Skip to main content

The Serpent's Revenge : Unusual Tales from the Mahabharata by Sudha Murty (Book Reviews: 4/5)


Sudha Murty's books have always been a delight to her readers, and The Serpent's Revenge: Unusual Tales from the Mahabharata is no exception. Fascinating, light, and smooth to read, this 200-page short- story collection comprises less-known folk tales from the epic Mahabharata. While some of them are popular in different parts of the country, some of the stories are a pleasant surprise to the readers.

I have been a major fan of the Hindu epic Mahabharata since childhood and love reading every story and folk tale related to it. Dozens of titles have been released revolving around the lives of the main characters of the epic, most popularly of those including Draupadi (Princess of Panchal, wife of the five Pandavas), Karna (best friend of Duryodhana and son of Kunti and Lord Surya), and Arjuna (the mighty archer Pandav and Krishna's beloved.) Most of the stories in the book belong majorly to the above characters and some are quite unheard of.

My personal favourite and a bit-forgotten over the course of time story was of 'The Udupi King.' The story flow is quite smooth and is suitable for all age groups. For an ardent reader, TSP is a three-hour congenial read, entwining and relating different stories with one-another from the same collection.


I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Title: The Serpent's Revenge
Author: Sudha Murty
Genre: Mythology, Fiction, Short story collection
No.of pages: 200
Suitable for age group: All age groups, kids preferably
Publishing House: Penguin Random House India

Find the book: Amazon | Flipkart | Goodreads

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Perks of being a Solo Traveler: What my amazing Solo Trips taught me

Today marks the first anniversary of my first ever solo-trip. I had picked Agra, Uttar Pradesh for I was always mesmerized by the breathtakingly beautiful Taj Mahal. After somehow convincing my parents to allow me to travel alone, I landed up in Agra for a three-day trip.              It's fun, it's slightly overwhelming, even weird at times, but the experience of being on your own in a new town taught me a lot. Here are some perks that the adventure of solo travel brings along with it:   1. You make all the rules: Wanna go lakeside at 5 am? Or feeling like taking a nap in the afternoon? You can do whatever you like, whenever you like. Evening walks by the sea shore or enjoying breeze in the balcony, it's totally your call. Taj Mahal, Agra, UttarPradesh 2. Staying at amazing hostels: Backpacker hostels are far safer and cheaper than hotel rooms. Moreover, sharing your dorm room with travelers from different nationalities is an...
5 comments
Read more

Amba - The Question of Red by Lakshmi Pamuntjak (Book reviews: 3.5/5)

Lakshmi Pamuntjak's refreshingly beautiful Amba - The Question of Red is the story of Amba and Bhishma, with the Communist insurgencies of Indonesia post-independence in the background. The protagonists, named after the Hindu epic Mahabharata characters, are inspired from the actual characters of the epic themselves, and so is their love-fate. Amidst violence, riots, and death threats, the blooming of Amba and Bhishma's profound love story, layer by layer, emotion post emotion, is paced yet believable.   The Mahabharata is widely read in the South Asian countries, and several folk tales have thus been told over the years. One of these folk tales quite popular in the Java islands is the forbidden love story of Amba, the princess of Kashi, and Bhishma, the celibate son of King Shantanu and Goddess Ganga. According to the Mahabharata, Bhisma abducted Amba and her two younger sisters, Ambika and Ambalika to wed them to his step-brother Vichitravirya. After learning t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Till We Meet Again by Shibaji Bose (Book Reviews: 3/5)

Till We Meet Again is the story of Aryan, a zealous young man who is ready to nurture his passion and win the world when a personal tragedy weighs him down with family's responsibilities. The author has blended emotions, family relationships, vengeance, hope and love in a praiseworthy way in this book. The hidden highlight of the book is the way the protagonist learns life lessons; finding his purpose in life from his sister Rhea, passion and desire from landlady Kavya, sacrifice from his mother, and power of family from his brother Rohan. This is the story of a boy's journey of becoming a man while facing unexpected situations and meeting vivid people. The book starts a bit slow, majorly because of the wide range of vocabulary which might reduce the reading speed as well. The book gains pace after a while and the plot begins to take an interesting shape. This is the book if you are looking for one with a deeper human emotion perspective and feel the words describing so mu...
Post a Comment
Read more