Book:
Raavanputr Meghnad-Prince of Lanka
Author:
Kevin Missal
Publisher:
Simon and Schuster India
Every story is told from someone’s point of
view, and generally the storyteller is the protagonist and more often than not,
it the hero of the story.
Raavanputr
Meghnad-Prince of Lanka is the story of the
greatest warrior in the Ramayana. Meghnad was the perfect son of a tyrant, and
he learnt being ruthless from his father, Raavan. Taught by the best and mentored
by the most skilled, Meghnad was a ferocious warrior who battled Lod Indra and
defeated him, earning him the title of Indrajit. But then, things took a turn,
he fell in love with Prameela, a Naga princess who was initially nothing more
than an alliance to gain allies, a pawn to be used by Raavan. Things change
quickly when she reveals what she knew about Sita’s abduction, a truth that
could change the course of events drastically. Was Meghnad fighting for honor,
or was he a pawn himself, being played on the board?
Raavanputr
Meghnad-Prince of Lanka is a book that is not
completely based on the Ramayana. As Kevin mentions in the disclaimer before
the book begins, it is a story from the POV of Meghnad and is not completely
faithful to the original historical source. The plot of the book traces the
character development of Meghnad in 450 days and how various incidents
throughout the story change his life and his understanding of the world. The plot
of the book is crisp and at no point does the narrative seem rushed or a lull
is sensed. Alternating the POV between Meghnad, Prameela, Laxman and Meenakshi,
Kevin keeps the spark of the story alive. Teasing the prime reason behind the
entire plot throughout the story, he keeps the reader guessing till the very
end as to what the motivation behind the happenings in Lanka and the lives of
the characters was. The climax of the plot is interesting and unexpected. It has
the capability to actually surprise the reader with the twist that the story
takes. The underlying love story (-ies)
are the true soul of the story.
Talking about the characters now, the book
opens with a scene where Meghnad is in Swarglok on a nefarious mission and we
see a ruthless fighter, who is a master of tricks as well as an expert in
wielding weapons. As the story progresses, we see that different shades of
Meghnad have come out. A serial womanizer and a hardcore patriarch, he looks
down upon women and that is evident from his multiple references he makes to
women across the narrative. How that changes once he falls in love is quite
interesting and we see that a person has a very good chance of redeeming
himself, if he has the right motivation. Moving on to the second important
character, Meenakshi, Raavan’s sister and Meghnad’s Aunt, her character is
quite essential to the plot and how she influences the lives of those around
it. Her character arc has been crafted really nicely. The development of the
secondary characters is interesting as well.
Overall, Raavanputr Meghnad-Prince of Lanka is a wonderful experience and
should be given a definite read.
The book takes away 4.5 rubies out of 5
from my mine.
To buy the book, head over to Amazon
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