Disclaimer: Despite the post title, the book is translated from Marathi.
I sincerely
apologize to my past self for not writing a book article last month. A series
of unfortunate events kept me. I'll try to make up for it soon.
Anyway, remember how
I said that our last book, Vayam Rakshamah, contains material for at least ten
good novels. I read two of those last month.
The first one is a
short novel written originally in English by Mr. Ashok Banker. It's called '10
Kings'. I read the Hindi version called Dashrajan. It's about the battle in
Vedic times where 10 kings attempted a coup over the incumbent ruler. The
unusual setting and liberal amount of action make up for the dull pacing. All
in all, worth a read. I would've written more about it, but I decided that
translations of English book don't really count for this blog. For future
reference, only books originally written in some Indian language will count.
And that's when I
picked up another book I had bought secondhand a while ago. It lay there,
stowed away and forgotten, till I decided to declutter my life by reading and
donating everything not absolutely integral to my collection.
This book is called
Yayati. It's the retelling of a story from Indian mythology. It's original version in Marathi has won major awards, including both
the Sahitya Akademi Award and a Jnanapith Award. Those are some serious
bragging rights.
Unfortunately, after
reading the book I have to wonder what made it earn those accolades. It's not
bad. But it's definitely not that good.
The protagonist is
King Yayati, a mythological figure who
was an ancestor of the Pandavas (from the Mahabharata, not that it's
pertinent in any way). This is probably the horniest king I've ever read about. The two
other principal characters are the girls Devyani and Sharmishtha. I'd call this
a love triangle, if there was any indication of love whatsoever.
The first act is the
king's childhood. It plays like a French movie about a young girl's sexual
awakening, except it's about an Indian boy.
The second act is
the meat of the story.
Devyani is the
daughter of Shukracharya, the guy who has mastered Sanjeevni – the art
(science? magic?) of bringing the dead back to life. Sharmishtha – her frenemy
– is the daughter of the demon king Vrishparva, Shukracharya's employer.
These young girls
obviously both have reasons to be snobs. Sharmishtha's dad is the king, while
Devyani thinks he'd be the king of fuck-all without her own father's magic
juju. Then there's the matter of Kutch, a boy from their past they both had
lady-boners for. One day, they both go swimming ('cause why not?). Arguments
ensue, tempers flare, and a titillating girl-fight later, Devyani finds herself
in the bottom of a well.
It is at this point
that our hero (for the lack of a better word) meets her. The code of chivalry
gives him the perfect excuse to help her out. One look at her, and he loses his
shit. Now, I'm no stranger to the appeal of a hot girl in wet clothes,
but he's a king for God's sake. He should be able to keep it together.
Devyani is no angel
either. Upon learning that his savior is a king, she sees an opportunity for
vengeance. One thing leads to another, and Devyani appears before her father
with her conquest.
She's like,
"Daddy, Vrishparva's daughter thinks you're an insignificant piece of
shit; and she threw me in the well for dead. So maybe you should stop helping
her dad. Let's see him win the war when you stop bringing his soldiers' dead
asses back to life. Also, meet King Yayati. He's a pervert and already
wrapped around my finger, so I figure I'll marry him and be a queen."
Shukracharya takes
it up with Vrishparva. He's like, "Look man, your beef is not with me, but
with that snob-ass daughter of mine. Do what you want with her – she's yours –
but please keep the Sanjeevni coming." Now, selling out one's own daughter
is a dick move; but he's the demon king, what'd you expect? Meanwhile, this is exactly what Devyani was hoping for.
If you haven't
figured it out by now – Devyani is a basic bitch.
She take's Sharmishtha for her
personal slave and leaves for her new home with the King. Apart from being a
total cunt to Sharmishtha, she's also a total cunt to Yayati. Probably because she's not really into him, just married him for his status. She even stops letting him into her bed after a while. Now
sex-starving a horny perv can only end one way. He's a goddamn king, with
thousands of courtesans at his disposal. Our king goes into full pimp mode.
And that's not even
the stupidest thing Devyani does. I'll spare you the details, but she initiates
a chain of events that end with Yayati impregnating Sharmishtha.
The third act
flashes forward 20 years. I won't spoil anything, but the story's been told before. However, here it feels rushed and
anticlimactic. I understand that since the story isn't original, there's not
much to work with here. But then I'm forced to ask – did this short story
really needed to be retold? In novel-length, no less?
What else… there are minor subplots involving Yayati's
Oedipal issues and his lost brother. There are a couple of appearances by
Kutch. Barring that, these three characters dominate the story. They even
narrate it, in turns. This little detail, I'll admit, is impressive. Cyclical narration (or
third person subjective global narration, as the internet tells me its called)
was very uncommon before Game of Thrones. It's good to see it featured in an
Indian novel that predates GoT by decades.
That's the only good
thing I can say about this novel. Wait, there's one more: the translator did a
nice job. The Hindi is almost immaculate. So… two good things, I guess.
If there was a point
to the story: a lesson to be learnt, a statement to be made, an irony to be
underscored – I didn't get it. The pacing is dull. The content reminds me of
soap opera clichés. And I hate all the principal characters. That's to be
expected when there is little attempt to explain the motivations behind their
inconceivably stupid actions.
All in all, I've
failed as a reader, maybe. I don't see what the fuss is all about. Why this
mediocre novel received so many accolades is beyond me. And I don't recommend
anyone else read it.
Until next time... LLAP.
