Asura- The Tale of The Vanquished

LITERATURE

Asura- The Tale of The Vanquished noted as the best selling book of the year

AC Nielsen, one of the biggest marketing research agency has pronounced Asura- The Tale of The Vanquished as one the best seller. 

India's largest bookstore chain, Crossword released its annual list of the bestselling books of the year. On top of the list is Kochi Born Author and the Manager of the Indian Oil Corporation, Anand Neelakantan's debut novel Asura- The tale of the Vanquished and published by Leadstart Publishing. This novel is rather unique as it is the story of Ravana and his people, a retelling of Ramayana from Ravana's angle. Released in May 2012, the book has managed to become a top seller in just six months of sale. 

Anand Neelakantan credits his cultural richness of his native town Tripunithara as a true inspiration behind his mythological based bestseller. As a child he was constantly surrounded in culturally enriched environment where mythical characters and stories played an integral part. This lead him to be attracted to the epic Ramayana and its anti- hero. Asura is a  conceived fictional narrative of the Raavana clan giving it a coherent outlook. 

The ancient Asura empire lay shattered into many warring petty kingdoms reeling under the heel of the Devas. In desperation, the Asuras look up to a young saviour – Ravana. Believing that a better world awaits them under Ravana, common men like Bhadra decide to follow the young leader. With a will of iron and a fiery ambition to succeed, Ravana leads his people from victory to victory and carves out a vast empire from the Devas. But even when Ravana succeeds spectacularly, the poor Asuras find that nothing much has changed for them. It is when that Ravana, by one action, changes the history of the world.

The epic tale of victory and defeat… The story of the Ramayana had been told innumerable times. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors, that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence. But what if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayana had never been told. Asura is the epic tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3000 years. Until now, no Asura has dared to tell the tale. But perhaps the time has come for the dead and the defeated to speak. 

With his debut literary piece, Anand Neelakantan has unknowingly introduced a new genre in the world of Indian English Writing: the counter telling of mythology. Asura- The Tale of the Vanquished is truly a modern day classic.