#BookReview: Boons and Curses by Yugal Joshi
Title: Boons and Curses
Author: Yugal Joshi
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Published on: 1st May 2020
ISBN: 978-9353338695
"When the child becomes capable,a mother's biggest elation is to let her child fly and admire his flight."
BLURB
She was the strongest among the women of her Age, never cried in public or private…But, that evening even she had accepted defeat.
It is said that Kunti fulfilled her desires and ambitions through her sons, the Pandavas, resulting in the bloodbath in Kurukshetra. And once the truth struck her she sought help from Krishna to get rid of her guilt. Krishna became Kunti’s moral guardian, a conversation began, from which emerged fascinating tales of women in mythology.
In this brilliant retelling, Kunti is placed at the central of the novel and running parallel to her universe are the stories of Aditi and Diti, the primordial mothers, the rebellious Soorpanakha, the independent Sanjana and Tara, trendsetters such as Anusuya, intrigues of Kaikeyee and Kaikasi, the helpless Gandhari, the self-sacrificing Devaki’s and the selfless Yashoda. These are the stories of resolve, exploits, revenge, sacrtifice and affection—taken together they give us a deeper understanding of the legendary women in India.
COVER PAGE
The cover page of the book is subtle in bright orange colour with few lotuses in light orange colour. It has an image of a woman or a princess wearing red attire with ornaments on one side and the other side wearing simple plain clothes without ornaments. I liked the cover page.
REVIEW
I love to read mythology, especially about women. I have read several books about female characters in mythology. When I got to know about Boons and Curses – Legends of the mythological mothers, I was not able to stop myself from reading it.
Mothers play a prominent role in a child’s life. She lays the foundation for the child and nurtures the child, but can a mother use her children to fulfill her desires and ambitions? Boons and Curses by Yugal Joshi is a lovely read. Kunti was the central character of the novel when she was stuck after the war, was filled with guilt, Krishna came to her rescue and a conversation between them lead to the emergence of the stories of the mythological mothers. Krishna, the narrator takes Kunti and the reader on a journey of different tales of the mythical mothers. Krishna told several stories to Kunti that of Diti, Aditi, Soopranakha, Jabala, Tara, Sita, Sanjana and Chaya, Devaki, Yashoda, and others. These tales cover the themes of resolve, sacrifice, revenge, exploitation, and affection.
The book is written in simple language. I liked how these stories are narrated by Krishna to Kunti to make her understand what decision she should make. I have heard the story of the Mahabharata from my grandfather several times, but reading it has its charm. Besides, the author has penned it down in a lucid manner. There are different stories that I’ve never heard of, like the story of Jabala and her son Satyakam, Anasuya, Gandhari, the story of Sanjana and Chaya, and few others. The author has provided several perspectives in the stories that made the read engrossing and enlightening. The narration was very engaging. I was able to visualise various events as well.
The author has very nicely subdivided the book into chapters that focus on the characteristics of several mothers like ambition, protection, love and relationship, independence, and sacrifice. The book gives information about mothers in mythology. The way the author has separated the conversation between Krishna and Kunti from the different tales is remarkable. I was not able to keep myself away from it. It vividly tells about the mothers in different situations.
Overall, a very well researched book. It is very gripping and a page-turner. I would reread it, and it made me think a lot about life. I would highly recommend it to all the mythology lovers. I am glad that I got a chance to read it.
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*I received a copy of the book from the publisher (Rupa Publications) in exchange of a review. Thank You.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yugal Joshi is a co-author of the internationally acclaimed book Singapore Water Story, which has been translated into Chinese, Japanese and Hindi, and Creating Shared Value, on sustainable development. His other books are Women Warriors in Indian History and Ram: the Soul of Time.
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