Author– Mithilesh Kumar
Book– Supercop Of Aryavrat
Previous Works– Debut Novel
Publishers– Authors Upfront
Number of Pages– 286
Format– Paperback
Blurb-
“Do you think you are the SuperCop of Aryavrat?”
Balram’s words continue to haunt a helpless Krishna, as he watches the Yadav clan go on a rampage. The year is 3102 BC. Krishna lies all alone in a forest and resurrects in his mind the events of his adventurous life.
His venturesome journey began in the cradle itself. From his childhood escapades to the thrills of his youth, the eternal charmer dazzled hundreds of women and later became the ‘go to man’ of the entire populace of Aryavrat.
His life meandered from Gokul to Dwarka, and from Pushkar to Assam until the great war happened. Could he have prevented it altogether? Did it change the course of Krishna’s life? Maybe.
Mithilesh Kumar spins a tale in which love and romance blossom while the fiercest of battles are being fought, treachery and malevolence raise their ugly heads time and again, alliances are forged, friendships are tested, unlikely events happen and the ‘SuperCop’ manages it all with panache.
Review-
Supercop Of Aryavrat by Mithilesh Kumar is a retelling of the life of Lord Krishna.
The descent of the mythological character from heaven, the struggle to get a new born baby from the dungeons of his uncle’s palace to a home where he is the beloved of all, the book covers all the details of his life. It also has the part where the epic saga of Mahabharata comes into existence, along with the other characters like Sudama.
A majority of the book’s happenings take place during the great war of Mahabharata and have been used to elaborate Lord Krishna’s involvement. From the time when the Pandavas and the Kauravas were in dispute from the division of the state, to the time when Panchali seeks the help of Lord Krishna in order to be able to protect her modesty.
The book is a storehouse of information if you are a mythology geek. I was not aware of much about the life and times of Lord Krishna, primarily because of Mahabharata being a war time story and my inability to process the gory details with agreement. But this book compensated for the lack of information.
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I was not aware of Gandhari’s curse that led to the downfall of all of Krishna’s descendants, nor did I know how Krishna, despite being an incarnation of such power was able to be hunted down. I did not know that Draupadi was menstruating when the vastraharan took place and much more. I did not even know much about Arjun’s wives and his sons. There was recently a question in Kaun Banega Crorepati where they had enquired about Iraavan, the son of Arjun and Ullupi, thus proving that this book is highly informative
The author, Mithilesh Kumar, has done the research, just right and the effort could be seen, as every incident in the book, explains the characters involved and reveals some of the history of that time. If you are planning to read the book for the information as well, better sit with a journal in hand in order to note down the details of all characters.
Ratings-
Cover- 4 stars
Title- 3 stars
Blurb- 3 stars
Plot- 3.5 stars
Writing and Presentation- 2 star
Overall- 3.1 stars out of 5
While the research for the book’s content was on point, the writing and the presentation lagged behind. The book is written in a plain language with phrases like, “pinpoint”, which do not match the book’s Dwapar yug setting.
When I picked up the book, the title gave a vibe that it was a modern retelling of history and hence the name “Supercop of Aryavrat”, but the content provides nothing of that sort, its simply the story, thus making the title misleading. Also the entirety of the plot was based around Mahabharat and there wasn’t much about how Lord Krishna was of great service to his own place Aryavrat.
When we decide to read books dealing with mythology, we expect a great deal of sophistication from the language, partly because that’s the way we have heard the stories right from our childhood and partly because the characters have always been shown to be more capable than the normal people, and in order to add to the superhuman aura, we expect their presentation to be of that sort.
The book has great potential, because the amount of effort that has gone into naming all the characters and everything else must have been a herculean task, but what pulls it behind is the language, because its too plain. If written with a ghost writer who can elevate the standards of the presentation, the book will definitely be worth the read and re-read because mythology can be confusing.
Reviewed by- Banaja Prakashini
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About The Author-
Born in 1952 at Hasua in Bihar, Mithilesh Kumar received his education from Bihar Veterinary College, Patna (bVSc and AH); Indian Veterinary Research institute, Izatnagar (MVSc); University of Hull, UK(MBA) and Ambedkar University, Delhi (PGDP). He served with the Government of Bihar and then the Government of india, before retiring from a senior position in customs and central excise. He is now settled in Delhi. Write to him at mkumar1952@gmail.com.
