The Tales Pensieve

As a lover of books based on Indian mythology, I opened Jagmohan Bhanver’s The Curse of Brahma with a bit of apprehension. And, there was a certain reason behind that. Lately, a number of retelling of Indian mythologies had disappointed me. But, to my own surprise, this book captured my attention in the Prologue and then I could not stop reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. This book kept me turning pages late into the night. And, when the book ended, I found myself reading the blurb, just to make the experience of reading this book a bit longer. I am really glad that I read this book.

This book is the first installment of Krishna Trilogy. In this first book of the series, the author tells us about the events and incidences that took place before the birth of Lord Krishna. Kamsa, the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna and one of the most hated characters in Indian mythology, has been painted with a different brush making one have compassion for him. The main protagonist of this book is the character of Amartya Kalyanesu or the Dark Lord. While evil in nature, the Dark Lord’s personality also shows qualities of goodness in him. However, you will be surprised to know that the main culprit in this novel is Brahma, the Lord of creation. The storyline in this book, in a way, forces us to think about the distinction between evil and noble. Who is evil? And, who is noble? The story in this book tells us that neither Kansa nor the Dark Lord were evil. In fact, it were the circumstances that made these people evil. This book is an intense read and forces you to shake up your thinking cap. Although the story of Kamsa and Lord Krishna has been told many times before also, nobody had presented the sentiments of Kamsa in such a way as has been presented in this book.

The author has done a brilliant job of keeping the readers interested not only in the story, but also in the characters. All the characters are well-defined and readers will always be on the edge of their seats wondering about the things to come in the story-line. Something exciting happens almost on every second page. Additionally, interwoven plots propel the storyline. The story is filled with suspense, thrill, action, magic, bravery, loyalty, conspiracy, cat and mouse games, murders, back stabbing, and many things more. The description of places, characters, and situations has been done in such a way that you can visualise them as you read. One minor downside of this book is the number of characters, which are too many. In addition, there are a few spelling errors and grammatical mistakes too. However, these drawbacks do not take anything away from a brilliantly crafted plot.

This book is a work of fiction and readers should not compare it with the actual historical data. Readers will get disappointed if they do the same. In fact, the author says the same forthright in the book and, therefore, should not be blamed for any historical inaccuracy visible in the book. This book is a beautiful blending of facts and fiction, and readers should enjoy the book that way, only.

Ambitious and enchanting, the book under review can certainly be taken as an excellent start of a new series.

If you love books based on Indian mythology, you will love The Curse of Brahma. Looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

Title: The Curse of Brahma
Author: Jagmohan Bhanver
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Pages: 378
Genre/Sub-genre: Fiction/Mythological Fiction
Rating: 4.00 of 5.00
Reviewed for: Author

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