Author Interview!

Here is my interview with Samarpita where I talk about my original plan to take the glamour world by storm and my ill - fated attempt to pull off a Stephen King. And of course, as you probably know already, there is lots about Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior - Prince. There is simply no shutting me up on the subject, short of paying me a fortune :)

Lessons from Gang - Rape, Violent Agitation and Death

I wrote this article for BehindIndia after the horrifying gang - rape case reported in New Delhi on 16 December 2012. In light of the more recent case where a photo - journalist from Mumbai was gang - raped on 22 August 2013, it would appear that unfortunately I was right about how we as a nation continue to close our eyes to the really important issues that plague the country.

The year 2012 may be winding down to a close but it refuses to go out with nary a murmur and we have been wracked with violent upheavals of the worst kind. In Delhi, a 23 year old medical student  was gang – raped on a moving bus and both she and her male friend were brutally assaulted with an iron rod before they were tossed out on a flyover half – naked. The victim is currently fighting for her life from a hospital bed. Since rape is commonplace in India, we have traditionally given it the attention we normally accord to performing our morning ablutions and have proceeded on our merry way. But the sheer brutality of the attack has galvanized a nation out of its turpitude and tentacles of outrage have spread out leaving in its wake a churning and heaving mass of killing passion. Protestors gathered at India Gate in their thousands to head towards Rashtrapati Bhavan demanding justice but somehow lofty principles vanished in a heartbeat leaving nothing but chaos as the demonstration turned violent and the cops had to resort to water – cannons and tear gas to restore order. And at the end of it all, one more innocent became a victim when a police constable, Suresh Tomar was attacked by hooligans and left unconscious. He succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

This kind of savage knee – jerk reaction is so characteristic of India and Indians. We spend entire lifetimes closing our eyes to injustice. We plod on with our jobs and lives believing that if we refuse to see evil, hear evil or speak of evil then we can escape its embrace in our lives and avoid becoming victims. As long as terrible things don’t happen to us and anybody we give two hoots about, we are content. So we pay our bribes, refuse to take a stand and we certainly cannot be bothered with helping those in need or fixing our country even if it is falling apart sick as it is with the rot of corruption. And then every once in a while something tragic happens on such a large scale that we are forced to open our eyes and acknowledge that nobody is safe. Becoming aware of the truth is one thing but handling its consequences is far trickier. In the United States of America, Adam Lanza killed his mother before walking into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killing 20 children and 6 adults and turning the gun far too late on himself. Fighting past the bottomless grief and despair, America has been wrestling with its conscience and trying to decide whether an American’s constitutional right to own a gun is worth so many lives. In Ireland, Savita Halappanavar lost her life because of the Catholic nation’s strict anti – abortion laws. Her death saw them grapple with their faith while reconciling its demands to the needs of its people even as passion boiled over on the lava of grief Savita’s death engendered. But finally, good sense prevailed and laws legalizing abortion when the mother’s life is at risk came into being. In India, the Delhi – bus gang rape has resulted in a torrential outpouring of grief and anger but little else. There have been calls for rapists to be hanged or castrated or castrated and hanged. Demands have been made on the government as well. The populace will not be put off with our leaders clucking over the incident with sympathy or empty promises, they want action and they want it fast with new laws regarding rape, fast – track courts to prevent such cases from languishing in courts for all eternity and more protection for women. In a commendable move, citizens took to the streets to demand justice for the victim. In a not so commendable move, some of the protestors took to violence with the cops responding in kind. At the end of it all, only anarchy seems to reign supreme having beaten good sense into oblivion. Now like a drunkard or a dieter after a night of unrestricted bingeing on booze and forbidden goodies, we are all going to wake up feeling sick to the stomach and in need of a healthy dose of denial to forget the irrefutable fact that we are idiots who deserve the country we live in, the government which rules us, and the monsters we have raised ourselves to give us endless grief. Worse, nameless horror lurks around every corner and the next headline is likely to have our name on it. What does one do when confronted with the unpalatable truth? Why we do what we always have… Get on with our ablutions, skip the boring news section served up by overenthusiastic journalists and go straight to the entertainment or sports section. Then we can obsess about a celeb’s dieting woes or sex life and howl for Sachin’s retirement (and bemoan his loss when we have successfully pressured him into doing just that) and Dhoni’s blood. As for rapists and murderers they will lie low for a while remembering full well that their time will come soon when the nation has gone back to sleep the way it usually does. The original article appeared here

Anusha Parthasarathy of THE HINDU totally Gets Arjuna and me!

Here is what Anusha Parthasarathy of The Hindu says about Arjuna. Truth be told, I nearly wept like a baby and it was not cos it made me sad :)

What, perhaps, sets this book apart from other retellings is the fact that it doesn’t try to get into his shoes. In fact, it detaches itself from its protagonist and analyses his persona as one would a character on the screen or in a book. This helps the reader look at the story objectively, even if the focus is on Arjuna, rather than look at it through his eyes.

In this book, however, one looks not just at the big picture but also at the little details that stoke this fire. What is endearing about Anuja’s storytelling is that it isn’t in chronological order. While there is a seamless flow to the narrative, she goes back and forth, forging connections between events, analysing their intent and clearly explaining what a particular event leads to.

You can read the rest of this awesome review here

Arjuna is a page turner!

Love it or hate it, the consensus seems to be that Arjuna grabs you by the throat and does not let go. In other words, it a big time page turner!

What I liked about the book is that the author does not make any attempt whatsoever to treat Arjuna as divine anywhere despite being his ardent fan. Instead, she focuses on the fact that despite being blessed with divine powers, he was human too. Just like all of us, he had his strengths, and follies. He was arrogant sometimes, humble at other times. Most of the book (Rather all of it) is written against the backdrop of the epic Mahabharata. In fact, one could say that this book is a more concise version of the epic. The narration however, does not take its beauty away. The language and narration used surely makes this one a page turner .

Find the rest of the review here.

Kind words for Arjuna!

This is what Mr. Hemant Kanoria, Chairman and Managing Director, Srei Infrastructure Finance said about Arjuna in an interview for BusinessWorld:

I am currently reading Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior Prince by Anuja Chandramouli. It is a mesmerising tale of a warrior prince, Arjuna, brought to life in a very vivid and endearing way. The book beautifully captures two very strong aspects, first, the trust, love, attachment and affection amongst the five brothers while the second one, is the discipline and willingness to learn, which resulted in Arjuna acquiring skills and expertise from both humans and Gods.

This piece originally appeared here

More reviews for Arjuna!

It is fast read and worth a trip down the memory lane of your favorite epic.

You can find the rest of the review by Poonam Sharma here

Anuradha Goyal had this to say about Arjuna!

A rave review for Arjuna!

Some reviewers make you want to kill yourself, others make you want to take up the near impossible and criminal quest (I think) of tracking them across the nebulous world of the internet sitting them down and forcing them to comprehend that they did not get you or the book at all and make them take back every nasty thing they wrote, ideally not at gunpoint although it is an option. And then there are those who not only get what you set out to do but love you for it and write a glowing review of your work that fills your heart with heady joy that lets you face the world with the goofiest grin plastered across your mug that highlights your pimples making them look less like unsightly blemishes. The high is sufficient to carry you across the next few months barring the not improbable possibility of a wickedly critical review that dismisses your book as utter rubbish and brings you back to earth with a crash that can jar your eyeballs loose and push you into that dark place where you feel the need to scream into your pillow.
Thank you for your patience! FYI insecure authors (I love referring to myself that way!) are given to the occasional bouts of raving and ranting. Now on to the review that made me see double rainbows, butterflies, and chocolate milkshakes wherever I went today!

A Trail of Words...: Arjuna by Anuja Chandramouli

"...witty, touching, historical and magical. Every part of Arjuna's life is explained in such a vivid detail as if the author, herself, has witnessed the happenings and came up with this masterpiece" writes Sundeep Naidu of booksreviewwala. He also thanked me for being my grandmother! Read the rest of his review here

Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior – Prince Review by Debdatta Dasgupta Sahay

Anuja Chandramouli has expertly woven in the story of Arjuna’s life in this novel with her crisp language and smooth flow of writing. The chapters were clear and each complete in its own right. It was almost easy to imagine that I was reading a series of short stories relating to the same cast. Yet they connected and complimented each other very well to form a novel that can claim some acclaim.
You can read the rest of the review here

Arjuna is "extremely readable" says Robin Shukla

Arjuna is "extremely readable" says Robin Shukla of the Afternoon Despatch and Courier. You can read the rest of the review and his insights on women in times good and bad here

And just to clarify Mr. Shukla, the sexual incontinence of the sages, seers and the rest of the holier - than - thou types was supposed to be amusing :)

Charming, delectable etc etc.: Priyanka and Leo share their thoughts on Arjuna

Anuja has wrapped the ancient story in a delectable christmas box of fluent writing.

What I liked most – her choice of words and flair in writing. I’m not shy to admit that I learnt quite a number of new words from her. She has written chapters one after another seamlessly. I am much impressed with the form of this book, not the content...

Read the rest of the review by Priyanka Roy Banerjee here

What I like in the book is Anuja’s understanding and passion for the story, as she tells every detail and the reader can’t help but turn the page to find out what more is there for them to read. Be it the childhood games of the Pandavas, or the rivalry between Karna and Arjuna, she tells it with a charm.

Read the rest of the review by Leo aka Vinay here

Reshmy Pillai's review of Arjuna

Anuja’s writing style is good. She has a knack of keeping the readers engrossed... You can read the rest of the review by Reshmy Pillai, here

Reviewer stays up all night with Arjuna!

This reviewer was in bed with a wicket cold and temperature. So she turned to Arjuna for solace and wound up spending the entire night with him! Hopefully she has affected a miraculous recovery. As for me, I should be able to do a couple of months on the strength of this compliment alone :)

You will find Samarpita Mukherjee - Sharma's review here. 

The bitter and the better!

Some more reviews are out for Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior Prince. Posting three links below: One reviewer loved it, one hated it and the third went hmm... Ah well, guess that is the way the cookie crumbles!

The author has done a splendid job in clarifying those doubts of people like me by mentioning almost everything about Arjuna. The book covers every key events of life of not only Arjuna but also of the characters who had influenced his life. If you want to study Arjuna, or lets say Mahabharata in a new and refreshing manner, this book is a must buy. Though not famous as of now, this book will go a long way... Read the rest of it by Supriya Tyagi here

Disappointing... If you really must read the rest here

"the book was difficult to put down once I started on it! And that's saying something," For the rest of the review by Chicky Kadambari, go here

Review of Arjuna on Bookish (IndiaBookStore.net)

This 360-page dedication to Veda Vyasa, truly the finest storyteller ever, is solely a retelling of the tale of Arjuna, the valiant warrior of Hindu mythology, and his role in Mahabharata. Mahabharata is by itself a tale with a magical mix of emotions which renders any reader mesmerized. However, the uniqueness of this book lies in fact that the author retold this tale in a simple, quick and fascinating manner.

Though prior knowledge of Mahabharata partially ruined the reading experience for me, anyone who doesn’t know much about Mahabharata and Arjuna would surely find this very captivating. In the last eight chapters, many times I found myself unfathomably immersed in the proceedings of the book. So much, that when Abhimanyu and Karna died, I literally cried. 

Read the rest of the review by Lakshmikanth Koundinya for IndiaBookStore here.

Arjuna banner on uRead.com and my issues with cameras!

This ad is for uRead.com. Check it out here Nice of them to advertise the book, especially with their 36,625 likes on Facebook :) Am super obliged to those good folks :) :)
My publishers ask me to provide photos for these ads and I wish they would ask for something that is not so notoriously difficult for me to obtain. The thing is I feel the same way about cameras and dogs in that I'd rather not have one staring at me hungrily. And the former in particular is a bitch with its annoying need to expose every trace of every pimple I have ever had since I hit puberty and discovered to my chagrin that a blemish free complexion was definitely not one of my God - given assets! Besides cameras are infamous for making you look fatter than you are with the unhappy result that you lose what little self - esteem you have regarding your looks especially since all your friends seem hellbent on posting unflattering pics of you on fb, twitter, whatsapp and whatever else have you. (Thank goodness for the untag option!)
Such traumatic issues with cameras have been directly responsible for yours truly breaking out into a cold sweat every time my well meaning publishers ask that I provide pics of my mug to help boost sales (I get nightmarish visions of folks tearing out ads with my face and using it to scare away mice, crows or ward away the evil spirits that are likely to give the stink eye to their lovely homes) . I scour through my photo albums and my self - image takes repeated hits that it can ill afford as I try to make peace with the fact that there are thousands of photos in this world which feature me looking fat, constipated, fat and constipated or just plain grotesque.
Anyways, my talented photographer hubby came to the rescue this time when I called him to let loose the crazies and to harangue him on his tendency to take award worthy photos of his children and every creepy crawly that ever lived on this good planet while failing to take a single decent shot of his lovely wife. By way of apology for his glaring omission, he dug up this pic where I don't look entirely horrifying and mailed it to me. In my turn, I dutifully mailed the pic to my publishers. I can breathe now, that is until the next time they ask for a pic and send me scurrying for cover.

ARJUNA review on Vault of Books!

Anuja’s triumphant debut lays out in lavish detail the life of the greatest warrior of the epic Mahabharata times, the pandava prince Arjuna. Fast read, written in a competent prose and the action keeps moving along at a steady clip.
You can read the rest of the review by Sachin Dev, Vault of Books here

Arjuna makes YouTube debut!

Hey there folks!
     Do check out the March episode of Shoma Vs Roma in Just Released for a glimpse of Arjuna and moi :) The clip can be viewed right here.

Mr. Raghu Krishnan of The Economic Times shares his thoughts on Arjuna!

" Anuja Chandramouli's book is a very passionate one, right from the dedication (which reads "For Veda Vyasa--the finest storyteller this world has ever seen and the man who gave me the great love of my life") to the conclusion ("His embodied soul freed itself and soared heavenwards to where Krishna, Abhimanyu, and all those he had loved best, stood waiting to receive him."). It is the intensity of her writing which transforms the book into something which is much more than a 21st-century retake of the Mahabharatha. While reading her book on the greatest archer-warrior of Kurukshetra, one can almost hear M S Subbulakshmi sing "Arjuna vacha" in her eternally-popular recording of the "Vishnu Sahasranamam", introduced by Rajaji and played in millions of homes not just as a part of everyday life but at the moment when the soul leaves the body."

Mr. Raghu Krishnan, retired deputy editor of the Economic Times shares his thoughts on Arjuna here

Thank you so much, Mr Raghu Krishnan for my favorite compliment on the book. Comparing my writing to MS Subbulakshmi's heavenly singing, makes me so happy, I could cry :) 

Win a hot date with Arjuna!

     If like me you believe that the best things in life are free, I have some great news. All you have to do is take part in a simple contest and before you know it, you just may become the proud owner of a copy of Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior - Prince written by yours truly :) And if like me, your idea of a hot date is a night curled up in bed with a good book (and a giant box of ferrero rocher) then you cannot do better than Arjuna! (And I am not bragging, he is an amazing guy and you can really get intimate with him :) )

    Indiabookstore is having a Women's day contest - "womanity" and "5 lucky winners will receive books from two young, amazing female authors "  The other author is Parul Mittal.

    For details about this contest you can visit here