A Romance Ends

Epic.
It's been the end of a long journey, a long romance that had many twists and turns and surprises and highs and lows and joys and sorrows. Yet, at the end of the three volume, six novel, 4,000 page long journey through Ashok Banker's retelling of the Ramayana, the only emotions I feel are awe, and unease.
Awe.
Why? For the simple reason that this retelling of the Ramayana is nothing less than an epic work of art, with every letter, every syllable, every word, every metaphor, every description showing the boundless, boundless love that Banker has imbibed into his creation. Like the sages of lore, who would go into trances that would last for years on end, lost in the rhythm of their lord's name on their lips, or legendary artists like Tulsidas, who felt God in every incomparable raag they uttered, or other singers and painters and sculptors and writers whom we have seen through the ages, who go into trances, unaware of anything around them, and awaken to see a masterpiece created. That is the league of which Banker is rightly a member, for his work of the Ramayana is a testament to his devotion, to his pure love expressed through the magnificent prose contained in the series. Right from the moment I opened the first page of the first book, it was as if a hand grabbed me and took me right into the world of Ayodhya and Chitrakut and Panchvati and the Bhayanak Van and Lanka and many, many other places and adventures, standing right beside Rama and Lakshmana watching them carry out their epic feats.
Unease.
A simple enough emotion to feel, in view of the rather disturbing ending of the book, and the hunger for more. A hunger that will soon be satiated, i wager, as he is currently working on the Mahabharata!

While reading the series, I came across a number of surprising facts:
1. That Maruti, that all-too-popular car we know of, is actually another name of Hanuman's?
2. That Vajradanti, of the "Vicco Vajrandanti" fame is the name of Ravana's Commander in Chief who had brilliant, indestructable teeth?
3. That Akshay Kumar was actually Ravana's youngest son who was famed for his skill in the martial arts?
4. That 'arth' originally meant wealth, instead of truth as it means today, for the ancients believed truth to be the greatest wealth?

There are also a great deal of references to pop culture and contemporary politics, which are amusing.

Overall, despite the rather jarring end, Ashok Banker's Ramayana is an absolute must-read, for if you want to know your culture, if you want to see your sanskriti glorified in a way that will make you stand straighter the next time the national anthem is played, and if you want to truly discover India's second greatest literary epic without the hackles of learning Sanskrit, then do not look further.

Thank you, Mr.Banker.