Customer Reviews

Prince of Ayodhya: The Ramayana, Book 1

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Banker's book fills a void in English fiction. His retelling of Ayodhyakand from The Ramayana ranks up there with great works of modern fiction, from the likes of Frank Herbert, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Jean Auel. The pace is gripping; the sequencing of events from the great epic, creative; and the character development, eye opening.

If there is a flaw in this book, it is in Mr. Banker's fuzzy translation of slokas but the essence of the text is not lost in translation.

I bought the book at an airport bookshop to read on a plane ride from Mumbai to Delhi during a recent family trip to India. Having finished the book only a couple of days ago, I feel lucky I picked up this book and not another. For one, it added to the whole India experience. My 9-year old daughter, who can't seem to ever finish re-reading the Harry Potter books, is going to enjoy this one when she gets to be a teenager!

This is the first book I have read that takes Indian history, myth and culture to a global audience. It is exciting to read, very beautifully descriptive--at times, almost too descriptive, but in a good way, if you can know what I mean. I could only wish there were more books like this, so I could show them to my American friends (I live in Chicago, passed out from UofIl) and show them what our great heritage is like. I remember my father bringing my brother and me Amar Chitrak Katha comix when I was about 7 or 8 and how we read them like we had discovered gold. There are so many great Indian heroes that are crying out to be written about and so many fantastic tales we have that the West doesn't have an inkling of. I don't know if Mr Banker has any plans to write about historic events and characters like the British Raj in India, the Moghuls, the great Gupta civilization, Ashoka and Vikramaditya, Shivaji and Prithiviraj Chauhan, Rani of Janhsi, etc...but I hope that he, or other writers like him, have the courage and motivation to pick up their pens and write sotries like Prince of Ayodhya, that bring alive those lost ages and great legends and we can all lift up our heads proudly and point to these books and say, here, this is india.

My first introduction to Mr. Ashok Banker was through a witty column he used to write for India Today in the early nineties - a long time back. After that I was not lucky enough to see his name in print till I chanced upon an "expose" in the Week recently. (Web link - http://www.the-week.com/23jul20/life2.htm) This piqued me to say the least what with the interview peppered with comments from Mr. Banker -

"As I read and reread the Ramayana, I saw the greater story that lay beneath childish abridged versions and stiff-mouthed academic analyses."

"I was unable to consume alcohol, not even a glass of beer. I also wear white when writing or revising, and I visit a Hanuman mandir faithfully."

(All this from a person who wrote an online novel that started with the words - "Rashmi Brar wouldn't take off her bra.")

There is no dearth of re-tellings of the Ramayana. There are several adaptations in English, the best being the one by C. Rajagopalachari. (Web link - http://www.hindubooks.org/books_by_rajaji/ramayana/index.htm) Each author has his variations from the original (there is a superb essay by A. K. Ramanujan on this topic), with the Dravidas of South India going so far as to claim that Sita was the daughter of Ravana! But I expected a magical re-telling of the story "in the tradition of Tolkien" as promised. And I immediately bought the first instalment from a bookstore. I was a little bit apprehensive about the publisher though - Orbit, the publisher in the UK, is known for science-fiction novels.

But what lay in store was a travesty of the great lyrical poem that is the Ramayana. The book was just too descriptive and contrived to sound inspired. Sentences like - "coarse white dhoti girding his loins, wooden toe-grip slippers on his feet, matted unkempt hair swirling around his craggy face, the long straggly white beard, the red-beaded rudraksh maala around his neck" - just strangle you like a python. Stories like a "false Vishwamitra" are irritating deviations from the original. There is also inconsistency in use of Sanskrit words - sometimes "penance", sometimes "tapasya". In some passages Hindi words are used - to what purpose I can't fathom. The list is almost as long as the book itself. But what's going for the book is the reader's patience to unravel the story from the puzzling writing.

The Ramayana is a simple story and can be simply told. Yet its beauty is in the poetical telling of the story. Probably I expected something akin to Fitzgerald's translation of the Odyssey... The fault might not be entirely due to the writer as the "fun" part of the Ramayana (battles etc.) come towards the end.

Mr. Banker might have had a spiritual elevation in writing the book - I certainly did not experience any reading it. It rather seems like one more exercise at re-packaging Indian literature in edible form for the West. But it falls short of even that.

Aah! The irony of it all - "But what about the dangers of substandard work being hyped out of proportion, simply to cash in on the "India wave"? From recent signs, this has already begun to happen." - Mr. Ashok Banker, "Cooking the Books", The Week (surprised?), January 25, 1998. (Web link - http://www.the-week.com/98jan25/biz1.htm)

Adios,
Prabhu.

PS - I just read Mr. Banker's reactions to Kumar's review - can he please stop filling half the page with single-liners about his book? And also respond to the issues raised by Kumar rather than trying to dismiss them? The Ramayana is not a topic for a Pocket Essential.

Also, in case I committed some kind of copyright violation by extracting a fragment sentence from the book, please inform me - I shall remove the same.

A little cutie which Mr. Banker himself might not have noticed when adding the "K" as a middle initial - Joseph K was a banker in Kafka's "The Trial"!

This is my response to the reader "Kumar"'s repeated malicious comments on my book. He complains that I do not address his comments specificially, so I will do just that:

He says the work is not a true representation of Ramayana, the sacred Hindu epic. First of all, the Ramayana belongs to all Indians, not just Hindus. It is a seminal work of literature and morality, not a religious treatise (like the Bhagwad Gita which is indeed a religious treatise seminal to the Hindu religion). Essentially, the Ramayana is a heroic tale that demonstrates certain moral and ethical values that are the basis of Indian 'sanskriti' (value system). What are this reader's qualification for making such an arbitrary judgement. He notes in his review that he is a fan of Eddings and other Western authors. He does not mention a single Indian author that he likes, a surprising fact when millions of readers worldwide admire so many talented Indian authors. That itself shows his anti-Indian bias and narrow viewpoint.

He says it is a "fictional" work. Clearly, he didn't look closely at the book before he read it--if he read it at all, as he claims he did, a claim I still challenge. The book is clearly labelled as "Fiction" not "Nonfiction", and yes, it is most certainly a fictional retelling of the Ramayana. But it is based not only on any one version but on all the various authoritative versions written over the millennia--Valmiki, Kamban, Tulsidas, Ganguly...By attacking this retelling, this reviewer attacks all these great writers whose work I studied and to whom I pay homage in my retelling.

Finally, showing his utter lack of knowledge of the actual Ramayana, the reviewer attacks a few minor details in a 389-page work, not realizing that each of these episodes are in fact based on hard research and exhaustive study. By attacking and maligning my book, he attacks all my great literary predecessors, as well as the Ramayana itself.

This appears to be a malicious and ill-thought-out attempt to "put down" a book that is garnering great acclaim from readers and reviewers alike across the world--and reveals the reviewer's pathetically limited knowledge of the original epic, as well as his own great culture and mythology. Toss out those Eddings and Brooks, sir, and go back to the seminal works of your great nation.

I submit proudly that my Ramayana is the culmination of great respect and wide knowledge, coupled with all the literary talent and technique I command, to recreate a great Sanskrit work for the first time in modern English idiom. I have told it as honestly and sincerely as I know how to, and tens of thousands of readers across the world and in India, have responded with overwhelming delight.

This is because the Ramayana is a mirror of your soul: If you seek malice within its pages, that is what you will find. But if you seek heroism, wonder, adventure, truth and beauty, among many other wondrous qualities, you will find all this and more. In this case, the mote is clearly in the reviewer's eye, not in the book. You don't have to take my word for it, read the many reviews of the book--I provide a shortlist below for your reference. But finally, it is the book itself that speaks proudly for itself. Read it and discover the truth for yourself--but only if you dare to bare your soul and see what truly lies within.

Ashok K. Banker

Princely praise for Ashok K. Banker's
PRINCE OF AYODHYA: BOOK ONE OF THE RAMAYANA
"Magnificent...tremendous...a milestone" India Today
"Vivid, unforgettable images" The Telegraph
"How well Banker tells his tale!" Indian Express
"Banker has beaten the rest" The Statesman
"A ripping good yarn" Publisher's Weekly
"Jeweled prose, lush descriptions" Library Journal
"A marvellous landscape of princes, demons, mages, and lovers" Kate Elliott
"Entertaining and illuminating" SciFi.com
"A thundering good story" Dave Duncan
"A refreshing change from generic fantasyland" Starburst
"Wow!" The Alien Online
"As welcome as a lush oasis in a desert" Sword's Edge
"Extravagantly, grippingly, wholly appealing" BSFA Journal
"An intelligent revival, rarely seen in fantasy literature" Dreamwatch
"Stunning, impressive, entertaining Indian myth" Enigma
"Huge in concept" John Jarrold, SFX
"Highly recommended" SfBookcase.com
"Wonderful, almost Matrix-like, highly entertaining" SFCrowsnest

"Fast-paced and impressive" Kitabkhana
"Enthralling" Harriet Klausner, Book Magazine's No.1 reviewer
"Highly recommended" Paul Goat Allen, B&N.com
"As globally relevant as Gilgamesh, Cuchullain and Beowulf" Historical Novels Review
"Excellent" Bookloons.com
"Feel the arrows zing past" Curledup.com
"What a debut" Polaris
"A magnificently rendered labour of love" Outlook
"Banker's creation will become a classic" January Magazine
Barnes&Noble.com's main SFF selection for August 2003
Locus Notable Book for September 2003
Crossword Bestseller September 2003
*****
Readers are raving over Ashok K. Banker's
PRINCE OF AYODHYA: BOOK ONE OF THE RAMAYANA
"More promising than Rowling's Harry Potter series" H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, Mysore, India
"I tore through your book...the night before my chemistry exam" Romit Bhattacharya, Irvington, NY, USA
"For fans of epic myths, a must read, wonderfully complex" A reader from Slough, Berkshire, UK
"I couldnt stop reading it and would recommend it to anyone" Aarti from Cardiff, Wales, UK
"I loved this book. I can't wait for the next part." Ruth Griffiths from Carlisle, Cumbria, UK
"I thanked Mr. Banker silently for introducing me to something new, something that excited and amazed me." Fraser Ronald, USA
"I read entranced through the night. I await Banker's sequels and I thank him for giving the Ramayana back to me." Renuka Narayanan,India
"I found the exchanges between the characters just as riveting as the battle scenes." Renee, Ontario, Canada
"A great and simple adaptation. It's a very well written story." Donald S. Buckland, New York.
"I loved this book! It was hard to put down. I highly recommend Prince of Ayodhya." Kristin from Minnesota
"Bravo Mr. Banker, I can hardly wait for the next installment" Scott Masterton, Blaine, Minnesota
"This is storytelling at its best, you have truly done something remarkable." Gautam Chikermane, New Delhi

This is a response to the Author's comment on my above review. As can be seen clearly, the author has not attacked the content of my review, but the fact that the book remains in my wishist. The explanation is simple - I purchased an Indian edition a few weeks back from one of the leading Indian bookstores. Since I bought this book after reading the editorial review of the US edition, I thought it fitting to present my viewpoint of it after having read the book. Nowhere has Amazon enforced a rule that the book must be purchased from Amazon itself before it can be reviewed (as is the case when one uses the "What's your Advice?" feature). And I'm confident that Amazon would like all readers to post their true opinions on the site instead of becoming psuedo-salesmen for the authors.

My contention can be summarized as follows: This book is not a true representation of Ramayana, the sacred Hindu epic. It is a fictional work based on the characters of the original epic and this should be made clear to the readers. Calling it "Book 1 of the Ramayana" would mislead readers worldwide into thinking that this is the true interpretation of the original epic. For example, Ravana trying to assasinate Rama, portraying Mantara as serving a Dark Lord, or Kaikeyi calling Kausalya "a harlot and devdasi" is simply a vile distortion of the facts. It is one thing to interpret and retell an epic (such as Krishnavatar by K.M.Munshi or Ramayana by Rajagopalachari). It is altogether another issue to ravage a sacred text and distort it beyond recognition.

To: Amazon.com

The review on the page for Prince of Ayodhya by "Kumar" is clearly a biased and false review of the book. I say this not only as the author of the book (and I should know!) but because even you can see from a perusal of other reviews of the book here or anywhere else that these allegations are false, defamatory and patently malicious.

Perhaps the most telling fact is that "Kumar" still has the book in question listed in his Wish List as not yet bought. And the edition he has posted a review of is the US edition which is not available in India (the UK publishers have exclusive rights in India and they have not yet released the book here either). How then, one wonders, could he have read the book and reviewed it, whether positively or negatively?

Could it be that..."Kumar" has not read the book at all, but simply posted a review? In which case, I believe Amazon.com is liable for his malicious and false views which can be easily proven to be so.

After all, I'm assuming that Amazon.com wants to sell books, not dissuade people from buying them--which latter is what this "Kumar" seems to be doing.

Looking forward to your honest and fair appraisal of the situation--and speedy response.

Best wishes

Ashok K. Banker
Princely praise for Ashok K. Banker's
PRINCE OF AYODHYA: BOOK ONE OF THE RAMAYANA
"Magnificent...tremendous...a milestone" India Today
"Vivid, unforgettable images" The Telegraph
"How well Banker tells his tale!" Indian Express
"Banker has beaten the rest" The Statesman
"A ripping good yarn" Publisher's Weekly
"Jeweled prose, lush descriptions" Library Journal
"A marvellous landscape of princes, demons, mages, and lovers" Kate Elliott
"Entertaining and illuminating" SciFi.com
"A thundering good story" Dave Duncan
"A refreshing change from generic fantasyland" Starburst
"Wow!" The Alien Online
"As welcome as a lush oasis in a desert" Sword's Edge
"Extravagantly, grippingly, wholly appealing" BSFA Journal
"An intelligent revival, rarely seen in fantasy literature" Dreamwatch
"Stunning, impressive, entertaining Indian myth" Enigma
"Huge in concept" John Jarrold, SFX
"Highly recommended" SfBookcase.com
"Wonderful, almost Matrix-like, highly entertaining" SFCrowsnest
"Fast-paced and impressive" Kitabkhana
"Enthralling" Harriet Klausner, Book Magazine's No.1 reviewer
"Highly recommended" Paul Goat Allen, B&N.com
"As globally relevant as Gilgamesh, Cuchullain and Beowulf" Historical Novels Review
"Excellent" Bookloons.com
"Feel the arrows zing past" Curledup.com
"What a debut" Polaris
"A magnificently rendered labour of love" Outlook
"Banker's creation will become a classic" January Magazine
Barnes&Noble.com's main SFF selection for August 2003
Locus Notable Book for September 2003
Crossword Bestseller September 2003
*****
Readers are raving over Ashok K. Banker's
PRINCE OF AYODHYA: BOOK ONE OF THE RAMAYANA
"More promising than Rowling's Harry Potter series" H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, Mysore, India
"I tore through your book...the night before my chemistry exam" Romit Bhattacharya, Irvington, NY, USA
"For fans of epic myths, a must read, wonderfully complex" A reader from Slough, Berkshire, UK
"I couldnt stop reading it and would recommend it to anyone" Aarti from Cardiff, Wales, UK
"I loved this book. I can't wait for the next part." Ruth Griffiths from Carlisle, Cumbria, UK
"I thanked Mr. Banker silently for introducing me to something new, something that excited and amazed me." Fraser Ronald, USA
"I read entranced through the night. I await Banker's sequels and I thank him for giving the Ramayana back to me." Renuka Narayanan,India
"I found the exchanges between the characters just as riveting as the battle scenes." Renee, Ontario, Canada
"A great and simple adaptation. It's a very well written story." Donald S. Buckland, New York.
"I loved this book! It was hard to put down. I highly recommend Prince of Ayodhya." Kristin from Minnesota
"Bravo Mr. Banker, I can hardly wait for the next installment" Scott Masterton, Blaine, Minnesota
"This is storytelling at its best, you have truly done something remarkable." Gautam Chikermane, New Delhi

Ashok K. Banker's adaptation of the 3,000-year-old epic of the Indian sub-continent, Ramayana, falls into the former category. At first glance, it could appear to be too exotic and unapproachable for a Western reader who knows little or nothing about that history or culture. But the author has ensured that no one's enjoyment be diminished by their background. (Interestingly enough, he has published separate editions for Indian consumption, whose only differences are a different prologue and the exclusion of the glossary.) He seamlessly tells the story while integrating instruction and education through the context of events. The inclusion of an extensive glossary of Sanskrit words and concepts at the back of each volume is an added benefit, if clarification is needed, but I found such moments few and far between.

When I began my reading, the first three books of six had been published: Prince of Ayodhya, Siege of Mithila, and Demons of Chitrakut. In the first book we are introduced to an India of ancient times. There has been peace for thirty years between the mortals and the demon Asura, who occupy the island kingdom of Lanka. Prince Rama's father, the king of Ayodhya, had repelled their last invasion with assistance of the other city states, and now lived out his days enjoying the pleasures of his wives.

Prince of Ayodhya outlines the various plots being hatched and introduces us to the principle characters. The battle lines are drawn, and Rama is prepared for his destiny through training and tasks. The book also begins our education in the concepts and beliefs that guide the actions of our hero, and shows how he is prepared to be the exemplar of all that is ideal.

Siege of Mithila introduces us to the woman who is to be the love of Rama's life, the princess Sita. She is the daughter of the King of Mithila, a man who after the end of the last war had renounced all violence, and turned his state into a haven for all things spiritual. Of course, this means it is the ideal place for the demons to begin their martial conquest. But as with all good villains, the Demon lord Ravana has more then one arrow in his quill.

In Demons of Chitrakut, when Rama returns in triumph from defeating the demon armies with his new bride in tow, instead of being feted as a hero he is sent into exile for fourteen years, along with his brother and his wife. Through his black arts, Ravana has managed to corrupt the king and bring about this drastic turn of events.

Ashok Banker's adaptations are lushly written with love and devotion. He has taken an epic poem and set it into more approachable prose. Written in English for an English speaking audience, we know that nothing is being lost in translation. The books are a fine introduction for those of us who have little or no understanding of the culture and history of one of the oldest societies in the world, and our guide is one of the more accomplished writers in India. If you are like me-your understanding of India has been limited to seeing the occasional Bollywood movie, and various western interpretations of eastern beliefs-these books are a breath of fresh air. Alive and vital, they manage to entertain and educate simultaneously.

At no time during the reading of the stories did I feel Mr. Banker overtly explaining concepts and ideas central to the belief system extolled to the detriment of the story. His wise use of incidents and characters (which is the manner of all good epics and parables) served to fill in the copious blanks in my knowledge without once making me feel like the story was being interrupted. Soon after beginning I was able to just sit back, and enjoy the lush panorama unfolding before me without worrying about missing out on any key points of the tale.

"In a masterwork as imaginative as the greatest creations of J. R. R. Tolkien..." Oh, how many times have we heard that one before? Our bookstore shelves are clogged with would-be epics churned out by talentless hacks who can barely assemble a sentence, much less a novel. Given this profusion of overhyped, underwhelming crap, it's understandable that many readers might be skeptical of a newcomer fantasy author touted as a grandmaster. This time, however, there's no need. The claims are true, the talent is real, the result is stunning.

"Prince of Ayodhya" is, of course, an epic fantasy set in ancient India. It follows Maharaja Dasaratha, ruler of the mighty Kingdom of Ayodhya, and his three wives and four sons as they receive disturbing news from the seer Vishwamitra: the Demon Lord Ravana has been gathering an army of hellish beings in preparation for an assault on the mortal plain. The cast here is huge, but Ashok Banker juggles his characters well. Virtually all of them take on the larger-than-life personalities of epic heroes and villains, leaving an unforgettable stamp on the story rather than just going through the motions. One reviewer complained that the characters were too simplistic. It may seem that way at the start, but new layers of complexity unfold as the story progresses.

The best way to describe this book is to say that Banker gives his tale the scope of an epic. This is a story not just about big characters, but about big cities, big journeys, big armies, big battles, and a promise of even bigger events to come. Here we actually see not just a few people, but instead an entire nation being drawn into an expanding battle. This author has also mastered the little details of writing. His ability to evoke setting and mood through little details of sight, sound, and smell matches the best in the genre. His handling of pacing matches his talent at writing. There's never a slow moment in this book, and character development scenes are woven into the narrative so well that they fit perfectly.

Is this book perfect? No. Banker does have a few problems, such as an obsession with putting somewhat cheesy cliffhangers at the end of every single chapter and some chapters that are too short and choppy. But these are minor mistakes that barely put a dent in such a tremendous accomplishment. Overall, I give "Prince of Ayodhya" a hearty recommendation, and I can't wait for "Siege of Mithila".

Ashok K Banker's idea of retelling Ramayana may seem very blasphemous at the first glance, what with his one page description of what Rama has dreamt the night before.

However, you have got to be a little patient with Banker. The fact is that he delivers what he has promised. The book is an absorbing read. It engulfs you completely, takes you into Treta yugam and lets you watch the proceedings as they unfold. Before you know it, you will have finished reading the book... and bought the second part: "The Siege of Mithila"

What is expected of you, the reader, to enjoy the book is very simple. Forget that it is Ramayana. Forget what Valmiki had written. Read it as Banker's story of a medieval king called Dasaratha and his prince-heir Rama.

Banker's version of Ramayana has seven parts. The first part "Prince of Ayodhya" starts slowly with a grand introduction of Rama and then takes the reader on an Ayodhya tour introducing the great empire, its people, its security personnel, its law and order and its rulers. The book ends with Rama killing Tataka to save Brahmarshi Viswamitra's yagna.

The book's USP is its ability to let the readers visualize the proceedings. It is like watching another Lord of The Ring. If anyone tries to take this book to the celluloid, I am sure it will give LOTR a run for its money.

While the original Ramayana is slow, methodical and does not have any treacherous "villain" (Ravana himself is an ardent Siva devotee. The only sin he commits is the abduction of Sita.), the new Ramayana moves at break-neck speed, is not linear and does not shy away from introducing Ravana as the Father of all Evil things. I will not divulge more details about the story as it would spoil your experience.

In a way, it is more enjoyable because we all know what the Original Epic is all about. So this is totally new to us. And so it generates interest and curiosity.

It is well worth it's price tag.

However, if you are deeply religious and cannot accept changes to the Epic, I advise you to stay away from this book.

Have fun reading The Ramayana once again.

I don't consider myself to be a religous but rather a spritual person. Being from both Roman Catholic and Hindu background, I appreciate both religions.

This book is just a retelling of an old story. But the story in itself has value as it is closely linked with Hinduism, telling the story of their Gods.

This is by no means a 'Fantasy' for Hindus. If it is, then you might as well class the Bible as a great work of Fiction/Fantasy.