‘Valmiki’s Women’ by Anand Neelakantan
The author of ‘Asura’ and the ‘Baahubali’ trilogy brings to life five women from the Ramayana
Published 07.10.21, 07:49 AM
Feminine voices are astonishingly absent from the traditional versions of our epics. Of late, some writers have attempted to correct the imbalance, writing the Ramayana from Sita’s perspective or the Mahabharata in Draupadi’s voice. Anand Neelakantan, who shot to literary fame retelling the epics from the viewpoint of the vanquished in Asura and the Ajaya series, has always been interested in the lesser-knowns. His latest book, Valmiki’s Women, brings to life five powerful women from the Ramayana — Bhoomija, Shanta, Manthara, Tataka and Meenakshi.
Neelakantan has a knack for seeking out the most interesting ones among the peripheral characters. He did that with Queen of Mahishmati, which is a book series on Sivagami that takes off from the Bahubali cinematic universe. He again did that with Vanara, where he delved deep into the characters of Bali and Sugreeva, but also of Tara, the woman they both loved. Valmiki’s Women promises to shine the light on some fascinating women who were caught between the grand machinations of kings and gods, but also shaped the epic story in their own way.
— Upasya Bhowal
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