Customer Reviews

Armies of Hanuman (Ramayana series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this, the fourth book of Ashok Banker's retelling of the Ramayana, Armies of Hanuman, we are reunited with our characters 13 years from the date we left them beginning their fourteen year exile. Rama, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshman have fought alongside a motley band of outcast and outlaws against the Asur hoard for the whole time.

In this fourth book Mr. Banker continues to do a masterful job of bringing an ancient story to life and making it accessible to those of all cultures. Again he has managed to walk the fine line of neither over-explaining concepts and beliefs to those who are unfamiliar with them, and thus boring others, while at the same time never leaving any reader in the dark. In fact, in this volume I found that, either from the knowledge I had accumulated from the earlier installments, or even cleverer integration on the author's part, the story, the characters, and the moral lessons and education were woven together even more seamlessly. Maybe it's because now that Rama and ourselves have proceeded down our paths together into maturity, we are living our teachings instead of learning them.

Whatever the reason, or however the Mr. Banker has done it I found Armies of Hanuman had an even better flow and narrative then any of the previous titles. Instead of admiration for simply managing the feat of presenting the story in an understandable way, competing with enjoyment of the tale, I was able to just sit back and read the adventures of Rama as I would any other novel. That is an amazing accomplishment on the part of Mr. Banker

The Armies of Hanuman is another example of Ashok Banker's abilities as a story teller par excellence. The characters continue to develop and mature, his villains, although evil and despicable, are multifaceted and interesting, and the introduction of new characters is handled seamlessly and naturally. There is a certain organic quality to the way this tale is progressing; it's like watching the development of an exceptional plant from a green and tender shoot to the point that it bears fruit. Right now we are beginning to taste its first sweet rewards.

i'm pleased to tell you that i'm again the first person to buy this book in pondicherry. Finished the book in about five hours. i was left speechless by the book. Another superlative effort by Banker!!!!

The battle ends after 13 years, with Rama securing a decisive victory in janasthana. Ravana is magically revitalised by Surpanakha's return to Lanka, and he immediately starts his plans to destroy Rama. I loved those chapters that dealt with the new Lanka created by mandodhari, during Ravana's 13 years of "slumber". Ashok puts up a lot of details that seem so awesome- its like he has a "window" to that age and is just writing it down, as he sees it. The descriptions of lanka are truly magnificent!!!!

The scene in which Sita is abducted is just too good!!!! and rama's sorrow is heart rending. The character of Hanuman plays a crucial role in this book. His admiration for Rama, who is a champion of dharma, is very ardent. i liked the scene where Rama and Lakshmana come to Kishkinda and see the vanars, who are engaged in a council. From here, the book goes very fast. Rama decides to fight Vali and enable Sugreeva to become king, thereby getting his support and armies in the search for his Sita...

a rivetting read... banker scores 9.5 once again!!!!!

I am a teacher at the local Indian Sunday School who's faces the challenge of making Ramayana and other epics more interesting and palatble to NRI teens. Ashok has finaly done that. For that I am eternally grateful. The first such book of this genre that I had read was Elaine Aaron's Samraat, many years ago and more recently KM Munshi's Krishnavatara. This retelling of the epic is complete, engaging and is the winner of the ultimate compliment: My teenager wants to read all of the novels after reading the first one. I of course have finished reading all of them, some of which I had to order from Amazon UK since they were not yet available in the US. Thank you Ashok

If you are reading my Ramayana series, then I gently urge and request you to please not buy the UK or US editions, even if they're available at bargain prices. Which they probably are, since the publishers there have more or less put the books out of print, due to a lack of interest by non-Indian readers.

The Indian editions are the definitive editions of my work, containing a lengthy Introduction by me titled 'Retelling the Ramayana', which provides an essential perspective on the work, the final versions of all the books--including some small but significant changes, particularly in some book endings--no glossary, thank God, and are generally the best-edited, designed and published versions, in my opinion at least. In short, they're the Author's Preferred Edition, particularly the new hardcover omnibus editions, which represent the story in the way I had originally intended and are truly sumptuous to hold (and behold). Also, significantly, they aren't packaged as 'Fantasy' or 'SF' like the firang ones, which is a ridiculously transparent attempt at cashing in on the commercial success of the fantasy genre a la LoTR and Harry Potter. Please, people, my Ramayana series is a retelling of an epic, and that's exactly what it should be called, 'Epic'. I'd venture to call it 'Itihasa', but even Mythology, which is the label Penguin uses for the books here in India, is acceptable. But certainly not Fantasy as in one of the ubiquitous Tolkien rip-offs that are churned out in droves by western publishers, or even SF, both genres that can sometimes be wonderful in their own right, but are totally inappropriate in the context of an epic that pre-dates Tolkien by some thousands of years, and the entire tradition of western literature as well!

Frankly, I feel so strongly about this that I'd even go so far as to say, if you can't get the Indian editions, then don't read the books! That's why I'm currently in the process of re-acquiring the rights to the US and UK editions and they will soon be out of print everywhere but India. Which is how it ought to be: this is a quintessentially Indian story, written by a contemporary Indian for other contemporary Indians to read. And the Indian editions are really the only way to go.

Ashok K. Banker
www.ashokbanker.com

Armies of Hanuman, the fourth book in the Ramayana series by Ashok Banker, retains all the qualities which have made the first three books so popular -- gripping storyline, believable characters, a strong philosophical background rooted in the Vedic way of life, and a fresh treatment of the epic.

The story begins with the last battle between Rama and the Rakshasas of Dandakaranya. From the first page itself, it is clear that this is yet another un-puttable book from Mr Banker :). the action is taut and original, providing ample glimpses of the author's uncanny ability to create images from words. every scene in this battle, and the rest of the story, jumps out of the pages. The reader cannot help but swing from tree to tree, with the beloved hanuman, watching the bloodbath unfold. After a exhausting battle, he pauses to catch his breath -- only to realize that there are at least 300 more pages to go !! such is the tapestry woven with words that every strand resonates with clarity of thought!

Mr Banker does exploit artistic liberty, especially for a retelling, in the episode of Vali vs Rama, where he portrays Vali as a vanar who has crossed over to the dark side, and hence needs to be eliminated. It is a very original (am I using this word too much in this review? Hmm . wonder why ??? :) ) take on a traditionally controversial topic, and gives some food for thought.

This book introduces two new social systems into the "Rama-verse" (Ramayana's Universe) -- Lanka and Kishkindha, the cities of the Rakshasas and the Vanars. We have certainly been to lanka before, but it is in this book that we are intimately introduced to characters other than Ravana himself and Jatayu, his erstwhile hench-vulture -- Mandodari, Vibhishana, Ravana's sons, and of course - Surpanakha, who plays an important role in the story. The vanar city is beautifully rendered, with detailed descriptions of the various species and sub-species of Vanars.

what sets this retelling aside from all other retellings is the strength of sita's character. Sita exudes confidence befitting an Arya princess, even in the wilderness. She is not shy to pick up a sword to fend off Ravana's advances, and at the same time, displays "stree-sulabh bhav" , yearning for motherhood and a simple life with her husband.

I am eagerly waiting the release of the next book !!

I have read all the five parts of the Ramayana and here's my review:

It all started with my reading the Prince of Ayodhya. I picked it up from the bookstores as I wanted to plunge into the epics of India and chose a rather unknown author for taking forward this quest of mine.

The first chapter on the 15-year old Rama being tormented by Ravana in a nightmare was captivating. But when I proceeded further on Ashok's descriptions about Dasaratha and his amorous tastes for wine and women, I was wondering whether this is a fantasized version of the great epic. I put down the book for a few days (for no fault of the book or its author, I now realize!) and then picked it up again to read on. I could, thereafter, never stop reading. The entire book was interesting because it was fresh, it was a modern way of retelling, the characters were live.

I quickly purchased all the parts and read them without much of breaks.

I realized that Ashok is a gifted storyteller; he has done enormous research of the epics to be so much in control over this complex subject; his mix of the religious philosophy with fiction and drama is perfect. It's over a month since I read the last part viz. Bridge of Rama and I'll capture here my memories of the epic tale from this master storyteller:

1. Rama's pristine purity is amazing. While being a very strong and brave person that he naturally is, his being humble in the presence of his parents, brothers, countrymen is a lesson every reader would love to emulate. Rama is portrayed in full colour epic hero that he really was and is.
2. When Rama shares the sorrow of his father's demise with Guha, the description of the scenario makes you weep for Rama and Lakshman.
3. Sita's depiction as a brave, bold lady ever ready to challenge an opponent, is refreshing.
4. Ravana making a proposal to Sita that he can give a royal pardon if she were to only admit to the Lankan public that the seed of the child she was bearing was that of Ravana's, was well portrayed.
5. The battlefield scenes were rather gory and I felt so much detailing could have been avoided. Despite this the suspense at the battlefield were thrilling at times. One example is: Rama finding a way at last to defeat the Beserkers in the battlefield, which lifted me off my feet.
6. Rama negotiating peace with the demon cousins of Supanaka where in one breath he apologizes for the error of Lakshman slicing of rakshasi's nose and ears while at the same time pardons her illicit advances towards him was glorious.
7. Rama motivating a humble vanar into a mighty Hanuman was amazing. After reading those parts I visited the Nanganallur Anjaneya Temple in Chennai where people worship a 32 feet mighty Hanuman statue. Prostrating before that mighty but humble statue gave me a new meaning of Maruti. And the surname 'Whiteleaf' was again refreshing.
8. The characters: Bearface Ratnakar (who is sure to turn Valmiki), scheming Mantara, boisterous Guha, angry young vanar Angad, mischievous vanar Sakra, terrible Supanaka, cowardly Mareech, more terrible Ravana, ever-obedient and angry Lakshman, sagely Vishwamitra, lustful Kaikeyi... are all very well portrayed by the author. So much so that the characters jump off the book and play the tale before you.

The depiction is like a large canvas painting where the master painter has ensured that he paints even the characters and objects in the far background in vivid detail an colour.

Overall, all parts blend well to make it a great epic. The storyline is consistent and actually improves with each part.

This book wasn't as good as I expected it to be, and by Banker's standards, it was definitely below his usual talent. I especially didn't like the description of Hanuman as a scrawny, small vanar without any confidence. I also expected a mace fight between the exiled vanar king Sugriva and the evil usurper Vali. But no, instead, Sugriva never encounters Vali in a one-on-one, and the usurper is killed in a different fashion (how I will not tell you). However, that is not to say that the book is bad. In fact, if you did not have as high of expectations as I did, you will really enjoy it. The book starts off with the riveting conclusion to the Battle of Janasthana (which goes on for seven, awesome chapters). The abduction of Sita is superbly written, and I could read that part over and over again and still get chills. All in all, this book is highly recommended, but keep in mind (for those Ramayana fans) that this book does have its flaws.

I was encouraged by the author's approach towards a more fleshy and authentic retelling of the age old epic, starting with Prince of Ayodhya, which is arguably the most readable in the series. This one comes second and is really very far removed from the original, but interesting nevertheless. By far the most interesting parts are the kidnapping of Sita and the Ravana/Mandodhari/Vibeeshana trio. The characters are very unlike the epic archetypes, Sita weilds a sword and fights very effectively to ward off the kidnap and at the same time does not forget to be the chaste hindu wife who longs for kids and is bhabhi-mom to her br-in-law laxman. Ravana continues to be the sorcerer and grows into a sexual predator/deviant with a gold tower and exploits that can put Hugh Hefner to shame. The sad part is that the actual RAvana was a scholar and good king in spite of all that. Mandodhari is totallly reinvented as the woman who revamps Lanka in the absence of her brooding husband. Many things like that.
It is definitely a good attempt at rewriting the epic - but very stereotyped hindi movie style and sometimes contrived. Sita is already pregnant so it is easy to imagine how she would be preserved of her chastity (maybe) and it is hard to imagine anything else given the level of contrived values. Banker's Ravana is very far from the Ravana of the epic who has a genuine ethical conflict after kidnapping another man's wife - he can be a rapist with no effort at all.

Read for entertainment only, does not serve any other purpose and definitely no spiritual appeal whatsoever.