Read AJAYA - RISE OF KALI (Book 2) Online
Authors: Anand Neelakantan
AJAYA - RISE OF KALI (Book 2)
Praises for Ajaya 2 Rise of Kali
• I really hope that someone makes a movie out of this book and offers me a role in it. I would love to be a part of such an epic.
~ Actor Nagarjuna at the book launch of Ajaya 2 Rise of Kali
• Anand’s books revisit mythology with a different perspective and presents a counter point. Ajaya 2 Rise of Kali looks at the epic Mahabharatha from Duryodhana’s perspective.
~The Hindu
• Religion is a sensitive subject. Merely talking about it n a public space could land you in trouble. But then there is Anand Neelakantan, not simply expressing his thoughts on epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, but actually writing them, and from the villain’s perspective.
~ The Asian Age
• With his style of counter-telling the popular myths, Neelakantan has tried to lighten the grey of the great villains of our mythological scriptures like Ravana and Duryodhana. The author of the popular books ‘Asura: Tale of the Vanquished’ and ‘Ajaya: Roll of the Dice’, Anand Neelakantan, has come up with the latter half of the ‘Epic of the Kaurava’ called the ‘Rise of Kali’. Even though it’s just his third novel, he has managed to reserve a slot on the bestsellers shelf for his books.
~ DNA
• An exciting characteristic of Anand’s novels is his in-depth recreation of characters involved in the epic; he gets beneath the skin of each, taking an impartial view of the circumstances, with telling insights and colourful imagery.
~ Supremacy
• It is unusual to read an Indian epic written differently. Turning a villain into a much-loved hero is the idea penned down by Indian author Anand Neelakantan. He is an engineer by profession but more famous for his novels.
~ The Hans India
• The monsoon’s most awaited mythological thriller Ajaya 2 by Anand Neelakantan has broken into the the Top 10 Bestseller list of the Asian Age and looks down from a comfortable pedestal at its number 3 spot in the Crossword bestseller list. The book was launched to a veritable frenzy of expectation and delight and broke sales records on Anand’s previous betsellers within a week.
~ Mumbai Messenger
• Author Anand Neelakantan has done it again- turned the greatest heroes and villains from the Hindu epics into mere mortals with his new novel
~ 48 Hrs, Hindustan Times
• Get set to unlearn the Mahabharata as you know it from bedtime with your grandparents. In Anand Neelakantan’s version of the epic, the Pandavas step out of their goody-two shoes while Duryodhana, head of the rival faction of Kauravas, earns a halo.
~ Mid-Day
Yudhishtra to Drupada:
Dharma
is subtle and we do not understand it. We faithfully
follow the path tread by our predecessors. My voice does not
speak untruth, nor does my mind dwell in
adharma.
Duryodhana to Krishna
(Sabha Parva):
I know what (your)
dharma
is. I know what you call
adharma
is. Yet I follow my heart. If you are Janardhana, it is you who
dwell in my heart and make me do what I feel. Is it not my
Kshatriya
dharma
to protect what is mine?
Krishna to Arjuna in the
Bhagavad Gita:
O Partha, that intelligence which is covered by darkness,
believes that
adharma
is
dharma
and gets all meanings
backwards. That is ignorant intelligence.
Bhishma to Yudhishtra
(Anusashana Parva):
But it is not always easy for mere mortals to arrive at
dharma-vinischaya
(definition of
dharma).
Only kala (time or
Yama, the God of Time or
Yamam),
knows what is
dharma
and
adharma.
Krishna in the
Bhagavad Gita:
I AM TIME.
***
ISBN 978-93-81576-04-5
© Anand Neelakantan, 2015
Layouts: Chandravadan R. Shiroorkar - Leadstart Design
Cover: Kunal Kundu
Printing: Thomson Press (India) Limited
Published in India 2015 by
PLATINUM PRESS
An imprint of
LEADSTART PUBLISHING PVT LTD
Unit 25-26, Building A/1, Near Wadala RTO,
Wadala (E), Mumbai – 400 037, INDIA
T
+ 91 22 2404 6887
W
www.leadstartcorp.com
All rights reserved worldwide
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior permission of the Publisher. Any person who commits an unauthorised act in relation to this publication can be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. The contents of this book are the expressions and opinions of its author and a work of imagination. It does not claim scriptural or historical authenticity. This work does not represent the views of the Publisher nor endorses them in any way. The Publisher makes no representations or warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of the information used.
of my beloved mother,
D. Chellammal Neelakantan,
who left us on Thiruvonam day.
A
BOUT
THE
A
UTHOR
I WAS BORN IN A QUAINT
little village called Thripunithura, on the outskirts of Cochin, Kerala. Located east of mainland Ernakulam, across Vembanad Lake, this village had the distinction of being the seat of the Cochin royal family. However, it was once more famous for its hundred-odd temples, the various classical artists it produced, and its music school. I remember many an evening listening to the faint rhythm of
chendas
from the temples and the notes of the flute escaping over the rugged walls of the school of music. However, in recent times, Gulf money and the rapidly expanding city of Cochin have wiped away all remaining vestiges of that old world charm. The village has evolved into the usual, unremarkable, suburban hellhole, clones of which dot India.
Growing up in a village with more temples than was necessary, it was little wonder that mythology fascinated me. Ironically, I was drawn to the anti-heroes. Life went on…I became an engineer, joined the Indian Oil Corporation, moved to Bangalore, married Aparna, and welcomed my daughter Ananya, and son, Abhinav. But the voices of yore refused to be silenced. I felt impelled to narrate the stories of the vanquished and the damned, and give life to those silent heroes, we have overlooked in our uncritical acceptance of the conventional renderings of our epics.
This is Anand’s third book and follows the outstanding success of his #1 bestsellers,
ASURA Tale Of The Vanquished
and
AJAYA Book I, Roll Of The Dice.
Anand can be reached at: [email protected]
C
ONTENTS