Bhima - Lone Warrior

Every time I read Mahabharata, there's a new perspective that comes out. Bhima, The Lone Warrior by MT Vasudevan Nair is narrated from Bhima's perspective. The best thing about this legendary story is that when you think you know every bit of the story, something new or completely unexpected pops up. The story line always remains the same. The moral is always the same - Victory of good over evil. But then when you dig deeper rather when you see through the eyes of different characters, the entire dimension changes. The story that on the surface seems quite straightforward opens up plethora of shades. The story that on surface looks victory of right over wrong suddenly ceases to have that clear cut line and exhibits different grey areas of human personality. Even the righteous men starts appearing weak. This book particularly shows Bhimasena in all his shades - his strength, his weaknesses, his choices, his guilt, his lust, etc. It even offers you a peek a boo into the divine birth mystery of the Pandavas. Even the divine intervention surrounding Draupadi's disrobement is presented otherwise. Krishna is portrayed as any other human being. He is equally good, bad, heartless, weak, cunning, honest like any other human being. Mahabharata is truly an epic as it deals with all the aspects of human psychology. The more I read it, the more it's reiterated that no human is perfect. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. There's no right or wrong path. There's always a path that's best for you in a particular circumstance. All in all, it's a great read.

An absolutely fantastic retelling of Mahabharata Story. Unlike the fantasy versions churned out in many comics, TV serials and story books, this story of Mahabharata from Bhimasena's point of view is a welcome change to this great Epic. Mr. Nair has penned this in Malayalam as Randamoozham (Second Turn) and aptly translated by Ms. Gita Kutty. The characters appear realistic and the story is believable making us realize Mahabharata could really have happened thousands of years ago. It is shown as a story of a war between two clans and probably a precursor to all the wars that continue to happen to this day. Amazon delivery and packaging was as usual good. The book print quality is good enough. I didn;t like the illustrations though. It is very immature and in fact looks very ugly. The book cover photo could have been better.

Many of us Indians are familiar with many versions of the Mahabharata. This rendition is both amazing and thought-provoking. A very serious book with important questions on a number of social dimensions it takes us through the Mahabharata through the eyes of Bhima though a new path. Never heavy, it can also be treated as humorous.

I love this translation of MT's "Randamoozham" by Gita. She had done an excellent job without loosing the crux of theme. The poetic language of the original version is really hard to translate from Malayalam. Bhima is the real hero of the epic Mahabharatha who fought very bravily from the front even though none had acknowledged it in its deserving spirit. The great writer painted this hero with a different touch that had resulted in an unmatchable masterpiece. In this new age of blockbuster adaptation of epic like Shiva trilogy by Amish or book series by Devdutt, Patnaik this book stands apart. The best matching works that I could recollect are Marathi classics by VS Khandekar (yayathi) or Narendra Kohli (Mahasamar)

The book expertly humanises the divinity while retaining the epics aura and dignity. Kudos to the author and the translator for a job well done. Thoroughly enjoyable read

Mahabharata; the timeless epic is so vast, diverse, alluring & as with any literary work its words, meanings & actions of its characters can be interpreted in “n” number of ways. Author Vasudevan gives us Bhima’s perspective & justifies doing so, even though I don’t agree with the Author I still found this version of Mahabharata interesting. Where the Author has excelled is in portraying the revered characters as realistic as possible, it makes us question their motives & actions. He has laid out bare the idiosyncrasies of both the Kauravas & Pandavas. None of the characters were pure in any sense, they all had grudges, hidden motives & twisted Dharma to suit their own agendas. This book also illustrated how the women in the Epic either played havoc or victim, the men were even worse by treating women with scant regard throughout. On the whole, this version of the epic is more sincere in its interpretation & never tries to show anyone has pure. Each character is just like any other human, they are either Dumb, Foolish, Stupid or driven by Greed, Lust, Vengeance & Power !

I have read a lot of Mahabharata fictions and it was rejuvenating to read one with bhim's perspective. I found some parts great. The translation is very clear. I love how the novel makes some utterly out of the world aspects of Mahabharata relatable to human life. I liked the character evaluation but sometimes Bhim's feelings becomes too vague in terms of the context. All in all it was a nice read but don't expect it to be canonical because it's not. I really didn't like how draupadi is depicted a manipulative shrew here but it's just author's pov so I can give it a miss.he has given a darker shade to everyone to show bhim as a victim. bhim here is very clear minded person who has his opinions which are constantly subdued by everyone else. His life is directed by yudhishtir and overshadowed by Arjun. He is taken advantage of by his love and betrayed by his mother. So he takes a role of tragic hero here.

Great read

A writer who can consistently paint endearing pictures of loss and personal conflict.Ranks amongst Kaalam as his finest work.An insightful dissection of the mind and motives of the Mahabharat's Bhima,turning inside out our most cherished opinions of this child-man.

I've read many variations and renderings of the wonderful "Mahabharata". Told from the 2nd Pandava son's view, this was truly a fresh perspective. The author thoroughly entertained me; yet forced me to think about angles I'd not seen before. I'm sorry to admit that I've always thought of Bhima as a big-dumb-jock-type... but never again. This book enhanced my respect and love of an epic that gets into your heart and soul.

Mr.Nair mixes irony, wit and longing within the perspective of the Mahabharata war as seen from Bhima's point of view. Bhima was a mighty warrior, the strongest man, passionate lover and formidable foe. All of these qualities have been wonderfully woven into this story. However, this Bhima is very unique from the son of Vayu of other renditions. He is distinctly an outsider within his own family and is called upon only when needed. He doesn't seem to resent his situation and has a wry sense of humor about his thoughts and speech. An enjoyable read, even though I didn't quite agree with Nair's interpretations most of the time.

Interesting read for someone who enjoys different versions of the Mahabharata. Real feel to a mythological tale. Kept me wanting more