Having been brought up on rich diet of Indian mythological stories told by my grandfather supplemented by Ramayana and Mahabharata serials on television and Amar Chitra Katha comics, I had almost begun to feel there could hardly be a story from Indian mythology I would not be aware of. That is one of the reasons I do not have much interest in books based on Indian mythology. So it is always a pleasant surprise to discover a new story. When I picked up Rising from the Ashes by Rubina Ramesh, I had no idea which mythological story this book was based on. And it turned out it was based on a story I was not aware of. That way right away the book managed to excite my interest.
The story starts in an interesting manner with a lady Mayavati in the clutches of an Asura Sambara. And he is trying to force her to marry him. As usual, as is the case with most mythological stories, Narada makes an appearance to add fuel to the fire. Then we are introduced to the protagonist's dream of her would be husband and it is not Sambara. The story takes us through her emotions as she tries to figure her way out through the situation. And it is soon revealed her husband is not even born. She is to find him and raise him and then marry him. Not this is an interesting premise. I was reminded of a story of a serial on television of an older woman who married a child and there were lot of protests. There was also lot of discussion around the French President having marrying his teacher at school. So, it would have been interesting to see how this author handles this subject of love between an older woman who has been a mother figure and a child, probably not when he is a child as depicted in the serial in question but after the child has attained adulthood. But the problem is there as the woman always knows the child she is raising is going to be her husband. Literature has many more instances of the vice versa - love between a woman and a man who is a father figure.
Anyways the author does not get into the full story here in this book. This book is supposed to be a teaser to her book on mythological tales. So the story stops with the situation being revealed to her. That way this book would be a disappointment to anyone who buys it expecting a full standalone story. It is like the prologue of a book being made into a booklet and sold.
The language and narration is good and it makes an engaging read. So an interesting read for readers if they are fine being left hanging on the cliff. I am sure many readers do not mind given the huge fan following people like Robert Jordan, George R R Martin and Patrick Rothfuss have. Only this is much smaller in size than the individual books of their series.
You can buy the book here or read it for free if you have Kindle unlimited.
RISING FROM THE ASHES:
A Short Story: Prequel to Knitted Tales 2
by
Rubina Ramesh
BLURB
She was one of the most beautiful woman Asura Sambara had laid his eyes on.
Possessing a beauty of this magnitude became his passion. Sambara kidnapped her and whisked her off to his palace.
Mayavati knows she has no option but to bow down to his wishes. But what about the young man who always haunts her dreams? She had no clue why she was in this palace but after speaking to the mischief making Sage Narada, it all started making sense to her.
Who was Mayavati and what was she doing in Asura’s palace?
Was Sambara her destiny?
Disclaimer: This short story is a mythological fiction and should be treated as such. The author does not claim it to be a retelling of the Puranas. This piece is a product of her unbridled imagination.
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About the author
Rubina Ramesh is an avid reader, writer, blogger, book reviewer and marketer. She is the founder of The Book Club, an online book publicity group. Her first literary work was published in her school magazine. It gave her immense pride to see her own name at the bottom of the article. She was about 8 years old at that time. She then went to complete her MBA and after her marriage to her childhood friend, her travel saga started. From The Netherlands to the British Isles she lived her life like an adventure. After a short stint in Malaysia, she finally settled down in the desert state of USA, Arizona. Living with her DH and two human kids and one doggie kid, Rubina has finally started living the life she had always dreamed about – that of a writer.
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2 comments:
Thank you so much for your kind words TF. Love this review. Yes, I did leave the cliffhanger effect and am going to complete it in my upcoming book, Knitted Tales 2. This is my first tryst with mythology so really appreciate this support.
Glad you liked my review, Rubina.
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