Mythological monologues is one of those eclectic books which can be in your bookshelves for a very long time. The readers, from any generation, who would have an interest in mythological characters would find it fascinating to read this one by the Author: Purba Chakraborty. This book is a collection of poetry based on reverend characters of the Mahabharatha and the Ramayana.
One thing I liked about this book is that it not only depicts the celebrated and famous characters of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana but also illustrates the emotions and journey of the unsung heroes of these epics. Ahalya from Ramayana, Chitrangada and Satyavati from Mahabaratha are such examples.
Although I was aware of most of those characters but it was really fascinating to know about them in the form of a monolog. It depicted the hard work and the research that the author had done to portray these characters in the book. An apt usage of metaphors and similies helped me understand the true emotion of the characters. In some places, I became happy as sometimes it felt that I was again watching the Netflix series: Dharmakshetra, but that series was only based on Mahabharata characters, and this had from Ramayana as well.
Some of my favorite lines from the book:
In the darkness of absence
The night jasmine silently blooms
And then this one
Leaving behind my Shyam in Vrindavan,
The melody of His flute in my heart,
His Divine Name entwined with mine
Together we will be called
Radhe Shyam till the end of time.
This is the first poetry book that I have read, and I am happy to realize that the thought in each poem can be the central theme of an independent novel in itself. It shows the deep clarity of thoughts that the author had about the topic.
I recommend this book to all the readers who love mythological tales or want to know more about the respected and not-so-famous characters of these epics.
