Read For Free AJAYA - RISE OF KALI (Book 2) Drafted By Anand Neelakantan Ready In Hardcover

were huge from this book too as it is the continuation of the epic Mahabharata from another perspective and of course, the readers are curious to know more about the other side, or so to speak, of the fence.
Well, the book begins with an author's note where he explains how he has learned the art of viewing things critically from Gita itself.
He also has included Gita in his book but here the dialogue is between Krishna who is with Arjuna and is inclined toward war and Balrama who sympathizes with Suyodhana.
Balaram is questioning Krishna and Krishna is justifying his acts in the name of Dharma, Author has also addressed the issue of showing Krishna in an unflattering light in his books,

About the author
This is Anand Neelkantan's third book after Asura and Ajaya Part I, In his own words, he was born in a village with more than necessary number of temples, His tryst with mythology and religion started early on in his life and he has been fascinated ever since,

About the book
The cover has an ominous picture of a vulture flying in the face of solar eclipse.
Just like the earlier book, this one also has been beautifully designed, The pages have a crisp feel to them, The typeset is of international standards, The blurb at the back reveals nothing but the basic premise of the book which is essentially 'Mahabharata retold', Praise from reputed newspapers and magazines like The Week and DNA are enough for one to be sold to the idea of the book.


The language is simple with short sentences and fast narrative, The book is divided intochapter for easy readability, A preview to the happenings in the previous book make the book a good purchase as a standalone product too.


About the plot
The book picks up the story from the scene of Game of Dice where Draupadi is mercifully pawned.
Of course in this book, there is no magical Krishna to extend the saree of Draupadi as 'Dushasana' pulls on it.
It is a less dramatic, but more believable version of the situation, The dialogues in the book are not low on drama though, Every line compels you to put yourself in the character's situation and feel his dilemma,

The writing is divided in shorter paragraphs which are easy on the eye and the plot moves very smoothly.
The book is a brilliant example of how to engage the reader through merely the use of dialogues and interesting situations.
The author has used his imagination in most situations and although they might not be the real history of those times, they are definitely more realistic than the actual texts.

Having read Roll of the Dice Ajaya I, I was waiting for part II with much anticipation and author really took his time to release the second part.


I have given the book a rating ofconsidering it as an individual book, But if I was to rate the book with respect to the first book, I would have given it for I liked the first part better.

Why I say this is because, when I read the first part, the whole concept of the story being of the defeated side was new and thus proved most interesting.
But thennd part at times felt dragged with saying the same things over and over again as were said in thest book.
Though I feel, if the second book had come out sooner or better still if I had read both the books in one go, maybe this difference wouldn't have been apparent.


Coming to bookin particular, what was most interesting was the voice given to people like Ashwathama and Shakuni.
Loved how Mr. Neelakantan has portrayed Karna. Also what was interesting to read was the speech given by Bhishma pitamah explaining his reasons for backing Kauravas and how Dronacharya ji decided which side he would fight on.


The whole concept of dharma and adharma was also well explained, And I especially loved how both sides justified that they were on the side of dharma, The tactics used by pandavas to win the war have been known forever so there was nothing new in there but what was new was the discussions that went on in the Kaurava camp each night.


The book was fast paced and provided a fitting end to the story, A page turner and an epic read if read with an open mind, Enjoyed reading the book a lot, The Rise of Kali raises the question, why the history never considered the virtues of the vanquished Suryodhana was the voice of a castles society, which weighed the individual with merits.
He accepted Karna the son of a charioteer and offered him his eternal friendship, He did not ask Yudhishtira to pawn his wife on the dice games, He didn't do anything against Dharma in the war, Still he is the chief antagonist,

Rise of Kali is the search through the mind of the greatest villain ever portrayed in our Epics.
The war which was forced upon men by the tactful manipulation of Dharma and Adharma, When Bhishma was unarmed, he was killed by Arjuna, Guru Drona was cheated and killed, When Karna was unarmed, he was killed by Arjuna, Suyodhana himself was killed against the rules of the war by Bhima, And I wonder, who was on the path of Dharma!

It was a mesmerising feeling when I read the conversation between Balarama and Krishna where Balarama is trying to convince his younger brother about the futility of war.

Krisha Says to his elder brother that the wise do not grieve for the dead, nor love the living.
The souls is immortal and pervades the entire universe, The soul has no death and birth and that the soul discards the body as we throw away soiled clothes and so on''
To this, Balarama replies that to a mother who has lost a child.
What you say is merely an intellectual exercise, It does not solve anything but acts as an excuse for violence',
There are so wordily duals like this throughout the book, It is as if the writer is asking these questions to himself and trying to fathom the justifications,

The virtues of Suyodhana and Karna were lost in transition somewhere down the lines and now this work compel the reader to think deeper and raise questions in the reader's mind.
Even the Dharma and Adharma is relative in their senses,
A must read, to see the other side, where everyone forgot the virtues of the so called villains,

Bhanumati, wife of Suyodhan says him that he will be painted as the greatest villain who ever lived, if he loses the war to which he answers calmly that 'fear of posterity cannot prevent me from doing what I

know to be right'.
Yes. He meant it. Mahabharat is an epic and to write concisely about your opinions, thoughts, after thoughts, views/actions is always be challenging for most.
What i liked about this book is the chapters are focussed and short, What all people would know about would be after watching BR Chopras Mahabharat serial on tv, So this book i feel is important to view the other side on what possibly could have happened, There are plethora of questions raised on what is right and wrong and frankly no one today could answer those.
But if you have only read/seen one part of the story then you would be influenced to think in a particular manner.
This book introduces to other side and force you to think appropriately, It has been awhile since a release of a sequel filled me with this impatient sense of excitement mingled with curiosity nostalgic about good old HP days:.


As I close almost reluctantly the last pages of Rise of Kali RoK, I am surprised by this feeling of relief realizing that RoK was at par with the Roll of the Dice RoD, if not better, for I have read too many sequels which have unwittingly wiped off the excitement and expectation created by the earlier book.


It is refreshing to read about Mahabharata MBH from the eyes of all those persons who stood a little away from the blurred lines of adharma.
It is a misnomer to tag RoK as Duryodhanas Mahabharatha, the strength of this book lies in the fact that it opens the reader to view the epic from the panes of divergent characters like Suyodhana, Ashwattama, Dhaumya, Yuyutsu, Eklavya and Yudhishtra while popular renderings have always been from the eyes of other noble souls like Karna, Krishna, Arjuna, Draupadi and Bhima.


RoK is well written and neatly executed the author has carefully interwoven interesting events and characters of MBH which are often ignored in popular retellings of the epic.
If I have to choose one event from RoK to always remember I will choose that moment when Suyodhana, Karna and Ashwattama share a toddy from an untouchable woman.


I enjoyed reading RoK and RoD and learnt some incredible facts about characters like Eklavya I never knew anything about him other than his famed gurudakshina and Yuyutsu amazing the only son of Dhirthirastra to have survived the war!.
The more and more books and texts I read about MBH the more fascinating the epic is becoming,

Recommended to all those who believe that MBH was all about good versus evil, Kudos to the author for doing his bit to ensure that the voices of the other side of MBH get a stage, albeit under the covers of a fictional rendering.

Having had been a huge fan of Anand's writings, reading this book turns out to be phenomenal experience, Though the book indicates itself as "Duryodhana's Mahabharata", to me all the minute important facts that were a part of the great Mahabharata Epic were presented in a frank amp upright way.
I have been reading comics and books around Mahabharata ever since a child but none of the books till date gave me more insights on the characters of Ekalavya, Balarama, Karna and Ashwathama.
Anand succeeds immensely in bringing these characters to light and gives them a voice to express themselves, The conversations between Balarama amp Krishna, Krishna amp Arjuna regarding "Dharma" are explained in a very subtle way that makes even a first time reader end up with Intriguing thoughts.
Few of these questions perhaps came in to our minds when we read Mahabharata earlier but we never ever bothered to ponder upon and look forward for an answer.
Anand through "Rise of Kali" succeeds immensely in racking up the questions on "Dharma" and for sure gives all of us enough food for thought.
The afterword for the book is amazing, I could finish reading the book in flatdays thanks to the excellent amp simple prose put in, Overall, a delightful read and a "must" recommended book for all, I look forward for such exciting works from Anand in the coming days !,