Book Review: Chakravyuh Through The Eyes Of The Young Warrior: The Misfortunes Of A Father Are Gifts To His Son by Aniket S Sharma

Published by Notion Press; Price: Rs 350; Pages: 216; Editor: Suranjan Paul  Rating: 4.5/ 5   I remember my childhood days when every Sunday I used to enjoy with neighbours watching B R Chopra's Mahabharat on television. There used to be only one television in the neighbourhood. I have always been interested in mythology since my early childhood. I still remember I was in standard 6 when I read Mahabharata, the Epic. There were mixed emotions while reading the book. Emotions of anger and rage when I read the chapter of Dyut Krida and Draupadi's disrobing in the courthouse of King Dhritarashtra and tears continuously flowing down the cheeks when Abhimanyu was killed in the 13th day of the battle of Mahabharata. The earlier books I have read about Mahabharata, all were a retelling of Ved Vyas's version of it. I always used to wonder how each character in that epic, has their perception of Mahabharata. And I always wanted to know the Abhimanyu's perception of Mahabharata.   Aniket's "Chakravyuh” is the answer to my question about Abhimanyu's perception of Mahabharata. The book is beautifully written by the author, where he shows us the battle of Mahabharata through the eyes of a teenage warrior. The writing style keeps you hooked up till the end and you can't control yourself without turning to the next page. Each character was detailed nicely, and while reading you can visualize them in front of you. That's the magic of Aniket's writing. The book consists of 14 chapters starting from chapter 0 while chapter 0 tells us the story before the battle of Mahabharata, and about the marriage of Abhimanyu with King Virat’s daughter princess Uttara. The marriage which is always known to us as a politically arranged marriage but Aniket’s book shows us the love aspect of that marriage and talks about where Abhimanyu falls in love with princess Uttara when he saw her for the first time. From Chapter 1 until the last chapter tells the story of the great battle of Mahabharata through Abhimanyu's eyes, his feelings and all the emotions churning inside his heart during the battle. How he handled his grief and sadness of losing his closed ones. How skillful and brave warrior he was of his age. And how sad felt about the battle fought between own blood and flesh for greed, power and in the name of bringing justice and establish the truth and righteousness. His feeling was deeply quoted in the book as, “When blood becomes enemy and thirst becomes the desire, and when the fear has killed the light of hope, I don't want to rise again.”  Each chapter starts with a beautiful quote which you can relate to your day to day life in a way or other. Author Aniket has not only done justice to the epic Mahabharata, but he has also shown us the story from the eyes of the bravest warrior of that time. When I finished reading the book, my eyelids were wet, and I sat there for a moment thinking about the unknown and letting the feeling and emotions within me to sink in. I tell you this book is really unputdownable! It's worth every word for everyone even if you're not into mythology. Get your copy here. For more book reviews, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download our magazine, Spunky Indian to read exclusive stories.