The Upside-Down King - Sudha Murty
My Rating: 5/5
First things first, I don’t believe in God; having said that, I actually don’t mind reading mythological books or stories, especially when they are based on epics like the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. Now this one had both of them in one concise form, that too written by none other than Sudha Murty. My third is from the same new friend who is right now enjoying four of my books :). The first half is based on Maryada Purushottam Ram and his story, whereas the second one is based on Vishnu’s other avatar, Krishna. And I am sure if you have read anything from those two epics, it will be so much easier for you to guess whose life the main story, the upside-down king, was based on. Each new version of Ramayan makes it even more interesting (barring a few by some recent writers, which were a total turn-off, yet they sell like hot cakes; ask me who) for the reader in me to grasp anything and everything they throw my way. I love the way so many rishis and munis keep making an entry in these stories, especially the likes of Rishi Durvasa, who comes only to curse someone and then gives up after he cools down by giving a solution to his own curse, which is so amazing to read, even in this one,e as he leaves no one untouched by his fury. I loved the way Ravan is covered and how his own brother Kumbhakaran gets the best of Narad by making him sleep half of his li;e, how he does it? You’ve got to read the gem of this book to know. There are so many short stories in this one that made me wonder at the creativity of Ms Murty and her incredible collection of stories in her own simple style, yet keeping it captivating to the end.
Then comes one of my favourite characters from the Mahabharata, Krishna and his histrionics. We have already read so many versions of the same, but the way she has covered not only his life story or his kingdom(s), but also the end of his life was simply amazing. We all know how he dies, but what leads him to that end was an amazing read. I haven’t read those details yet in any of the previous books that I have read in this epic; this one was no doubt the best so far. How Krishna handles the great war of the Mahabharata, the dharm yudha, was totally amazing. And the cherry on top was the way Ms Murty has done justice to all and sundry in this little book with hardly 200 pages was simply amazing. There are so many instances in this book where Krishna meets one person or another, and then she goes on to explain the right coordinates of the places in today’s time, and where to find them was so terrific. At one point, I decided to make a list of those places and actually visit them as and when I pass through one or the other location in my upcoming cross-country drive, as those locations are almost all over India from north to south and east to west.
Do let me know if you have read this one and how you liked it. I am definitely going to get a few more from her at the earliest.
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