Sort order. Oct 26, Nandakishore Mridula rated it really liked it Shelves: malayalam , general-fiction. Vasudevan Nair or M. Most of his protagonists are vehicles for the frustrations he suffered as a young man, and Bhima is no different. Always des M. Always destined to be second or take the "Second Turn" - "Randam Oozham" in Malayalam - which incidentally gives the novel its title to his weak elder brother Yudhishtira in seniority and younger brother Arjuna in fame and popularity, Bhima is not given his due as the main architect of the Pandava victory over their cousins Kauravas in the Kurukshetra war.
Though M. You can get lost in the beauty of the Malayalam language; but then, that is the characteristic of most of M. View all 13 comments. Nov 13, Arun Divakar rated it it was amazing. This work stands like a colossus on the shores of Malayalam Literature. The worlds knows Bheema of the Mahabharatha as a beast of war, the elder brother was a paragon of virtue and the casanova-esque thrid brother was a super star all over.
Bheema was treated as a bozo who lumbers around with a club bashing up the brains of the Kauravas in TV and in books.
How many of them saw Bheema the father? The son? The Husband? It took an MT to look beyond the stereotypical labels and bring out the human being in Bheema. Randamoozham for those uninitiated in malayalam, this means "the second round" is by far one of the best literary works I have had the pleasure of reading. Based on the Mahabharatha, it tells the entire epic from the viewpoint of Bheema.
Bheema is a most unlikely protagonist in the sense that nothing but his brawn sets him apart. Once when asked about his inspiration for such a work MT replied that the pregnant pauses placed by Vyasa in the Mahabharatha made him think of such a work.
In one instance the warrior code of the Kshatriyas state that it is the warrior who kills the maximum of the enemies is the one entitled for the crown. If such was the case, Bheema would have been the king but it is his brother who ends up becoming one. The most manipulative of ladies in literature Draupadi dances him to her whims and Bheema ends up accepting the fact that she played him along all the way.
The most powerful of scenes is the one where Krishna walks into the army camp after the death of Bheema's half-demon son in battle, seeing the camp in sorrow Krishna proclaims " good that he died of Karna's hand else it should have been my hand some day".
Quite natural for a King to say about a demon but he said this within earshot of the father who stood looking at the body of his slain offspring. This was from the mouth of a man who lectured his friend on the fact that the soul was just a sort of dress for the human body. A few days after this, Krishna is beyond grief when his own nephew is slain in battle, this is one of those acute observations the author makes in te pages. MT gives the tale a human touch withouth adding any of the mythos or making any character less human than what it actually could have been.
Just one of those works which is beyond the realm of literature for me. View all 17 comments. Jul 10, Sandeep rated it it was amazing. Whenever I see this book sitting in my mother's bookshelf, I pick this up and read it once. In the past five years I have read this at least five times. This is a timeless classic, a totally different rendition of a story we have all heard, the Mahabharata.
MT Vasudevan Nair has chosen Bheema as the protagonist of this book. The entire Mahabharata is narrated as a historical tale than a story of Gods, Demons and the superhuman , in the first person, from Bheema's perspective. About his joys, he Whenever I see this book sitting in my mother's bookshelf, I pick this up and read it once.
About his joys, heartbreaks, frustrations as he is unable to digest the uncompromising expectations out of a Kshatriya and about his vengeance. Not a single book I have ever read has been able to make me empathize with and own the feelings of it protagonist ever, when compared to this book.
Bheema's thought processes behind the most arrogant statements he made, the pain he went through at every rejection and his feelings of not being able to accept the woman he first loved - MT manages to handhold you through all of those emotions. I can confidently say, this is the best book I have ever read, in any language. View all 3 comments.
Oct 31, Aju Krishnan rated it it was amazing. I think this is the simplest way Mahabharatha has been ever told. Narrating the story from Bhima's point of view, MT stripped off the divine powers from the characters and presented them as mortal human beings with emotions. So you don't get to see Krishna supplying an infinitely long sari to save Draupadi or King Jarasandha's body rejoining and coming back to life whichever way Bhima tries to tear him into two.
But you can see Bhima being jealous of Arjuna for being Draupadi's favourite among t I think this is the simplest way Mahabharatha has been ever told. But you can see Bhima being jealous of Arjuna for being Draupadi's favourite among the five brothers as well as Arjuna mocking Karna for being of lower caste to satisfy his superiority complex.
To an extent the Pandavas become mere puppets in the hands of Kunthi and Draupadi. While Kunthi commands them as their mother, Draupadi lures them with their next chance to live with her.
The last few pages reveal some shocking facts about the Pandavas' parenthood. MT explains that he read different versions of the story written over different periods and found that divine powers granted to the characters were mostly imaginations of the story tellers.
Every time I read a well written version of the Mahabharata, I respect the original epic even more. How many works can lay claim to so many renditions centuries after the original version? As for this version, what does it say of an author when he can mesmerise the reader with a story that one has been hearing since childhood? As the title suggests, Bhima is the protagonist and the story is told from his perspective.
MT does not try to take on the much larger canvas of the Mahabharata, and inste Every time I read a well written version of the Mahabharata, I respect the original epic even more.
MT does not try to take on the much larger canvas of the Mahabharata, and instead focuses on keeping the narrative around Bhima. That is what makes this unique. The story is told in flashback mode - from the final journey. Between the eldest Yudhishtira, whose kingship is a focus and the warrior Arjuna, whose valour is a key element of the epic, is Bhima, who annihilated each of the Kauravas, but who is still largely a footnote in the epic.
Through the book, many a character refers to him as the 'blockhead', and do not even begin to understand his sensitive side, Arjuna being a key exception. Indeed, it would seem that only Arjuna, Draupadi, Dhritarashtra and Dhrishtadyumna respect the fierce warrior that Bhima is. Bhima also sacrifices a lot of his relationships for his brothers and is not able to be the husband and father he might have wanted to be.
In this context, there is a superbly nuanced sub-narrative of casteism that runs in parallel. It is also interesting how he plays down many of his exploits as the exaggeration of bards, and actually many of the events in the Mahabharata are underplayed or completely non-existent Krishna's intervention while Draupadi was being humiliated by the Kauravas in this version.
On the flip side, the tension between the brothers Yudhishtira-Bhima and Yudhishtira-Arjuna is a key component here. Yudhishtira is largely shown as someone who uses Dharma as a shield for his ineptitude. Kunti's political astuteness compensates a lot for it.
There are many such alternate explanations and perspectives, like the Saugandhika flower episode, that add to this version's uniqueness. The last few pages which offer quite a few revelations, and the epilogue, are worth a mention too.
I have not read the original Malayalam book I plan to so I cannot comment on the translation, but the language is simple yet eloquent and that played a large role in making this book a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Oct 20, Vivek rated it it was amazing. I guess those were not added since M. T wouldn't or couldn't include something without proper research. I must admit that the language was quite easy considering the epic proportions of the content involved..
No wonder many people swear by it. View 2 comments. A very good transformation of the epic Mahabharata. A different view at the classic taking out the supernatural element was a pleasant surprise. The book takes readers through the Mahabharatha as narrated by the Second Pandava, the strongest of them all, Bhimasena. Bhima comes alive in front of us as a mere Human, and exposes the human side of all the characters in the epic. The narration was quite pacey, and you cannot get yours hands off the book unless it had finished.
Randamoozham is the masterpiece of jnanpith winning writer m.. November 1, Author: Rajeev Share Embed Donate.. Malayalam novel. Randamoozham Malayalam Pdf Free Not all of the learn malayalam audio book free download books are classics, so if you' re into other genres, this Solucionario meriam estatica 3 edicion rapidshare..
Vasudevan Nair. It is widely credited as his As of today we have 75,, eBooks for you to download for free. No annoying ads, no download limits, enjoy Read reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Randamoozham is the masterpiece of Jnanpith Upload a Thing! Customize a Thing.
Reading his books is like going for the pilgrim, he will take us to the world of people who are with us and we often forget to think about them. Randamoozham actually inspired from Mahabharata Bheema is portrayed as valiant, strong and humane among the for Pandavas Reading this Mahabharata from Bheemas perspective is a wonderful experience Search This Blog. Popular Posts M. Vasudevan Nair. Original title.
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