Title: Shiva In The City Of Nectar
Author: Preetha Rajah Kannan
Publisher: Jaico Books
Review:
Oft-told
tales retold with uncommon verve, Preetha Rajah Kannan’s collection of
fifty-four divine tales from ancient India titled ‘Shiva in the City of Nectar’
caught my attention from the word go. It has everything going for it—prose that
beautifully encapsulates both the fantastic and the mundane; deft storytelling that
folds and combines various facets of Lord Shiva and a strong focus on South
Indian mythology. The airy tone and quick-facts presentation renders the book
enough potential.
The
narration sweeps across Heaven, Earth and the Underworld, narrating the exploits
of the mysterious and powerful blue-throated god. One after another, the tales
unfold the follies of ancient devas, asuras, sages, men and mythical beasts.
And through them all, Shiva blithely takes on the guise of beggar, saint,
monarch, merchant, fisherman, hunter, warrior and woodcutter as he walks
through the three worlds to slay rampaging demons, perform his Dance of Bliss
and embrace good and bad alike. Shiva is portrayed in all his multi-faceted
mystique - the tender lover who woos and weds Goddess Meenakshi, the eternal
Guru who dispenses wisdom, the fierce avenger whose third eye flashes fire, the
generous benefactor who showers blessings on his devotees and, above all, the
gentle prankster who embodies the essence of Vedic faith.
Shiva is a God who has truly transcended time and space. He
is Mahadeva – greatest among Gods. His legends exist and have survived for
eons. This book is a treat for all who find mythologies and ancient legends
fascinating. Madurai – the city of nectar – is the prime location for
all the tales. Lord Shiva is its ruling deity. The stories are also weaved
around the ruling kings of Madurai like king Ukkiran, Abhishegan, Raajasekaran,
Vikraman, Sekkaran and Rajaraja among others. The book celebrates the episodes
starting from Meenakshi’s coronation to the goddess’ celestial wedding and
beyond.
In her own words, Kannan has, for
the most part, taken the treasured tales that have been passed down orally for
generations, and fleshed them out with the lavish play of an affectionate
imagination. Her aim is to bring the stories of Shiva’s divine play to a
larger, non-Tamilian audience in the hope that her narration would thrill the
readers’ senses and pull them to Madurai – a city where the Gods once walked
amidst mortals.
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Author Bio:
Preetha Rajah Kannan is
a housewife,who loves to read and write. Her entire school life was as a
boarder at Sacred Heart Convent, Yercaud. She went on to graduate in Psychology
from Women’s Christian College, Chennai and has an M.A. in Journalism and Mass
Communication from Madurai Kamaraj University. She has done several freelance
articles for the Madurai edition of the New Indian Express, and written more
than a dozen short stories for children for the Express School Magazine. Her
story,‘The Tale of an Ice Cream,’was one of the winning entries in the
Sulekha.com – Penguin online short story contest, and was published by Penguin in
the anthology, ‘Blogprint.' Another
short story, ‘Moving Out,’ was published as part of the anthology, ‘Two is
Company and Other Stories,' published by Unisun. She lives in Madurai, with her
husband and two sons.
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I'd
like to thank the author for letting me review her book. I do hope you
end up liking the book when you read it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and
happy reading!
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