthe whole book at one go. A very quick read, I finished it in almost 1 hour andhere I am, writing what I felt about the book. The favourite mythologist oftoday’s time retells the epic Ramayana in such a way that you feel like this isthe best way through which you would be able to tell your children or youngersiblings who are new to Indian mythology, about the story.
We hadgrandparents who used to tell us tell-tale stories about these epics and wewould always want our children to know those stories so why not find a good wayfor them to read it? The illustrations of the book actually made me feel likebringing up my crayons and then colouring them. Just imagine that if I felt todo it then what would the children feel when they are given the book? Oh by theway, now that I have finished reading it, my mother is reading it too!
Now, coming tothe way the story has been written. When we speak about the retelling of theRamayana, we somehow do not think about it being told from Sita’s perspectivebut to think of it, why not? The author has answered that very question and hasnarrated the epic through the perspective of the girl who chose. It is not manyof us who notice that the story was basically woven around the five choicesmade by Sita. If those choices weren’t what they were, probably we wouldn’thave had the story the way it has been told.
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Along with thefive choices made by Sita, the author also enlightens us about the minutedetails of the Ramayana which we usually tend to overlook. A smooth read, thebook comes with a very strong message. The choices that we make, the fact thatwe all have a Sita within us make or break us. We always have a choice and we shouldbe aware of the fact that every choice of ours has consequences which we shouldaccept with grace. For the cons of the book, there weren’t any or rather, I couldn’tfind any. The conclusive moral of the book made me forget about everything elseand I could only get lost in the book. Surely a must read and a much recommendedbook for people who love to read mythology. I will surely be looking forward toreading more books from the author in the future. For me, the book was 5 out of5. I would end it with the dedication and opening lines of the book-
For those who choose.
“Within infinite mythslies an eternal truth
Varuna has but athousand eyes
You and I, only two.”
PS- This bookhas been sent to Vanya’s Notebook from the Flipkart Blogger Book ReviewProgram.
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