Name: Arjuna-Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince
Author: Anuja Chandramouli
No. of Pages: 363
Genre: Mythological fiction
Publisher: Platinum Press (An imprint of Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd.)
Price: Rs. 250/-
Published in: 2013
The blurb of the book says: Arjuna is the immortal
tale of one of India's greatest heroes. These pages retell in riveting
detail the story of the Pandava Warrior-Prince who has captured the
imagination of millions across centuries. This is the intense and human
story of his loves, friendship, ambitions, weaknesses and follies, as
well as his untimely death and revival, his stint as a eunuch, and the
innermost reaches of his thoughts. Told in a refreshingly modern and
humourous style and set against the staggering backdrop of the
Mahabharata. Arjunas story appeals equally to the average, discerning
reader and the scholar. It spans the epic journey from before his birth,
when omens foretold his greatness, across the fabled, wondrous
landscape that was his life.
About the author: Anuja Chandramouli is a full-time mother of two lovely girls, as well as
a part-time writer. Her academic credentials include a Bachelor’s
degree in Psychology and a Master’s in English.Having started out as a
freelance writer with articles published in Women’s Era, Lonely Planet
and The Hindu, she currently works as an e-reporter and columnist. Anuja
is a self-confessed, big-dreamer, who is driven by an inner passion to
contribute her mite to the great pool of human endeavour, thought, and
wisdom. An ardent admirer of Veda Vyasa’s Mahabharata, Anuja holds the
Great Epic to be one of a kind, the Homers and Virgils of the world
notwithstanding. Drawing her creative inspiration from the epic’s
timeless track record of sustenance through centuries of retelling,
Anuja chose to debut as a storyteller with the immortal and eternally
captivating saga of Arjuna, the non pareil hero. Putting together
episodes from Arjuna’s life (some well known, others relatively
obscure), gleaned through years of painstaking research and then
presented in a seamless narrative with the uninhibited panache and style
of a 21st century writer, has been an immensely satisfying and
self-actualising endeavour for this New Age Indian classicist.
You can checkout her blog to know more.
WHAT I FEEL ABOUT THE BOOK:
Even though I am a ardent lover of books based on mythology and history, I did not like this book. I did not find the writing style engrossing or engaging. I felt as if I am just reading facts or a mythological story book for kids. Moreover, the book was plain Mahabharata and nothing entirely about Arjuna as the title of the book promised.
The book started with Janamejaya, son of Parikshit (Arjuna's grandson) yearning to know about his ancestors especially Arjuna and asks Ved Vyasa to narrate their story to him. And Vyasa's disciple Vaishampayana narrates the story to Janamejaya. But surprisingly Janamejaya is not mentioned in the end, what he felt after listening to the narration, his reactions, nothing. So I think it was better not to mention the poor fellow in the beginning at all.
May be I was expecting something else from the book. From the title and blurb, I thought that the story would start from Arjuna and end with him or may be from his point of view. But it was not all so.
In a nutshell, I was pretty disappointed. I would give the "Arjuna" only 2 on a scale of 5.
