The noteworthy book Mrutyunjay by renowned author Shivaji Sawant is a treasure of 700 pages – full of countless emotions and a journey of almost a hundred years. I had started to read Mrutyunjay, when I was in college and was halfway through but did not finish it. A friend happened to have an English translation of Mrutyunjay and with the hope that it will help with my reading pace, I jumped up on train unveiling the story of Karna.

The depth in which the author has described every character is incredible. After finishing the book, I almost felt like I personally knew all of them. The style of demarcating the book into first-person stories of the lead characters around Karna made the journey even more compelling.

We have a rich treasure of scriptures / traditions and Ramayana and Mahabharata – the two prominent of them shape up so many of our societal beliefs even today. We have heard about the war of Kurukshetra, Pandavas, the Kauravas, Guru Drona form our grandparents, or have a fond memory of watching Mahabharat on Doordarshan. But Shivaji ji’s book gives us a microscopic insights into the minds of all the people who shaped the events as we know them.

While I was cruising in the world of Ram, Sita, Raavan on Amish Tripathi’s ship, or meandering into Hastinapura through Shivaji Sawant ji’s writing, I was fascinated by the imagination of ancient India, and its glory. The way our mountains, valleys and rivers adorn our motherland is so heartwarming. It is hard to believe that the same rivers today are treated with trash and chemicals 😭 The same Ganga where Karna offered a million Arghyas, has bisleri water bottles and other plastic crap floating on it,

Wish we had an undo button 🙁

Anyways, coming back to the book, if you love mythology and ancient stories, do not miss reading Mrutyunjay. The original book is in marathi but its translations are available in many languages.

I read a beautiful hard cover golden embossed book – by Writer’s Workshop which is a small non-political publishing house devoted to Indian Creative writing. The English translation was done by P. Lal and Nandini Nopany. Had I not spend at least a couple of hours photographing the beautiful golden embossed light emitted through the pages in the golden hour, I would have finished the book a lot sooner 😁 I am a seeker for good light and beautiful frames, If you love to see something serene, see some pictures on my travel blog on Instagram

What are you currently reading?