Author – Vikas Singh
Publisher – Westland
Genre – Fiction
Pages – 291
Price – Rs. 350
Sneak from the cover
A fascinating perspective on one of the most important
characters of the Mahabharata, who lived in the shadow of his brothers’ fame.
The Cover
The mighty, macho and powerful Bhima welcomes readers to
the book with his mace and bow. He looks every inch the perfect Indian warrior.
Then what is it that makes him the man in shadows?
My View
I still remember the excitement around BR Chopra’s
Mahabharat when I was a kid. Sunday mornings became family time as all gathered
to watch the TV serial together. Even roads used to wear deserted look. Of the
five Pandavas, my favourite was Bhima, because he was strong, brave, innocent
and total hero material who didn’t hesitate once before knocking evil Rakshashas
down. Give a challenge and Bhima would always spring up in action. Years later,
when Chota Bhim came as cartoon series, I realised what a hit Bhima is with all
kiddos.
That’s why the book “Bhima – The Man In The Shadows” invoked
curiosity. We all know Pandavas as the perfect humans, Bhima being the perfect,
sincere son, husband, father and brother. But he was after all a human! Having
best of men as brothers and conflicting love interest can prove to be a tough
situation even for toughest of men. And so, our macho hero too, felt like a man
in shadows.
The book tries to capture an aspect of Mahabharat that no
one has attempted to touch upon before – Mahabharat from Bhima’s perspective.
It is a herculean task to capture all the important aspects of a story like
Mahabharat, but the author’s attempt is commendable. Writing style is narrative
as Bhima looks back at the story of his life.
The book begins by Bhima killing Dusshasana and fulfilling
his vow for his lady love. However, was the similar love reciprocated by the
lady? Well, for a lady who loved and married her hero, but was shockingly
presented four more husbands, loving five men equally must have indeed been
tough. One feels sorry for Bhima as time and again, we see Draupadi using him
for her own selfish interests but playing smart when it comes to being the
wife. Bhima is a very pure soul at heart and that’s something we all love him
for. Instead of exercising his right as a husband, our dude decides to be
Draupadi’s true friend and win her heart. Despite other Pandavas breaking her
heart at some point in their lives (Yudhishthira in gamble game, Arjun by
further marriages), Bhima stays loyal and plays the protective hubby – be it by
killing Keechak, or avenging insult from Duryodhan and Dusshashan. Even in the
final moments of life at the Himalayas, when everybody sticks to the rule of “keep
moving”, Bhima displays his loyalty and love for Draupadi by choosing to be
with her.
As the TV serials always portrayed ideal brotherly love
and devotion, I sometimes wondered if it’s too good to be true. The book
smartly touches upon the Bhima’s perspective on his equally great brothers. Bhima
was the second eldest of the Pandavas. However, most of the story sees him
confined as a man in shadows of his brothers – Yudhishthira and Arjun. He
recollects several incidents where he played the pivotal role however, the
other brother got all the credit. For instance, when Guru Drona summons
Pandavas to defeat and capture Drupada, Bhima single handedly hold Drupada’s
bodyguards while Arjun captures Drupada. However, that goes unnoticed in the
halo created around the great archerer Arjun. Since Bhima had vowed to finish
all Kauravas, he considers this as his main goal during the battle of
Mahabharat, going after them one by one, killing them all. But does the world
credit him for being the destroyer of Kauravas? It is always Arjun who is the
hero – handsome, smart, ambitious, and someone who likes to possess the latest
and the best – be it weapons or women! While he is forever on the lookout for
the next best thing, Bhima with the heart of gold plays the best friend to
Draupadi.
When Pandavas left for the Swayamvara, their mother was
aware what her sons were upto. So, when Arjun joyously yelled out to her to
come and see what he had won, wasn’t it smart of her to pretend having thought
of it as Bhiksha and asking the sons to share?
Yudhishthira has always been portrayed as the face of
Dharma – honest and unbiased. However, listen to Bhima’s story and you will
encounter several incidents where he was diplomatic and avoided controversies.
Bhima was not just a loving husband and a devoted son and
brother. He was a doting father too and one gets emotional reading the chapter
on Ghatotkacha. Although we’ve read these stories over and over again, the book
brings a very different modern flavour to the whole story. Ghatotkacha and
Abhimanyu here talk like modern day cool dude kids and don’t mind pulling their
father’s leg!
The book is full of other interesting incidents
beautifully narrated. Bhima is a curious and observant person and his encounters
with Devas and are fun to read. The author adds his own element of technology
and logic to the magical powers of Devas. For instance, we all know about
Bhramastras, the divine weapons earned by pleasing Gods and that they couldn’t be
used on humans. But the way the book explains the Bhramastra technology refined
for use on earth makes you smile and appreciate the creativity. The new
generation doesn’t believe in miracles but logic and the author is aware of
this. Hence, the logic and frequent reference to technology are well
positioned to entice young readers.
Some important lessons of life conveyed beautifully
through short instances in the book –
- Never take people at face value. And never underestimate
an opponent just because he looks weak.
- There is no shame in trying and failing. What is
unfortunate is when people either don’t try something out of fear of failure,
or deliberately don’t put in their best effort so that they can later console
themselves that it never mattered to them
- The most amazing thing in the world is that everybody dies
one day, but everybody acts as if he will live forever.
- Gita’s message by Shri Krishna summarised in a paragraph.
What I loved about the book
- The author successfully overcame the big challenge of bringing
novelty to a story everyone remembers by heart. All versions we have seen and
read so far are indeed interpretations of the basic story by several authors.
But read this book and it seems so in sync with the modern times – be it the
language or logic.
- I was very impressed with the introduction of science and
technology elements with reference to Devas. While there are often discussions
on how advanced that era was, references to Devas’ technology and mechanics of
heaven also make the book instant hit with the younger lot.
- Mahabharat is a long story and it isn’t easy picking the
main incidents and weaving a story within 290 odd pages. The story within story
style makes the book a very interesting read.
- All the fight sequences and techniques are so elaborately
explained that I could visualize them. Wonder if the author is trained in some
martial arts!
What could have been better
- Mythology and sex sells. However, combining the two can be
a little tough at time. I picked up the book with great enthusiasm. However, for
the first few chapters the unnecessary references to Bhima’s sexual encounters
and the thoughts in the mind of a man got me doubtful as to where the story was
headed. For instance, Bhima and Hidimba making love next to the body of Hidimb was
surprising. When Yudhishthira explains Pandu’s death to Bhima, he says, “Father
is dead. His heart suddenly stopped while he was frolicking with Mother Madri”.
Its only after a few chapters that one gets introduced to other aspects in the
mind of Bhima and that’s when the story really picks up pace.
- Some facts have been unnecessarily tweaked. Although the
author has clarified this in the endnote, the reader begins to wonder whether
to treat the story as sheer fiction inspired on Mahabharata or Bhima’s perspective
on the story. For instance, I failed to understand why Hidimba is shown to have
died protecting a child from a wild boar.
My rating
3.5/5
I recommend this book for its innovative approach to the
epic story. The portrayal of Bhima as the man in shadows to the destroyer of
Kauravas had me impressed.
