Having sold 5.5 million copies in print of his books until now, Amish is contemporary India’s best fiction writer. He has won numerous awards, and his Shiva Trilogy is the highest-selling book series in Indian publishing history, while his Ram Chandra Series is the second-highest-selling book series in Indian publishing history. Inspiring as it sounds, his journey to becoming India’s storyteller was not easy. His first book, The Immortals of Meluha (Book 1 of the Shiva Trilogy), had to be self-published after being rejected by many publishers! They said that it was too long and too “high IQ” to be a bestseller!
Amish has taken India’s traditional epics, added his own unique twists on them, and turned them into a unique blend of fast-paced stories mixed with deep philosophies and liberal ideology.
In the third instalment of the five-book Ram Chandra series (Amish’s interpretation of the Ramayana), Raavan-Enemy of Aryavarta, Amish explores the character of Raavan, the most infamous anti-hero of Indian mythology, and tells the gripping tale of the greatest villain of all time. The first three books of the series follow a multilinear narrative wherein the stories of the 3 main protagonists are told in each book, which then coalesces into one central meeting point, in this case, Sita’s kidnapping. The fourth book (as yet unreleased) onwards is supposed to be a common narrative from the time when Raavan kidnaps Sita, the wife of the hero Lord Ram.
There are numerous shades to Raavan and the whole character arc is shown very well. He is anything but dull. He is ruthless, power-hungry, and merciless. He is also passionate, protective of his younger brother, and heartbroken. He is defined by his rage at the tragic loss of the woman he loved. You will hate him, love him, respect him, sympathize with him, and be scared of him. However, it is unlikely that you will not relate to him and his emotions at one point or another during his journey. His reaction to losing the love of his life is both heartfelt and gut-wrenching at the same time. It leaves the reader terrified and with nothing short of goosebumps. Raavan is a fierce warrior, brilliant musician, artist and writer, a smart businessman, efficient administrator, genius, and scholar, all in one. But most of all, he is human: cruel, passionate, talented, and flawed.
Amish brilliantly brings out the complexity of Raavan’s character. His extremely detailed and descriptive style of writing immerses the reader in the book with a finesse that only a talented writer like him possibly could. The darkness in Raavan’s character took a toll on Amish while writing as well. He has publicly acknowledged that the exploration of Raavan’s negativity in such detail was disturbing for him, due to the difficult and harrowing time he was going through in his personal life at the time. The torment is reflected in Raavan’s battles.
Amish, through this book, very subtly tackles various social issues prevalent in India; the caste system, patriarchy, bigotry, and child abuse. The book raises deep philosophical points through various conversations.
The story is about choices. The characters of Raavan (the villain) and Lord Ram (the hero, who is worshipped as a God today) provide a great comparison to how your reaction to difficult situations in life determines your journey and it’s those choices that ultimately differentiate between good and evil. Raavan’s reaction to his suffering was rage and frustration, while Lord Ram’s reaction to equally grievous suffering was nobility and honour.
The racy narrative makes the book unputdownable. This might be the most heartfelt, and yet disturbing book that Amish has written. It certainly is my favourite from all his books.
