Almost all of us heard
the story of Mahabharata from our grandpas and grandmas. And, as we grew up,
the whole story got abridged and deposited in our minds simply as the game of
dice followed by fight between Kauravas and Pandavas with Krishna helping Pandavas.
Can you imagine how will it look if each of the brave warriors wrote a diary
giving account of what happened every day and night as the war progressed?
That's exactly what Aditya Iyengar has tried to do, and the result is "The
Thirteenth Day". His choice of
characters for presenting this is excellent - Yudhishthira, Karna and
Abhimanyu. It really appears that he stole the diaries of these three warriors
and tore the pages from them for three complete days to create this marvel! I
feel very sad that he had the time to grab only three days. I wish he plucked
up all the eighteen days' pages so we could have enjoyed a complete war. Such a
brilliant presentation with minute attention to details - like the composition
of akshauhinis, how powerful Krishna is with his chariot, the armors used in
the battle etc.,
When we heard
Mahabharata from our elders, we all had our own imagination of the characters
in this epic. The way Aditya delineates each character is scrumptious. A good
example is the introduction of Bhima - his structure, his enthusiasm and his
characteristics as a team leader. Same way, the twelve councils present in
Pandavas' side (yes, for many of us, this itself is a new information) are
elucidated with such minute details! Even, when the plans for the next day were
discussed, one will certainly wonder and appreciate the details that Aditya has
given to explain the intricacies.
The language used in
this book is extremely a rich one. If you want to increase your vocabulary,
this book is a big gift. For a reader with average fluency (like me), a
dictionary kept nearby while reading will be useful. Sure, some of us will find
some of the words used in this book difficult to grasp at first look, but that
does not affect the pace of reading - just like, though there are lot of rocks
lying underneath, the river's flow is never affected - in fact, they only add
beauty to its flow. The usage of terms for the war teams like "Khamboja Raiders & Indraprastha Chariot
Corps" will take our imagination to IPL and amuse! The way the
battle scenes are explained takes our imagination to Hollywood's action movies.
Emotions overflow when each of these three warriors delve into the details of
the day's accounts. For example, the way Karna narrates Abhimanyu's final
moments will make one feel sad, very sad for the young warrior (it certainly
made me sad)
You will find a lot of
subtle & whimsical humor spread throughout the book. In fact, that is what
it makes the book more interesting. When Krishna is introduced first in this
book we read "His cunning had saved
thousands of men over the past ten days and resulted in the slaughter of over
twice as many". :-) I couldn't control my laughter when Kauravas'
council meet starts. There are many more humorous narrations sprinkled till the
end.
I am still unable to
stop admiring this book. After a very long time, I am reading an epic presented
in a very different manner. I am giving 5.0/5.0 for this one. Sure, I am going
to read it once more to enjoy the nuances spread throughout this book, and I
have already started waiting for Aditya Iyengar to come up with his next one -
he has entered my list of favorite authors.
Clock
here to buy from Flipkart
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