The Vow of Parvati

Written for #1000reviewersclub by @IndicaBooksIntroduction and BackdropFrom the get-go, [a:Aditi Banerjee 13688033 Aditi Banerjee https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1564437808p2/13688033.jpg] establishes the tone, mood and intention of her narration. Inspired by the Shiva Puranam, she presents the legendary, indivisible and invincible love shared by Rudra and Sati, Shiva and Parvati, Purusha and Prakriti and all the elemental opposites whose attraction far exceeds their differences that comprise the material Universe we reside in, cementing the notion that our existence itself is beholden to the everlasting fervour of cosmic love. This is very much a romance novel first.There is no mistake in the tone of the book - its a fictionalised re-telling of a popular puranic lore, with highly romantacised aesthetic notes, modernised dialogues and a quirky western disposition be it Vishnu grinning in playful, perceptive mischief, Nandi harrumphing at the mouth of the cave, or Sati gushing deep-red at the sight of Rudra's resounding gait - events which are clearly interpolated as per the author's imagination and fascinations. The books reads very much like a western sitcom/drama series infused into the Indian pantheon of Gods, which makes them all the author's characters than anything academic or serious. They are most definitely inspired by the original but present themselves with a flair that can only be a product of the author's imagination. It may be a tale of voluptuous apsaras, daring devas, radiant devis and the omniscient Trimurti, but through the anthropomorphisation of the pantheon-inspired Gods, the author makes their emotion, sentiment and temperament parallel to that of the humans.The author pitches beyond the boundaries of doubt that this is not a replacement or a guide for the original Puranam, but a spawn of creativity and bhakti.My Experience With This GenreIn the interest of transparency, I must confess myself bottle-necked when it comes to any permutation of romance and fiction. It is a skill that is being worked on but raw nonetheless. With a vast arrays of tropes, double entendres, euphemisms, alliterations, personifications and more literary devices, it is easy to get lost in caverns of copious collections of contemporary and classical constructions, clauses, citations and comparisons. The following, while adhering to the rules of literary reviewing, will be subjective (as is the fickle genre of fiction) in order to accurately portray what I felt while engaging with the text as opposed to what the author's motive may have been.Stylisation of Shiva and Parvati The Love Story As mentioned before, this is an east-meets-west novel where the disposition, both physical and in dialogue are that of a popular western TV shows, superimposed on an Indian-inspired pantheon of Gods. There is a very stark resemblance of Sati to JK Rowling's Harry Potter, in that they're both the ‘chosen ones', unusually gifted who will one day decide the ‘fate of the world' and use tears to save their animal from injury (although it was the animal who saved Harry Potter). Similarly, there are parallels to training where Brihaspati tutors her into creating worlds to become a Devi, just like Harry Potter attending wizarding classes to sharpen his skills. A major flaw here exists in the form of the author not specifying why she was special and simply asserted she was - the devas cherished her, her father had a soft corner, she was the favourite of her preceptor's and the cherry blossom of Mount Meru - but the reason is left out and simply asserted. This may not be news to many readers who grew up within the culture but is a glaring gap to those who seek to or reading for merriment. Sati is introduced as the daughter of Daksha, the purohit of the Devas. Dainty and protected, the author beautifully describes her romance with Universe, as she dances from planet to star, caressing the creations of Brahma and pampering them to no bounds - a precursor to becoming Jagadamba, or the Mother of the Universe.The author's flair for describing Sati's every intimate though, action and desire is commendable, almost making you hear the chiming of her jewellery, feeling the velvet veil she rests on and taste the unceasing and unconditional love she has for existence - a heavy indication of the author wielding the Mills and Boon prose to its limit. However, the unchecked use of this trope begins to decay the zesty, enthusiastic and introverted personality of Sati to become demure and a (sacrificial) pawn in a man's chessboard. There is a lack of consistency as her characterisation shifts from her natural personality to that of one seen through the eyes of Rudra, which leads to loss of trust in the protagonist. For instance, there was little to no reason for exaggerated signs of shock, awe and attachment when Rudra saved her from falling off the tree with a motion of his thumb. Given we read Sati star-hopping and creating new worlds a few moments ago, this was not beyond the realm of surprise, yet the author employed the most magnificent accessories to describe what was a pretty believable and an ordinary situation. This kept spiraling downwards as Rudra took up a cliched “alpha” and “domineering” role in an attempt to hide his feelings for Sati, while retaining an over-the-top disdain towards her. While we have the motif of “opposites balance out each other” scattered across the book, the subsequent interactions between Sati-Rudra took up a toxic and emotionally manipulative flavour - not unlike the average high school romance. The only reason it worked out was because Sati, for some baffling reason, kept up with the punches for no other reason than he was Rudra. This attempt at mixing bhakti in an anthropomorphic story falls flat since it portrays many negative traits one sees in a dying relationship or courtship. His existence was enough for Sati to burst into an internal monologue about how timorous he makes her feel while Rudra did little to reciprocate (despite wanting to) and engaged in unnecessary teenage awkwardness by “turning his back to leave but secretly wanting to stay” or being rude for no reason other than to portray masculinity. I've lost count on how many times Sati “lost her heart” to Rudra for doing little more than walking or existing. Despite sulking for a long time about how she was not ready to become a full-fledged Devi yet, a touch from Rudra was enough to transform her from the girl who enjoyed whirling with the planets and playing with star dust to a blood-thirsty Goddess of Power, Mahakali. There is no intimation, forewarning or build-up - the change is sudden enough to jerk you out of immersion and wonder if you received a book with missing pages. What adds to the frustration is Rudra grinning as she's amidst mass slaughter about how beautiful she looks with darkened skin and a mala of skulls, showing superficiality of the Nth degree and portrays her as far as one could be from Dakshinakali, the destroyer of ego. The name dropping of Durga and Kali doesn't help the larger readerbase understand who they are and why Sati gets to have all this prowess with no effort put into getting them apart from blushing beet-red for what seems to be a permanent feature of her now. There is little done to explore Shiva's emotions as he's depicted as cold, calculating and callous till the very end of the Parvati arc - bordering Jacob Black-esque (Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga) traits. But again, this is the author's Rudra and Sati normalised to fit the understanding of humans. The Children The book ends in a positive note as the interaction between Parvati and Shiva balances out. No longer is Shiva manipulative, dismissive or downright rude but acknowledges her individuality and treats her as an equal. This is another sudden shift in temperament as we do not get to experience in prose the realisation and changing of Shiva's attitude towards his consort. Nevertheless, the final arc brings into picture Karthikeyan, the God of War and Ganapathi, the God of Prosperity and Beginnings which sails the book into a happy twilight after overcoming family drama, misconceptions, culminating in an Avengers-like battle with the destruction of Tripura.ConclusionTo conclude, the Gods seen in the book are those belonging to the Aditiverse, and while they may have parallels with the ones we worship, are characters of their own right and originality with clear hints of western disposition veiled by an Indian aesthetic. While the stylistic writing kept me wrapped to the words of the author, the narrative flattens out on the section of character progression. The third and final arc is uplifting with all the notes being hit just right, be it dialogue or character dynamics. The dialogue, non-vocal communication and descriptions seem penned for a possible Disney animation movie with all the cliches hit, be it love at first sight, comforting stars/playing with the stars, animals who act as inseparable and understanding companions , protagonist trying to find themselves , sullen but attractive man and more - all of which are not deficient, but target a specific subsection of the teenage audience know who the Gods in name and want to learn more, trying to get in touch with their roots through a modern, colloquial means or simply looking for a solid love story to get lost into.This book might very well set the stage for future readings of Purana in simplified prose like:a) Ganesha Purana by R.Viswanathan or Akila Sivaramanb) Tiruvilayadal Puranam by S. Ponnuswamyc) Siva Puranam Retold by Ramesh Menond) Devi Bhagwatam Retold by Ramesh Menone) Sri Kandha Puranam by Akila SivaramanThank you Srivalli, for assisting me in giving feedback and being a mirror to my incessant ramblings. One mug of Hot Chocolate coming right up!Shoutout to Mugdha Sadhwani for designing a cover so pretty, I blame them for elongating my reading duration!