AHALYA BY KORAL DASGUPTA-REVIEW

 

                            BOOK REVIEW           

                                AHALYA

                                                                                     

By Koral Dasgupta    

         

Koral Dasgupta’s first of the Sati Series books, AHALYA is a powerful rendition of feminism. AHALYA eloquently introduces the readers with the social apparatus and the status of women thousands of years ago.

AHALYA is the first mythological fiction which I have read until the last page. The reason I could not bear with the books written by even the most famous of my contemporary authors is that I hate any degree of adulteration in mythology and history. I do not approve of it. Secondly, I believe that the English language does not have the extent to accommodate the sanctity and spirit of Indian mythology. Not that I do not love English as a language; I respect the richness of Indian folklore. Every language has a soul and English certainly does not have a right soul for Indian mythology. AHALYA succeeded to sustain my interest in spite of my deep-rooted beliefs because of the masterly storytelling by Koral Dasgupta.  I am not condescending but these are my honest thoughts.  I am sorry if that offends my author friends.

 The most striking feature of AHALYA is that the author has not altered the story at all as most of the mythological-fiction-writers do. Retelling an already known story is not a cinch. It needs self-belief. The readers would pick the book, not for the story but the storytelling. Every line in AHALYA breathes on the marvel of the writing of its authoress. Her prose is poetic. The words have a befitting rhythm that binds your intrigue. Soothing music punctuates the emotional narrative. As I began, I wondered why the author had chosen the first-person narrative. I got my answers when I finished. Koral excels as a mouthpiece of AHALYA so authoritatively that you tend to feel you are reading Ahalya's autobiography.

 This is Koral’s third book that I have read and AHALYA mesmerised the reader in me the most. It started from page 12 where she writes- “Mortals had a name for them- ‘tears’- I learnt much later”.

 Then, she describes ‘WOMEN’ emphatically and carefully, not using a hackneyed script on page 22.

 Page 28, where she introduces INDRA- “He plays with a woman as a child does with water.”

 And, the inspiring unbiased wisdom of BRAHMA on page 30- “Everyone is born perfect. They pick up the imperfections along the course”. Also on page 36- “Your success lies in negotiating the contrast.”

 While introducing GAUTAM on page 35, she completes the differentiation between a father, a mother and a husband.

 At times, AHALYA appears to be a rebel, the shadow of the 21st-century woman. A woman does desire a man but she would not necessarily plead for bonhomie. She wants her man to acknowledge her larger contribution in maintaining the continuity of the human race. She wants the man to surrender to her beauty and body.

 AHALYA, as a woman who was accused of infidelity by her husband, deserves as many chances as she demands to present her side of the story. The first-person narrative that too from a woman-author served to AHALYA's advantage. After reading the book, I am curious to hear Maharishi Gautam's justification for cursing his wife.

Koral's AHALYA has only five characters. Ahalya's feminism sees the two females-Mist and Mandakini as kind souls but Brahma and Gautam are emotionless. She complains that her creator Brahma is an artist more than a father and her husband thinks of her as an obstacle to his path of achievements. The loneliness of AHALYA after she lands at Gautam's hermitage has been soulfully described. You pity her. You want to reach her to end her misery.

 AHALYA is a tremendous gift to the readers who search for literary beauty in the prose. It is a book to be read thoroughly, a book which will make you take notes, to ponder while reading and will force you to go into the skin of a character. It is not merely the famous story of an ill-fated mythological character but the eternal voice of women-her chastity, her desires, her expectations from her companion and her existence.

 

                                                        

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