The Vedas, mysticism, mythological references, and ambition to reach the pinnacle as a strategic weapons consultant form the core components of an intrigue that define this thriller. ‘Divyastra’ written by Nimish Tanna and published by Become Shakespeare isn’t the usual terror-and-gore thriller but digresses into quite a bit of interesting story-telling without compromising with pace. The book isn’t also a mythological thriller in the strictest sense of the term even though it tries hard to weave in yogis, weapons of the Gods, mantras in Sanskrit, and even Ravana’s bloodline. If this first paragraph in the review sounds exciting it is primarily because the story connects a lot of sub-plots that converge let the thriller elements roll on ceaselessly.
Yes, there are parts that appeared to drag on a bit, especially where pusillanimity and infatuation barge in together to pretend like some romance is brimming and then there are parts where the lectures on the future of weaponry get on the nerves, but one can condone all this because the author always seemed to be in control. Though I must admit that sections where the author talks about Sammohanastra, Twashtastra, Mayastra, and Manavastra as celestial weapons that could result in entire armies to collapse, or make the enemy mistake each other for opponents and start killing each other, or dispel any sorcery in the vicinity, or inspire evil beings to transform into humanity lovers intrigues the reader urging him or her on to know more. The author doesn’t disappoint the reader and goes on with his blitz about Astra and Shastra. Shashtra is defined ‘as any physical weapon such as the likes of an arrow or a spear. Astra, on the other hand is not a physical weapon but, if put simply, a bundle of frequencies’. According to the author even mantras act ‘like sound bombs which when recited in a specific frequency, have physical or psychological effects on the target or both’ and all these elements get a somewhat contemporary existence because the plot never really happens in the distant mythological past but in the present. One may choose to treat these hypothetical inquests into mythological scientific advancements as something bizarre and even I smiled when I read about ‘Lord Rama used a blade of grass as a deadly weapon invoked by a divyastra mantra’. I was convinced while reading this tale that even this thriller, like any other, is all about human greed and not about grand plans to transform the world. It is about basic criminal instinct in a human that pushes him on, as it appeared to impel Guruji or Dr Vyas, to tap resources from ancient Vedic knowledge to act like any other petty criminal hatching a plan to make him rich and powerful. The blurb text is correct when it mentions that ‘this knowledge could only be transferred from a Guru to his disciple by word of mouth. In today’s world, one mystic, who calls himself Guruji, still possesses this knowledge and is using it to empower an innocent person’s life. Only, this empowerment could be a deception and the innocent person is a thirteen year old boy with a stutter…’ The story revolves around how this happens and how Shankar’s father gets hopelessly enmeshed even when he was a child. The book isn’t so much about mystical celestial weapons unleashing destruction on earth but more about the way the machinations of a brilliant mind traps and destroys a family. By the way, as one reads the book, one does wonder if there is a possibility for a mythological character like Ravana’s bloodline to be still alive?
As I read through the pages I did realize that the narrative impressed me wherever and whenever the author decided to impregnate the story with tales from the past. For instance, the yet unraveled story of Shankar’s father as told to him by his grandfather helps us understand the foundation blocks behind the intrigue and this is done well. Then there is the story of Kola Maharishi and a demon called Kamsasura who meditated together with the sage seeking oneness with the Lord but the demon seeking power and invincibility, is fascinating. The Gods knew what would happen if Kamsasura’s wish was granted and at the right time the Gods turned Kamsasura MOOKA or mute and he was unable to ask for a boon and came to be known as Mookasura. This obviously enraged the demon and he started disrupting the sage’s penance until Godess Lakshmi and Godess Saraswati imbibed the powers of the Trimurti and killed Mookasura and thus came to be called Godess Mookambika. This story is about the history of a temple nearly 1200 years old and is woven seamlessly with the narrative. The point that I am making here is that discerning readers would have much preferred to read the stories behind the celestial weapons as well rather than have the author just tell them their names and leave it at that. There are pages that rush in to inform and tell about complex facets from our mythological past and I’m sure they must all have hidden somewhere interesting stories. Thus instead of Dr Vyas standing behind an impassive lectern and using monologue to tell, the author should have shown us how these weapons came to be… and the thrill then would have multiplied because the narrative could have enthralled.
The book, in simpler terms, is about how each of us has ‘a territory to defend and everybody has a war to fight’ without being ‘confident, not cocky… intelligent, not geeky… and passionate, not needy’ to use the author’s own words. The book does move around to tell us that ‘every progress in today’s science is just a reoccurrence of what have been mastered thousands of years ago’ and that sometimes this ‘wheel is religion and sometimes it is mediocracy, and Shankar knew that for him to figure out his life, he had to step out of the wheel’. And every time the author uses the tool of story-telling and not a monologue, his work tends to stand out. Such moments of prose brilliance are scattered and few and I wish there were more of them. This does not mean that the book isn’t worth a read. It is.
If one plucks out narratives that reflect sheer cheesiness and the reader stops giggling at descriptions that talk about ‘guests in colourful, elaborate clothes’ or ‘her hair falling on her glowing cheeks’ or sentences like ‘with an impressively tailored traditional outfit highlighting his broad shoulders and stubble outlining his jawline’, the book does transcend the mundane and fascinates. The cheesy bits too are in abundance in this tale and for those who love such digressions, the book can be a literal treasure because it does include a few pages on the art of a pick-up artist.
The book is, at the core, a thriller that sometimes forgets that it is one but I’m willing to overlook this because despite an overdose of flow-charts, Sanskrit shlokas, and mythological terminology sans the stories, it does manages to hold my attention. I’m rather glad that I had the opportunity to read this book. If you are intrigued about Ravana’s bloodline still being alive and traceable, you certainly need to first read this book.
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Book details:
Title: Divyastra
Author: Nimish Tanna
Publisher: BecomeShakespeare dot com
ISBN: 978-93-88573-78-8
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Arvind Passey
08 May 2019
