In continuation to my earlier blog on ‘The Rise of the Sun
Prince’(you may want to read the review here), here is a review of the second part of the Ramayana series titled
‘Shattered Dreams'. This book like the
previous version has tales from Valmiki's Ramayana as well as the Kamban with some sprinkling of folklore which is what makes it worthy of the mythology hungry reader.
Twelve years have elapsed in Ayodhya since the royal wedding
of Rama and Sita – the next part regales the reader with the tale of Rama’s
planned coronation, subsequent banishment to the forest and Bharata’s efforts
to bring him back.
In a similar vein to the previous book, the tale has been
dramatized and narrated with a fervor that keeps the reader hooked. The story
takes off with Dasharatha’s foreboding of evil which prods him towards a hasty
decision to coronate prince Rama to be the ruler of Ayodhya. There is
jubilation in the city with this news but for one person, who bears a long time
grudge towards Rama. The evil hunch back Manthara plots a nasty conspiracy to
displace Rama as the crown prince and anoint Bharata, son of Keikei in his
place. This sparks off a chain of events that shape the destiny of many lives
and kingdoms thereafter.
Again, I am not going to particularly elucidate on the story
of the Ramayana which is all too well known. However, as was in the previous
book, there are a few tales which may be little known which are brought to
light in this book. The story of how Bharata endeavored to persuade Rama to
come back is well narrated revealing interesting nuggets such as, Dashratha’s
promise to Keikei’s father at the time of seeking her hand that her son would
be the crown prince. Although this particular story makes me wonder, if he was
unwilling to abide by that promise, how was it that he was willing grant Keikei
the boon she asked for?
However, the story aside, some takeaways from this book are what ideal behavior should be towards all, the importance of being detached in times of happiness or sadness, and how to be positive no matter how trying the times may be. Incidents in the story are linked to various life lessons that it is meant to impart and the author has lucidly interpreted various aspects with analogies and examples. The footnotes make for excellent reading to understand the
underlying message behind each of the stories in the Ramayana. Lessons such as the five management mantras towards effective
leadership, solutions to success, and the six anarthas to conquer make for
interesting reading as do the notes on understanding ideal behavior.
All in all, it makes for some decent rereading of the
Ramayana although I would still say that the narrative style could have been
better. My verdict on this book is the
same as the previous book with a rating of 3.5 out of 5.
If you would like to buy this book you can preorder the book from Amazon or any of the other leading book sellers.
