Book Review : Raavanputr Meghnad - Prince of Lanka

Name: Raavanputr Meghnad - Prince of Lanka
Writer: Kevin Missal
Publisher: Simon & Schuster India
Publication date: 23 December, 2019
ISBN-10: 9386797739
ISBN-13: 978-9386797735
Pages: 304
Price: ₹ 250
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★.5

Blurb: 

This is the story of the greatest warrior in the Ramayana.
Meghnad was the perfect son of the tyrannical king — Raavan. Ever since his childhood, he was taught one thing: to be ruthless.
Honed by the greatest gurus, Meghnad grew up to be the conqueror of Amravati, the capital of the Devas.
He battled Lord Indra.
He defeated Lord Ram.
But then … he fell in love.
Her name was Prameela and she was a Naga princess. And she knew something that no one did: the truth behind Lady Sita’s abduction.
But this story is not about the Ramayana. This is about the greatest warrior of all time who learned the truth behind the war he was fighting …
And gave up.
The question is — what was that truth?
Bestselling author Kevin Missal brings to you an unforgettable saga about Raavan’s oldest son — the Prince of Lanka — Raavanputr Meghnad!!!

My thoughts:

Plotline:

Raavanputr Meghnad is a retelling of the classic tale Ramayana. The story has been narrated from the perspective of 4 characters – Meghnad, Prameela, Laxman, and Suparnika. Although the name of the characters is the same, the author has done some great improvisations in their characteristics, which eliminates the need to have prior knowledge of the Ramayana.

Meghnad

Meghnad, the eldest son of Raavan - the 10 headed demon, is the handsome prince of Lanka, who is always surrounded by apsaras. He has grown up worshiping his father and considering him a role model. After defeating Lord Indralok, the king of Illavarti, he gains the title of Indrajit.
Like his uncle Kumbhkaran, Meghnad loves science and creates various atomic weapons through the use of astras, the radioactive stones.
Having lived under the shadow of his father, Meghnad had never learned to respect women. To him, women had no real purpose. But his perspective and views about women change after he sent by his father to Naglok to form a marriage alliance by marrying the Princess of Nagas – Prameela.
Will Meghnad accept the proposal? Will Meghnad truly fall in love with Prameela or flee away after attaining the astras? Will he be able to protect his father from the uprising danger?

Prameela

Prameela, the Princess of Naglok, is a kind-hearted woman, who believes in charity and helping the underprivileged. Upon being informed about her marriage with Meghnad, Prameela is confused as to why her father had chosen an evil rakshasa as her life partner. Kaliya, a confidante to Ananth (the king of Naglok), discloses that the real reason behind the alliance is to deceive Meghnad and learn about the creation of astras after which, Meghnad will be assassinated.
Can Prameela trust Kaliya? Will she go behind the back of her beloved father and deceive Meghnad? Will she succeed in her mission? Or will she end up getting married to Meghnad?

Laxman

Raghav and Sita are in exile and are living in the manav kingdom. Being extremely close to Raghav and Sita maa, Laxman accompanies them, leaving behind the kingdom and his wife. Raghav is calm and composed, and unlike him, Laxman is known to be hot-headed. After the appearance of a mysterious woman, Meenakshi, the trio is attacked by a bunch of rakshasas, followed by the abduction of Sita Maa by Raavan. Laxman grows suspicious of Meenakshi’s involvement in the abduction but agrees to remain silent upon the insistence of his brother. With the help of Meenakshi, they gain an alliance with Sugreev’s vanar sena. The army then proceeds to Lanka to attack Raavan and get back Sita.
Is Laxman’s suspicion about Meenakshi right? Is Meenakshi the root cause of all the chaos caused in their lives? Will Laxman succeed in protecting Raghav, finding Sita and revealing Meenakshi’s vicious plan?

Suparnika

Meenakshi, popularly known as Suparnika because of her long nails, is the younger sister of Raavan, the king of Lanka. Meenakshi had fallen in love with a Danav, Vidhyut, and planned on spending the rest of her life with him. Meenakshi’s happiness on realizing she’s pregnant remains short-lived, for she realizes that Vidhyut had been executed by Raavan and Meghnad. Meenakshi feels betrayed and sets out on a mission to wipe out the entire existence of her brother’s empire. Upon finding out that the only person who holds the power to kill Raavan is the avatar of Vishnu, she begins the search and comes across Raghav. After making sure that he indeed is the avatar, she then devices a plan to gain the support of Raghav, in order to take her revenge.
Will Suparnika succeed in her mission and kill Raavan? Or will Laxman disclose her true intentions? Has she really been betrayed by her family? Or is this all based upon a misunderstanding?

Language and writing style: 

This is the second mythological book I have read, that too by Kevin Missal. He never fails to amaze me with his powers to transform a classic tale as such into a modern age masterpiece. As someone who has never read the Ramayana and holds very little interest in historical tales, I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this adventurous journey. The inclusion of science in matters that were believed to be magic held my interest. It was fascinating to see Kumbhkaran, who was said to be asleep for 6 months, actually engrossed in scientific experiments in his very own laboratory. The author has provided a meaningful background to all the main characters, enough to hold the reader’s interest and keep us engaged. The constant change in narrative gives a steady pace to the book, the writing style was smooth and the language was easy to comprehend.

Title and book cover: 

The title and the cover of the book aptly concern the main protagonist of the story – Meghnad. The graphics of the book cover looks bewitching, perfectly illustrating the strength of the Prince of Lanka.

Recommend? 

Kevin Missal has always been fantastic with mythologies. Believe in him and give it a read!

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