I was very inquisitive to know about Kartikeya, one God whom we do not know much about. The story:

The story begins with Diti, wife of sage Kashyapa, wanting to take revenge against the Gods who had killed her sons. Thus are born the evil sons of Diti as a result of her tapasyas. And she instills in them the feeling of revenge.

At the same time, a boy with six faces and twelve arms is born, he does not who his parents are but he enjoys the love and affection of many parents and friends, animal, human and celestial.

My take:

The book is the story of Kartikeya, a god we know about only as Shiva’s son and Ganesha’s brother. And all we know about his story from Amar Chitra Katha, in which he and Ganesh have to go around the world thrice. And the other thing I knew about this god was that he rides a peacock.

The author has portrayed Kartikeya as both God and human, thus giving a beautiful touch to the story, the human form being relatable and the celestial being ethereal. She has spoken about both his wives and also his parents.

The characters have been developed in detail. She has described Kartikeya as a child lost in the woods, a child loved by animals, a child who suddenly has many parents who lay a claim on him, a human god who hates wars and a celestial being who has to fight for justice.

The story starts as two different stories but as the book moves on, the stories just come together. And then the book becomes unputdownable, because the way each chapter ended made me curious as to what would happen and I had to start the next chapter. The descriptions are detailed and I could actually picturise many scenes. The feelings of many characters have been described, not just Kartikeya.

The language is simple and the story just flows with its twists and turns. The author has linked many mythological stories in the main story.

I loved the book and would recommend it to lovers and non lovers of mythology alike.