ASUR || AVIK MUKHOPADHYAY || অসুর || অভীক মুখোপাধ্যায়

The story of the Ramayan has been told innumerable times. The enthralling story of Ram, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravan, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors, that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence. But what if Ravan and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayan had never been told. Asur is the epic tale of the vanquished Asur people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3000 years. “For thousands of years, I have been vilified and my death is celebrated year after year in every corner of India. Why? Was it because I challenged the Gods for the sake of my daughter? Was it because I freed a race from the yoke of caste-based Dev rule? You have heard the victor’s tale, the Ramayan. Now hear the Ravanayan, for I am Ravana, the Asur, and my story is the tale of the vanquished.” “No epics will ever be written about me. I have suffered both Ravan and Ram- the hero and the villain or the villain and the hero. When the stories of great men are told, my voice maybe too feeble to be heard. Yet, spare me a moment and hear my story, for I am Bhadra, the Asur, and my life is the tale of the loser.” The ancient Asur empire lay shattered into many warring petty kingdoms reeling under the heel of the Devs. In desperation, the Asurs look up to a young saviour , Ravan. Believing that a better world awaits them under Ravan, common men like Bhadra decide to follow the young leader. With a will of iron and a fiery ambition to succeed, Ravan leads his people from victory to victory and carves out a vast empire from the Devs. But even when Ravan succeeds spectacularly, the poor Asurs find that nothing much has changed for them. It is when that Ravan, by one action, changes the history of the world. The bestseller novel by Anand Neelakantan has been translated to Bengali by Avik Mukhopadhyay.