Dr Vineet Aggarwal

Retelling mythology from one’s own perspective is in-thing in the literary world of India now. There are many authors exploring this genre and we see hits and misses both here.

Recently we got a chance to read "VishwaMitra" by Dr. Vineet Aggrawal and we are impressed with the way it is written.

Vishwamitra is comparatively a less explored character in Indian mythology and a majority of readers can't recollect much more than the famous Vishwamitra-Menaka union. Here also, most of the readers consider it as a low moment. However, very few know that Vishwamitra and Menaka lived together for years! So, get ready to know the story of how Visharath became VishwaMitra.

The Plot:

It all starts when king Kadhi used to rule Mahodayapur. There was a history of KanyaKubja and Kadhi was eventually blessed with a baby girl. He named her Satyavati. Considering her as his heir, Kadhi got her educated in war-games and administration as well.

One fine day, the king was all ready to announce the active participation of Satyavati into the administration of his kingdom and promote her as the next ruler of the same. But, if the things always go in the direction decided by a person, then who will believe in the destiny?

Ruchik, son of sage Chyavan, comes to the court of Kadhi and asks him for the hand of Satyavati!

Kadhi was buried into worries and dilemma with this proposal. He cannot bluntly say No to a sage like Ruchik and at the same time for the girl like Satyavati who grew up in all the comforts of the palace, the sage like Ruchik is not an ideal groom. And, who will rule the kingdom if Satyavati will live in an Ashram or abode? A king is responsible to his citizens as well. And, it is his duty to provide them next eligible ruler.

What will happen now? Will Ruchik be refused? If so, what will be the consequences? If he is not, then how his married life will Satyavati proceed? What these events have to do with the legend of VishwaMitra who became so powerful later in his life that he challenged - Indra - the god of devas? Well, you need to read the book to know more :).

Vineet Aggrawal is in complete control of the story throughout. He nicely balanced the importance and weightage to all the principal characters. No important incidents are skipped. Actually, there is comparatively, a less amount of information is available in scriptures and legends to fit into this story. The author needed to fill in some gaps with his imagination.

While the descriptions of Jungle, beauty and the surroundings are convincing, the same can be told of the war scenes. The conversations are written effectively. The way tale stars and gradually moves ahead in a flawless manner is something you will love reading. Here are some of the interesting lines from the book:

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Truly there’s no better happiness than getting the right partner in life!
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… was too engrossed in my own reluctance to begin a householder’s life to pay attention to what my prospective bride may have in her mind.
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I cannot undo the past but I can strive to give you a bright future.

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I admire the way the Vishwamitra-Menaka episode is handled in this book. Actually all the strong female characters stand tall and gives a lessons to the writers who writes anything in the name of feminism. All the characters in this book does what they are destined to without any gender bias. And, according to me it is the most significant achievement of the author. one more thing I must say about the book is, the way science and mythology are weaved together.

Summary:
Definitely a worth reading book.

Rating:
Definitely a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Detailed review is available on our website at: https://thinkerviews.com/books/english-books/vishwamitra-the-man-who-dared-to-ch...… (mais)