The Mahabharata echoes even after all the years

The doorbell chimed.

I saw a man in brown leave.

I knew what it was about, and rushed to open the door.

I hurriedly opened the parcel to reveal the book.

Source

I scanned through.  I was convinced that the reviewer had not exaggerated one bit. "The poems of Until the Lions are graphically typeset on the page so that they seem to be dancing, a celebration of visible sound."

Later in the night, I got to reading the book.  Yes, it is unconventional and impressive.  Even the simple explanation that Nair gives in the introduction for choosing the Mahabharata over the other Hindu epic, Ramayana: Unlike in the Ramayana, where the enemy is far away and some Other, here "that mortal enemy is one's own kin; the blood the heroes spill is all their own."

Think about the family disputes, among the rich and the poor alike.  While there might not be any literal blood spilling, the emotions are not that different from those described in the epic.  The Mahabharata is the one that I have always favored over the Ramayana, as I noted back in 2013:

I loved those epics.  Phenomenal works of literature from centuries ago.  What I read were mere re-telling; I can easily imagine that the works in the original will be quite a treat for those well-versed in Sanskrit.  The Mahabharata, which I prefer a tad over the Ramayana, was Rajaji's version that I read and it was one gripping page turner when I read that as a kid.

Nair lists the key characters from the Mahabharata who are featured in her innovative interpretation.  Those descriptions alone are enough compensation for the price of the book.  Consider the following about Vyasa:

"in his spare time."  What an editorial comment!

Over the decades of living in my adopted country, I have forgotten some of the characters.  Nair reminds me about them.  But, there was one in her listing that was new: Sauvali.  Dhritarashra chose her as a "concubine during Gandhari's pregnancy."  Yuyutsu was the son.  He was the only son among the Kauravas who survives the war, and performs "the last rites for all his fallen kin."

Not having known anything about Sauvali, I chose to read the chapter about her first, ahead of everything else.  Nair does not mince words--she writes about the rape of Sauvali.

 There's so much to understand about the human condition, which is what great authors have been doing over the centuries of storytelling.