I started my quest to read the great Indian epics with the urge to discover something new, some hidden aspect or some unknown philosophies... RK Narayan being one of my favourite authors, is here being granted a partial judgement after telling the great epics in not a very great way. I find his a very simple yet very impressive (visible) style of writing strong enought o bind me through the bundles of pages. Objective behind reading the book: My sole objective to read the epics allover again after being taught in the childhood as class lessons & seen on TV as epic serials was to understand what was left out.
The book starts with the Ramayana, which the author has translated from some great south indian writer’s poems/writings. after introducing the reader with the characters, the author details the childhood part of Rama.. till his marriage in great detail... but the exile part is dealt with much depth. the part when lakshaman is treated with sanjivani... is missing. the lamentation on Rama for deceit on Vali (Sugreeva’s brother) is handeled diplomatically. The end part where Rama sheds off Sita... & onwards is not described at all, owing to it being not imp (as per author) & its dubious origins.
It was the sheer simplicity of language that creates a picture in fron of eyes, the features of the characters & the beauty of the story itself that binds one through. Mahabharata, the secong epic compiled seems to be compiled just for the sake of it.
The most amazing thing that I discovered is that it emphasized the ’Kuru Vansha’ without initiating the story of Krishna. the character of Krishna comes into the story from nowhere & is called the incarnation... without actually estblishing his GODness. the Childhood of Krishna is totally missing from the writeup. although its the dialogues of Bhimasena are the one that I like reading most. also the question answers between Yaksha & Yudhishthir seem to be interesting (in original) by what is written but not impressively.
Gods, demons & others is a compilation of a bunch of mythological stories. the stories are again good to read but I find nothing new in them. overall, reading the epics was a good experience but against my expectation, I missed discovering something new from the great epics. this is book for those who just want to have a read of these epics... not for those who want to go the depth of these stories.