Arti Metro Reader

The cover is beautiful. It has a mythological feel to it. The stories are similar to the real ones and having not read mythology so much, I found the stories believable, maybe because she has not distorted the facts around the myths. The stories are fast paced.

The characters have been given a human touch, even the conversations between them were so real. The emotions and feelings of the characters have been well described.

The extensive research done by the author is clearly visible in the stories.

The scenes have been described so well that they can be easily visualized.

The author has incorporated many stories of Ganesha and also his many names and their significance in the story. She has also added different myths in the story.

The relationship between Mandodari and Ravana is something that I don’t think that anyone has ever come across, because all we know about her is that she was Ravana’s wife.

A very well written book. 5 stars!

Chittajit Mitra

The book is a collection 3 love stories which involve Hindu mythological characters. The first is Ganesha’s Brides, the story is about Ganesha’s quest to win over the hearts of RIddhi, Siddhi & Buddhi the 3 daughters of Brahma & Laxmi. Mandodari is about the pious love story between Ravana the learned king of Lanka & Mandodari. How she never left her husband’s side & tried to warn him again & again to bring him on dharma’s path. The last is Damayanti, her love story with Nala the king of Nishada is quite well known & reinforces the idea that true love always win. Get this book to unravel these sweet & intense love stories.

I have heard great things about Usha Narayanan’s work but never got the chance to read any of her books & I admit that I’ve missed a lot. The book etches the characters beautifully & makes a clear picture regarding each one of them. The stories are indeed interesting while the language used is easy to comprehend. The cover is gorgeous & the title fits too.

Sundari Venkatraman

When I saw the book cover for the first time on Facebook, I wanted to grab a copy immediately. The cover is simply beautiful and glossy and in a beautiful shade of turquoise background with a pair of lovers from puranic times—perfect for the latest book by Usha Narayanan, I must say.

There are three love stories—the first one about an all-time-favourite God, the second about a rakshasa and the third about a human being. I don’t know if it had been planned this way, but it is a perfect combo of tales from the puranas.

The first tale is about Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God. The introduction is a well-known tale. What surprised me is the take on Ganesha as a romantic hero. Hailing from South India, where Ganapathi is worshipped as a bachelor, this was an extremely alien angle to me and I was hooked. The author has managed to spin this God’s love story with not just one, not two, but three damsels. Intriguing indeed!

The second one is between Ravana, the Lord of Lanka and Mandodari. I especially enjoyed the sequence when the two of them set eyes on each other for the first time. The description has been very well written. What I didn’t much care for was the prolonged story of Ravana kidnapping Sita and Rama declaring war…

The third one is about Nala and Damayanti. This tale was well told, though it was exactly how my grandparents had narrated the story to me… All in all, it’s an awesome effort that the author had put into creating these romances from mythology.