Book review- Lanka's Princess by Kavita Kané

Surpanakha, the woman 'as hard as nails', was born as Meenakshi, the one with beautiful, fish-shaped eyes. She is the lead character of my book titled Lanka’s Princess.

Ramayana is the most written story in the world because of the uniqueness of its characters and the fact that there are many unsung characters in the story. Each character is specific in feature and has directly or indirectly affected the outcome of this mythology.

Meenakshi is the youngest sibling of Raavan. Growing up in the shadows of her brothers, who were destined to win wars, fame and prestige, she instead charted out a path filled with misery and revenge. The main story of turning Meenakshi to Surpanakha begins when she elaborates on the devious plan to seek revenge with Ravan for killing her husband, Vidyujiva and from Ram and Lakshman after they killed her son Kumar in the Dandak forest.

Shurpanakha receives no peculiar mention from Valmiki, but Kavita Kane has brought much life to her. She has been presented as a person with flaws, and the justifications of what and why her actions have been mitigated the best.

In short, the book was a good read with simple language and a medium-paced story. I recommend the book, especially to those who would love to read more about Ramayana. The book, however, has no new facts or angles. But it has honestly presented a full view of the less-known and rarely talked about female character, Surpanakha.