The Girl Who Chose - Devdutt Pattanaik - A Review

For 99.9% of us, Mahabharata and Ramayana are great epics! They are great because they tell the divine stories of the two great manifestations of Lord Vishnu. They are revered because they teach us all how to live on the righteous path without erring (and today's world seems exactly to do the things that are expressively prohibited in these two puranas - grabbing someone else's land & grabbing someone else's lady). Among these two, Ramayana is special because it has been retold by many many poets and authors! After Valmiki gave us this precious purana, from Tulasidas from the north to Kamban in the south, several beautiful narrations stand to give testimony to its greatness. Devdutt Pattanaik adds yet another version (after The Book of Ram) to bring another beautiful version of this great epic.

The author has chosen two words! Yes, two words that were chosen very carefully, and which by the very essence of them rule each one of us from inside, mostly unknowingly. They are rules and choices. Where rules are imposed, choices are ours to make. And, how these choices play a vital role in our lives is the theme of this book. Ramayana has numerous characters present in it. The character that Devdutt chose, though is a well-known (and considered to be the heroine of this epic), whether any of us have associated choices with her is a question.

Yes, Sita - Goddess Lakshmi herself and her choices is the core of this book! The five choices that she makes and how it affects Ramayana is narrated in such a beautiful manner. Her birth is not her choice, but the rest are all her own choices and how and why she made those choices is told from her own standpoint. Whether it is when stepping out of the palace when Ram leaves for the forest, when asked by Lakshman not to cross the "rekha" or when asked by Hanuman to return back with him, these may sound very simple choices, but there is a very sounding reason behind them. One will be able to appreciate the author's way of thinking when he/she finishes the book.

Many a times, it is not easy to narrate a story. But, think of the difficulty when you are narrating it to children. You have to choose (again 'choice' :-)) words in such a way for them to read and grasp easily. This book is written for "young readers" in the age group 6-12. I have six year old and I know the real problems when telling her stories. You get questions that you never have thought of. The author has done a marvelous job in the way he describes the epic. What adds more beauty to this work is the illustrations that came from the author. One can easily appreciate that when we narrate a story to a kid, we are making them picturize the scenes in their mind. The author's own illustrations are so apt to match the picture that the kids will have in their mind when they read the book!

Like every other book that he has written, this book also ensures he stands as India's favorite mythologist! A good read, a must read!

This review is part of Flipkart's Blogger Review Program.