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Kavita Kane

Ahalya's Awakening Kindle Edition

by Kavita Kane (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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I searched all these years for myself—and I only found Ahalya, the woman I was supposed to be born as: unblemished, without any faults. I had no hala in me, no sin, no crime, no guilt. What I had done was to respond to the call of life within me…’

Ahalya. Created by Brahma; married to one of the greatest rishis of all time; desired by the king of gods, Indra. A woman maligned and cursed.

But who was Ahalya? What did she want? Did she have ambitions and desires?

In this sparkling retelling of the well-known legend, bestselling author Kavita Kané draws out the voice of a character that lacked one—even before she was turned to stone. Tracing her journey from a precocious child, to a studious and sheltered princess, to the loving wife of Rishi Gautam, Ahalya’s Awakening delves into the mind of a woman who yearns to control her own destiny. In her tale lies the story of every woman, even today.

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356 pages
Language:

English
Publisher

Westland
Publication date

27 August 2019
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4779 KB
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Product description

About the Author

Kavita Kané is a former journalist and the bestselling author of five books. She is considered a revolutionary force in Indian writing because she has brought in feminism where it is most needed—mythology. Her five novels are all based on women in Indian mythology: Karna’s Wife (2013); Sita’s Sister (2014), on Ramayana’s most neglected character, Urmila; Menaka’s Choice (2015), on the apsara, Menaka; Lanka’s Princess (2016), on the female antagonist in the Ramayana, Surpanakha; and The Fisher Queen’s Dynasty (2017) on Satyavati, the grand matriarch in the Mahabharata.

After a career of over two decades in Magna and DNA, Kavita quit her job as assistant editor of Times of India to devote herself to writing novels full-time. With a post-graduate degree in English literature as well as in journalism and mass communication, the only skill she has, she confesses, is writing.

Passionate about theatre, cinema and art, she is also a columnist, a screenplay writer and a motivational speaker, having given several talks all across the country in educational and research institutes, corporate and management fora and literary festivals.

Born in Mumbai, with a childhood spent largely in Patna and Delhi, she currently lives in Pune with her mariner husband, Prakash, their two daughters, Kimaya and Amiya, two dogs Chic and Beau, and Cotton, the uncurious cat.

Product details

ASIN : B07TV7FRN8
Publisher : Westland (27 August 2019)
Language: : English
File size : 4779 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 356 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #10,773 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #189 in Mythology & Folk Tales
- #348 in Myths, Legends & Sagas
- #652 in Contemporary Fiction (Kindle Store)

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Shweta Joshi

By far the best book on Ahalaya

Reviewed in India on 9 September 2019

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Very Well researched and perfectly articulated the voice of this character from Ramayana. Excellent narrative. Ahalaya's character which defines the divinity of the protagonist Ram in Ramayana for the first time, has to be an extraordinary in itself which is accomplished well in this book by Kavita Kane.

8 people found this helpful

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Sumit Basak

A gripping tale of an forgotten woman

Reviewed in India on 29 January 2020

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Ahalya. Created by Brahma; married to one of the greatest rishis of all time; desired by the king of gods, Indra. A woman maligned & cursed. But who was Ahalya? What did she want? Did she have ambitions & desires?

In this sparkling retelling of the well-known legend of Ahalya, Kavita Kane had attempted to answer this questions by tracing her journey from a precocious child to a studious & sheltered princess, to the loving wife of Rishi Gautam & delves into the mind of a woman who yearns to control her own destiny. In her tale lies the story of every woman, even today

Review:

⚜️Although its Ahalya's biography but the author had also added the POVs of rishi Gautam, Devraj Indra & his wife Sachi, which gives a three dimensional perspective of her story.

⚜️The story throws light about Ahalya's life before her turning into stone, --- who she was & who was her parent & family; how was she in her childhood; how she comes into contact with rishi Gautam & fell in love, how they got married & how was their married life; how she caught Indra's eyes who became obsessed of about her.

⚜️ The author had articulately developed Ahalya's character & perfectly captured her transformation from being a pampered princess to a rishi's wife, from being a dutiful wife to an adulteress & ultimately to a Rishika, an awakened one.

⚜️The books answered the questions -- why she commit infidelity? whether it was committed deliberately or unknowingly? Is infidelity committed only physically or it can also be committed through the mind? - which ultimately forces you to empathize with her.

⚜️The story also explores the various social norms of those days & gives an insight into why lust, desire & course of life is everything but also not everything. It is ultimately up to an individual's journey of how they perceive a situation that matters more than the action itself. The mind's eye over the perception of the senses.

⚜️The author had given her own twist in the climax, where instead of turning into a stone, Ahalya withdraw inward, become invisible to the society & harden herself against the judgemental world in order to discover her inner self & thereby turned her curse into a blessing.

⚜️In the preclude which includes her talks with Sita, the famous character from the Ramayan, who like Ahalaya was also cast aside by her husband, but for a supposed defilement is truly a creative angle of bringing out the feminine POV.

There is nothing that I didn’t like about this book. It is a gripping tale indeed which kept me spellbound till the end. So I would like to recommend everyone who likes mythological fiction & want to read about the forgotten women of Indian mythology to read it.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3 people found this helpful

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Sharada Iyer

A must-read!

Reviewed in India on 18 October 2019

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The character of Ahalya only gets a passing mention in the great epic but there was definitely a lot more to her than just the curse she endured. Author Kavita Kane in her usual style takes us on a intriguing and interesting journey from the perspective of this unique character! The book is engaging from start to finish and and gives us insight into the circumstances and thoughts of Ahalya which led her to commit the act for which she was cursed. The narrative does not judge her blindly allowing us to form our own interpretation and the arguments put forth towards the end form one of the highlights of the book !

4 people found this helpful

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Simran sardana

A must read for everyone

Reviewed in India on 24 July 2020

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A book which talks about the female mythological character which is super underrated.
A book which talks about the intelligence of women and how they actually wanted to be a scholar and not just a wife to a husband, or a sister to a brother, or a daughter to a father.
A book which talks about Ahalya, the most beautiful woman of all times, the woman created by Brahma himself, desired by King of Gods, Indra, the most intelligent woman of all times indeed and the woman whom every man wanted with lustful eyes but only one could win her heart who was none other than, Rishi Gautam.
But, she was also the woman who was cursed by her own husband.
Why did this happen?
What could have been the circumstances that led to this disaster of a situation?
Let us talk about the book and how much I absolutely loved it and the Author who is letting readers discover more about the unspoken mythological female characters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kavita Kané is a former journalist and the bestselling author of five books. She is considered a revolutionary force in Indian writing because she has brought in feminism where it is most needed—mythology. Her five novels are all based on women in Indian mythology: Karna’s Wife (2013); Sita’s Sister (2014), on Ramayana’s most neglected character, Urmila; Menaka’s Choice (2015), on the apsara, Menaka; Lanka’s Princess (2016), on the female antagonist in the Ramayana, Surpanakha; and The Fisher Queen’s Dynasty (2017) on Satyavati, the grand matriarch in the Mahabharata.
After a career of over two decades in Magna and DNA, Kavita quit her job as assistant editor of Times of India to devote herself to writing novels full-time. With a post-graduate degree in English literature as well as in journalism and mass communication, the only skill she has, she confesses, is writing.
Passionate about theatre, cinema and art, she is also a columnist, a screenplay writer and a motivational speaker, having given several talks all across the country in educational and research institutes, corporate and management fora and literary festivals.
Born in Mumbai, with a childhood spent largely in Patna and Delhi, she currently lives in Pune with her mariner husband, Prakash, their two daughters, Kimaya and Amiya, two dogs Chic and Beau, and Cotton, the uncurious cat.

ABOUT THE BOOK
I searched all these years for myself—and I only found Ahalya, the woman I was supposed to be born as: unblemished, without any faults. I had no hala in me, no sin, no crime, no guilt. What I had done was to respond to the call of life within me…’
Ahalya. Created by Brahma; married to one of the greatest rishis of all time; desired by the king of gods, Indra. A woman maligned and cursed.
But who was Ahalya? What did she want? Did she have ambitions and desires?
In this sparkling retelling of the well-known legend, bestselling author Kavita Kané draws out the voice of a character that lacked one—even before she was turned to stone. Tracing her journey from a precocious child, to a studious and sheltered princess, to the loving wife of Rishi Gautam, Ahalya’s Awakening delves into the mind of a woman who yearns to control her own destiny. In her tale lies the story of every woman, even today.

REVIEW
1. COVER
The cover of the book is magnificent.

2. TITLE
The title of this book is the most appropriate.

3. CHARACTERS
There are many characters in the book including, Ahalya, the protagonist, Divodas, her brother, her parents, Indra who has a very important role to play in the story, Rishi Gautam and several other Rishis, Sachi, the demon princess.
Every character has an important role to build up the story and take it to the next level and keep the readers hooked with the story.

4. STORY
So, this story is based on Ahalya’s life and all that happens in the journey of being a scholar as she wanted to be, what she goes through in life and ultimately is popularized as the woman who was cursed by her own husband, which we get to know eventually as the story takes us through her life.

5. RECOMMENDED TO
I recommend this book to everyone out there who are even 1% interested in Mythology because, you are definitely going to love it and there’s no harm getting to know about the female characters who were so strong yet are not talked about by most of us.

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Amazon Customer

That, there was one Ahalya...

Reviewed in India on 30 October 2019

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Keeping up with the tradition Kavita comes up with yet another bygone female character, portrays her in all possible and logical shades, makes her fall in love with her writing and understanding and the way she probes into the minds of those uniquely uncommon special people with their extra talented qualities and also makes us forget about everything else as we go on reading... we are just engrossed so much that the time passes, evening turns into midnight and brings morning rays, but you are compelled to complete reading before even thinking of keeping it away. Hey, K! Who is next on your list? I would love to read another one in exactly one year's time, before Diwali... 2020. Lots of love and wishes to you for completion and satisfaction.

One person found this helpful

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Tria

An interesting read

Reviewed in the United States on 16 October 2019

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This is only the second book I have read by Kane, the first being Karna’s Wife. That one was such a train wreck that I had no hopes for this one. But Kane, I’m happy to say, surprised me.
The book didn’t start off too well, a too-perfect Ahalya grating on the nerves. There were anachronisms galore; people behaving like they belong to modern times, mentions of books and universities in a way that sounded just not right. At one point even ‘six o’clock’ was mentioned! Just to be clear, Ahalya’s story belongs to Treta Yuga, the time of Ramayana. So these modern touches and blatant laziness to get the atmosphere right seriously rankled. Then there’s the mixup of time periods: Bharata-a king of Dwapara Yuga and the ancestor of the heroes of the Mahabharata is mentioned in a story of Treta Yuga, and moreover in a story where his own distant ancestor Nahusha is being told the story where he, the descendant, is already dead and gone! That’s some crazy time travel stuff. But that’s just nitpicking for people who have read the scriptures, so let’s move on.
The obsession of Indra and Ahalya’s treatment of it has been handled badly. Seriously, I have read much better. It’s juvenile the way things are handled up to the actual marriage of Ahalya, the swayamvara scene a very melodramatic and farcical depiction. But then, right after that, the story picks up. The post marriage scenario has been written so much better. It’s both mature and interesting. The lives of Ahalya, Gautama and Indra are brought out quite well. There’s even a pattern to it, where when Ahalya is happy Indra is not and vice versa. But it fails to show the actual reason for Gautama’s sudden apathy. It’s been told, but not depicted well as we are never privy to Gautama’s thoughts after a while. Love scenes have been handled well, a feat most female authors writing mytho fiction fail miserably at, so kudos to Kane there.
But again, the end doesn’t quite do justice to the anticipation a good middle part had built up. The curse part was done a bit too brown in philosophy and not enough on simply feelings. Ahalya’s journey to self realization wasn’t deep or clear enough. In the end, although she claims to have found herself, she comes across as a bitter woman mourning for what was lost, which is at odds with her proclaimed happiness with her life. I would’ve loved to have seen her more philosophical and nuanced than a feminist waving the flag of ‘abla nari’. Surely the years of meditation should have come to something! And rightfully the story should have come full circle, ending where it started from as a narration. So the pity party at the end, while dramatic as it brings two heroines together, is not really the end I was looking for, because it left a lot of loose threads.
As for characterizations, Ahalya remains irritating before her marriage as she’s too perfect to be believable, but her discontent and a bit of self absorption later redeems her. Gautama is interesting, but loses out later as his voice is silenced, so after marriage we never know what he’s thinking, reducing him to a caricature. Indra is, ironically, the most reviled as well as the most developed character. He is shown as unabashedly and unapologetically self serving, but frankly he’s too interesting to be hated. After the ‘perfection’ of Ahalya, he’s a welcome relief. Sachi is delightful, though not much developed. Mudgal, Nalayani and Divodasa are walking anachronisms, because frankly the way they behave is like modern and yet slightly traditional people would behave.
What I did not like about this book was the inability, or disinterest, on the part of the author to get the atmosphere right. This is something that could have elevated the book so much! I never felt like I was reading a story that is several millennia old. Six o’clock, seriously!
What I liked about the book is the way Kane handled the part post marriage. It’s mature, lucid, interesting and shows character development for everyone. Ahalya’s loneliness, a want for companionship, the need to feel ‘wanted’ is well captured. Her response to Indra is well captured, until it’s spoiled by reducing an honest emotion to a fantasy to maintain the ‘righteousness’ of the heroine. The circumstances in which Kane put her Ahalya in, nobody would blame her for wanting and going for some happiness, so there was no need to worry about maintaining the virtue of her heroine and making her holier than thou even in sin.
All in all, a good book and much, much better than Karna’s Wife. Kane has certainly grown as a writer.

One person found this helpful

Rajiv

A beautiful tale of Ramayan's lesser known character

Reviewed in the United States on 9 September 2019

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You can also see my detailed review on my Youtube channel:- Rajivs Reviews

This is the first book I am reading from the author and I really enjoyed her style of writing. I loved how she stuck close to the mythological tale, but also included her own thoughts into the story-line. She has written them in such a way that is even relevant in today's society that readers can connect with. Moreover, Ahalya is a strong character who is independent and wants gain more knowledge and is a good role model. Unfortunately, her only weakness is that she loses focus and falls in love, thus changing her path to becoming a wife and a mother, which does not end up well in her case. Indra also makes for a very interesting villain, where you can see the obsession and lust he has for her and will not give up going after her.

However, the only thing which I found odd in the story was how Gautam suddenly loses interest in Ahalya. It seemed strange how after so many years of loving her and being in a happy marriage, he suddenly becomes grouchy and yells at her and stops teaching her without any reason. I also hoped the there would be some closure to Sachi's storyline as I liked her character, but she disappears towards the end. But overall, I enjoyed reading this book a lot and am keen on picking up some of the author's other works as well.

Kindle Customer

Mindblowing

Reviewed in the United States on 1 October 2019

Verified Purchase

Yet another masterpiece by this author. I could relate to Ahalya's quest for knowledge and her refusal to marry someone who does not share her desire for knowledge. I don't want to give away the end, but I love the ending when she met my old time favorite person.

Must read..

Reviewed in the United States on 15 May 2020

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Its a well crafted story..
You get so captivated by Ahalyas life..its like you start living it through the book..
I was on tears at the end of the book.
Thank you for the telling us the story of Ahalya..

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