Bheem: Destiny’s Warrior
Author - Jyotin Goel
Publisher - Penguin Books, Rs 250
Goel’s perspective of Bheem is of someone who has more than just muscle power, writes Mihika Rao
There is an adage — never judge a book by its cover. But sometimes, one ends up picking it up because the cover design looks great. This has never been truer than for Jyotin Goel’s novel. The cover illustration by Rahul R Nambiar catches one’s attention. A tall man with long flowing hair with a sun tattoo on the chest surrounded by tall buildings piques your interest. The back story says that as Mandodari, the queen of lanka watches the destruction of her golden kingdom helplessly, her fury erupts as a curse. Morphing into an incurable virus, the blight takes root in the vaanaras and sets out on a destructive path through the centuries. Unknown to present day humans, the seed of their total annihilation has already been sown.
This makes one reach out for this book. The filmmaker-author’s first attempt at writing was Setopus: Trouble On The High Cs. It was released last year and was well liked by the child readers. Then, the author went on to write two more in the series before he penned Bheem. Goel is otherwise known for films like Safari, Bird Idol and Hum Hain Rahee Car Ke.
This novel comes with plenty of twists and turns. It is action-packed and keeps the reader on the edge the whole time. Bheem, who in Mahabharat, did Yuddhistir, Arjun and Krishna’s bidding, in Goel’s novel finds himself all alone fighting evil. He has superhuman abilities. He not only can read the mind of the person in front of him, he can also experience every single emotion that the person has ever gone through. He has super hearing ability and can fight even in extreme darkness — this he can do by merely sensing the position of his enemy. For a young adult, things could not get any funkier and entertaining.
English used here is simple, easy to follow and uncomplicated. Though there are certain terms like Cocuss lacca (millions of insects) and epidemiology (study of occurrence of diseases in different groups of people and why) that may confuse a person from Humanities, but enthuses a Science buff. However, these terms are far-between and one doesn’t really have to sit with a dictionary.sitting with a dictionary can prove to be annoying and take away the fun of reading a thriller.
It is a multi-perspective book with a lot of characters. Each of these characters has their own back stories. This can be a bit tedious and if one misses a few lines or if their attention slips then you may have to go back a couple of pages to catch the thread once again. So those looking for limited characters may find reading Bheem a little annoying. However for people who have loved reading Shiva trilogy, Jaya and Palace of Illusions will find this a pleasant read.
That Goel penned this modern take on iconic characters from our epic is not surprising. In the last few years we have had several authors who have written novels on these lines with great results. There is something about humanising mythological characters that grabs one’s attention; that they roamed earth like we do today makes these epic characters believable and easy to connect with.
The backdrop and setting — Himalayas, caves and streets of modern cities — have been beautifully messed together as we go back and forth through the eyes of Saragha, the immortal money. But not all is not hunky dory here given the present crime situation in India, the violence in this book will not necessarily have the right impact on the young minds who pick up this novel. Here, both Bheem and Ashvatthama kill with impunity even though no guns or knives are used. The description of bodies strewn is rather off-putting.
Overall, it is a book that makes for an interesting read for those who want to try their hand at reading a novel that has a modern twist to an epic.
The reviewer is a student of Gyan Bharti School and a voracious reader of mythological fiction