The Immortals of Meluha
I had been meaning to read this book since it was released in 2010. The fictionalization of mythology and the idea of Shiva, the Lord and destroyer of evil, as a human is intriguing. I would give a lot of credit to the author for coming up with the theory.
*Spoiler alert*
Indian mythology does say that Gods descended on earth in human forms to destroy evil or bring back a balance. So, the idea is not totally unheard of but the author does deserve a lot of credit for his imagination and creativity. Amish has easily blended mythology with the characters and the background in the story.
The Trinity of Gods -Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - has been maintained for the story says that Lord Brahma was the first few rulers of the Land of Meluha. Lord Ram, an avatar of Vishnu, setup an organized way of life. Now, Shiva is needed to create a balance between the Good and Evil on earth. Nandi, the mythological bull on which Lord Shiva rides, is his advisor and constant companion. The trishul and its use has been conceptualized.
I particularly liked the way Amish handled the famous chant - Har Har Mahadev - and attributed the Hindu belief that God resides in each and every one of us.
I also liked the different and contrasting worlds he creates of the Suryavanshis and the Chandravanshis. The way he handles how different ways of life are just that - different and not necessarily evil. The caste system and how it can be a simple choice based on what one is good at. The love story between Shiva and Sati is simple and sweet.
If we can accept a Da Vinci Code we can surely like The Immortals of Meluha. The book might not be depicting mythology as it is, but it is a good way of writing about the stories in a contemporary way.
Another thing that was amazing was the marketing and publicity of the book. The book cover is elegant and the idea of youtube videos to publicize the story is cheap and great.(Click here to see the video). They also had a presence in last year's comic con festival.
Kudos to the author for the courage to write about a religious, mythological figure as big as the Mahadev and to pull it off so smoothly.
Eagerly waiting for my copy of the second book to arrive through flipkart today.
image courtesy: http://www.westlandbooks.in
*Spoiler alert*
Indian mythology does say that Gods descended on earth in human forms to destroy evil or bring back a balance. So, the idea is not totally unheard of but the author does deserve a lot of credit for his imagination and creativity. Amish has easily blended mythology with the characters and the background in the story.
The Trinity of Gods -Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - has been maintained for the story says that Lord Brahma was the first few rulers of the Land of Meluha. Lord Ram, an avatar of Vishnu, setup an organized way of life. Now, Shiva is needed to create a balance between the Good and Evil on earth. Nandi, the mythological bull on which Lord Shiva rides, is his advisor and constant companion. The trishul and its use has been conceptualized.
I particularly liked the way Amish handled the famous chant - Har Har Mahadev - and attributed the Hindu belief that God resides in each and every one of us.I also liked the different and contrasting worlds he creates of the Suryavanshis and the Chandravanshis. The way he handles how different ways of life are just that - different and not necessarily evil. The caste system and how it can be a simple choice based on what one is good at. The love story between Shiva and Sati is simple and sweet.
If we can accept a Da Vinci Code we can surely like The Immortals of Meluha. The book might not be depicting mythology as it is, but it is a good way of writing about the stories in a contemporary way.
Another thing that was amazing was the marketing and publicity of the book. The book cover is elegant and the idea of youtube videos to publicize the story is cheap and great.(Click here to see the video). They also had a presence in last year's comic con festival.
Kudos to the author for the courage to write about a religious, mythological figure as big as the Mahadev and to pull it off so smoothly.
Eagerly waiting for my copy of the second book to arrive through flipkart today.
image courtesy: http://www.westlandbooks.in
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