The story of Ravana, the demon king, his rise to power as one of the strongest conquerors of the world who dared to challenge even the Gods and ultimately his downfall. In Ravana by Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia every story is told from the viewpoint of the supposedly ‘good character’ in the story. I was surprised to know that in the Thailand versions of Ramayana, Ravana is not as evil as he is portrayed in the Indian versions. Ravana is a first person account of Ravana’s life from childhood till his deathbed.
Ravana is born from the union of a demon princess and a holy mortal. Being a studious child, he masters every skill at a very young age and meditates for years singing praises of Brahma to ask him for boons. Once powerful, he grows arrogant, conquers Lanka for himself and even challenges the Gods for war. As they say, pride goes before a fall, Ravana’s favourable reign gets shaken up when he kidnaps Sita, wife of the exiled prince of Ayodhya, Lord Ram. This is Ravana’s story, in his own words.
What I Liked
It was a pleasant surprise that the the illustrator did the skin tones right. I have seen books and animations of Hindu mythologies where some illustrators have whitened the skin tones and that makes it very difficult to picturise the characters as those of Indian origin. Sachin Nagar is a wonderful illustrator. The art is amazing. He is successful in capturing the grandeur of Lanka and the ferociousness of Ravana. Hanuman is often depicted as a comical monkey man. I think this book has one of the best drawings of Hanuman that I have seen (in a non-comical way). Also, the art where Ravana’s ten heads are depicted is amazing as well.
Some facts in the story were new to me. An example is the musical instrument that Ravana makes from his own muscles and veins to sing praises of Shiva. The instrument called Ravanhatha or Ravana Hasta Veena is said to be invented by Ravan and brought to North India from Lanka by Hanuman. It later moved to Europe in the name of ‘Ravanastrom’ and is considered to be the forefather of violin. The book has a page of trivia about the instrument which was a delight to read.
Even though Ravana is celebrated as the villain, there were parts of the story when I felt sorry for him, especially when his most trusted sibling betrays him.
What I disliked
The size! The size of the book really put me off – It was too small! Sometimes important incidents that could have used up a page were restricted to a single bubble. I would have loved to have a bigger book where some facts were given detailed explanations. Personally I didn’t think the lettering and the art were compatible, but the magnificence of the art makes up for the tiny complaint of mine.
Final Verdict
I have not read many books that tell the story of Ravan through his own eyes. Abhimanyu has done a brilliant job of allowing Ravana himself to tell his own story. The stories in the book are reliable too, from my memory of my grandfather’s story telling sessions. I would highly recommend the book if you are interested in Hindu mythology. Also, the art is amazing, so go get it.
Title : Ravana : Roar of the Demon King
Author : Abimanyu Singh Sisodia Illustrator : Sachin Nagar
Publisher : Campfire
Published : 2011
Language : English
Pages : 104
Rating : 4/5
I’ve actually read a few others in this series.(is it a series?) Mainly sita but I didn’t like the art in that. Maybe I’ll check this out.
I don’t think its a series. I think he has done Kaurava and Sita as well. I am not sure. If you didn’t like Sita, better give this a miss. Maybe its just that our tastes are different.
The illustrator of Sita is Manikandan, not Sachin Nagar. I just checked.
I can’t quite tell from the pictures how small the book is, but it’s a shame it wasn’t a bit bigger. The story itself seems grand and epic, so the art, book, and lettering should reflect that!
The story seems fascinating. I would learn so much from just reading this one graphic novel because I know so little about Ravana.
Oh yes! The small size was a downer. But I am really glad to see good art in it. You should try out books on Indian mythology next year if you have time. I think you will enjoy them as there are So many stories.
Reading a story through the eyes of the villain always fascinates me so this sounds like it would be a very interesting read. The art is beautiful too, as are your photos 🙂
Thank you. I certainly enjoyed the art. 🙂
This is a great review of a book I would have never known existed! My husband and I were just discussing Ravana, as we recently celebrated Dussehra wherein, in India, effigies of Ravana are burnt. He was telling me that his Biji (paternal grandmother) did not like this tradition, as Ravana was purported to be quite an educated and intelligent person, and she did not think it was right to desecrate such knowledge.
I’ll have to see if I can find this book. Where did you get it?
The thing about mythologies is that there are so many versions that we dont know what is the truth. There are versions where Sita is actually the daughter of Ravana and he kidnaps her without knowing that! One popular version gets all the attention, that’s all. This book shows Ravana as an educated person, but also his arrogance.
I just checked – this book is available on Book Depository and Amazon. 🙂
THIS BOOK SOUNDS AMAZING. as a matter of fact, I rather enjoy books from the villain’s perspective. Guess this is the reason why I am so evil. *grins wickedly*
I’ve nominated you for the Liebster Award! There is no pressure to complete it – just wanted to share the book blog love! https://brontespageturners.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/the-second-not-that-im-bragging-liebster-award/
This sounds fascinating; although perhaps more so if you’re familiar with other versions of the story, to see how it compares and differs. I’ve read Sita’s Ramayana, told by Samhita Arni and illustrated by Moyna Chitrakar).. It also reminds me of another graphic retelling, Kim Echlin’s work on Inanna, from Sumerian mythology (illustrated by Diana Wolfsgruber). I’d like to read more like this: thanks for adding another to my TBR!
Thanks for the recommendations. I have not read both the books. I have heard and read different versions of the story, but mostly in print form and not in a graphic novel form.
Good posts, beautiful blog.
Congratulations.
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