Book Review by #LITEROMA PUBLISHING SERVICES :: "The Panchateertha (Part 1)" by Rajiv Mittal

** Thanks to the author for gifting us a Kindle copy of the book for review. **

** Thanks to our reviewer Reetwika Banerjee for reviewing the book on behalf of Literoma. **

As we all know, 'The Panchatantra' is one of the highest read Indian moral classics and most of us have grown up reading the stories either in plain cover or through pictorial depictions. And I still remember many of the lessons learnt from the book even today. Rajiv Mittal tried a fantastic way to touch upon the classic with a contemporary satirical approach. The effort really needs to be applauded not only because of the innovative conceptualization but also taking due care of the age-old beliefs and morals taught through the classic over centuries.

At the beginning, I was a little skeptical about the contents (reading the title and overview on Amazon), but as I kept exploring the book deeper, I was left amazed at his creative imaginary. How subtly Rajiv has brushed the chosen sections of Panchatantra (1 and 2) and have depicted them adding so much of fun elements that anyone is bound to enjoy the full length and breadth of the book. That is why people perhaps say, one should not judge a book by its cover!! It would have been my loss as a reader if I had chosen to leave aside the book judging by its blurb.

"The Panchateertha (Part 1)" is a humour genre book series centered around the five pilgrimage centers of Hinduism (is that really so??) through the eyes of the narrator (the author himself??). I also loved author's approach of parodic naming convention (for example: Vishnu Sharma as Shiva Varma and so on). Cannot reveal more in the review as that would spoil the thrill of reading the book.

Not just humour or satire readers, mythology and fantasy lovers too, I believe, just can’t afford to miss this book. However, it is advised to read 'The Panchatantra' once before reading Rajiv's satirical adaptation 'The Panchateertha' to better appreciate the actual essence of this wonderful recreation.

Overall, Literoma would like to rate it as 4.8*/5*. Looking forward to read the upcoming parts of the series from the author in future.

Comments

  1. Rajiv MittalFebruary 21, 2019 at 12:16 AM

    Thank you for your review Reetwika / Literoma.
    I am happy to confirm the paperback for India is available at the following link: https://pothi.com/pothi/book/rajiv-mittal-panchatheertha-part-1.
    The Ebook is available from Amazon https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07KSBFTTS
    I do hope your kind comments will inspire your blog visitors to read it.
    Warm regards
    Rajiv

    ReplyDelete

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