Ascension (The Empress of Indraprastha #5)-Sonali Raje

Book: Ascension (The Empress of Indraprastha #5)
Author: Sonali Raje
Publisher: Vishwakarma Publications

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What if you could change one thing about your past—but not something that someone else could have done to prevent what happened later?

The Empress of Indraprastha: Ascension takes readers beyond the aftermath of the bloodbath of Kurukshetra and into the profound questions that linger in the minds of the survivors. Through the voices and perspectives surrounding Krishna, Draupadi and Maharshi Vyas, the story explores the boundaries between science and spirituality, philosophy and quantum physics, life and death, destiny and choice. What happens when the survivors begin asking the questions they never dared to ask before? What if the past could be viewed through the lens of “if only,” “but why?” and “what about?”? The novel explores universal consciousness, devastation, healing and the difficult journey of rebuilding a life after a catastrophic conflict. It brings together perspectives from both sides of the Kurukshetra war and examines the human consequences of a conflict that changed an entire civilisation. Sonali Raje expands her exploration of women's empowerment, identity and inclusion, while bringing into focus individuals with special needs, senior citizens and geriatric concerns through the lens of the Mahabharata. Walk alongside Draupadi on her final journey towards ascension, as ancient wisdom meets contemporary questions about existence, consciousness, suffering and spirituality.

Just like in the previous books of The Empress of Indraprastha Series, in Book 5, Sonali presents a retelling of the Mahabharata that takes up some of the questions in the aftermath of the war, and gives space to the characters to find their voice to present some questions as well as answers pertaining to the events that led to the war, and beyond. What I loved in the book was that Sonali uses the space to talk about the perspectives that we usually ignore, that of individuals with special needs and the geriatric. Through the characters of Dhritarashtra and Ashwinkarni, Sonali presents the fact that we might see people with Special Needs as requiring support, but they have skills that others might not. In a truly inclusive society, these skills might be better put to use for the betterment of the society. The aspect of Women Empowerment is also explored beautifully through each character right from Ma Ambika and Ma Ambalika to that of Supriya as they each voice their concerns and points at different points in the story.

The storytelling is very gripping and through Kalyani’s eyes, we see how the events affected each one on the Kuru dynasty. The idea of actions and consequences is demonstrated beautifully through various events. There are moments from each of the book that are called back in this concluding chapter that felt fleeting, but now you realise the enormity of those moments. The entire method of giving each character a voice through Kalyani was something I really loved and something I am yet to see in any retellings of the epics. The concluding chapter of the book was the one that left a mark, specially how Sonali shows the linkage of the past and the present, and how she signs off her life story.

If you are looking for a retelling of the Mahabharata that presents the story through a lens that helps you read, wonder and question, pick up The Empress of Indraprastha Series. The book, and the series get a 5/5 from me for the way it is told, it treats its characters and the way it concludes.

Grab a copy of the book from a bookstore near you or on Amazon India.

My Review of the previous books in the series: