Bringing the three epochs of the iconic Ayodhya — Ram’s tryst with Ravan, Ayodhya’s tryst with Babur and his men in the medieval period, and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement three decades ago — parallel to each other in a beautiful narrative, noted Kerala-based filmmaker and cinematographer YaduVijayakrishnan is debuting as an author with his first book titled ‘The Story of Ayodhya’.
The book published by Garuda Prakashan will be launched at Trivandrum, Kerala by Sandeep Vachaspati, State Spokesperson, BJP Kerala; K Raman Pillai, former State President, BJP Kerala; P Sreekumar, News Editor, Janmabhumi; and Renjith G Kanjirathil, Political Analyst on April 2, 2022.
The author and documentary filmmaker was prodded on to pen the book by his father Vijaykrishnan, a well-known film critic and director in Kerala. The author has underlined the challenges faced by us in our quest for Ram Rajya in this riveting story.
Ayodhya did not end with Ram returning a winner after slaying Ravana. Ayodhya did not cease to exist when the Ram Mandir was destroyed by Mir Baqi under Babur’s order. Ayodhya did not spring back to life after the Ram Janmabhoomi movement of the ’90s. Ayodhya and Ram Rajya are the essences of Sanatan, and the struggle to keep it going in the face of hostile extremism and adverse times has been eternal.
“There have been countless books on Ayodhya. However, they were all non-fiction works based on legal proceedings, archaeological or historical accounts or mythology. As a result, these works only reach a handful of people who are interested in the particular subject. I personally wanted to tell the story of Ayodhya to the mass. To reach the mass, the work should serve the purpose of entertainment. That’s why I chose to write this as a novel. Set behind historical events, one can go through the story of Ayodhya through the eyes of people who either lived there or those who fought for it. Some of these characters are actual real life personalities. Some are inspired by such actual persons and some are my own imaginary characters who serve the purpose of telling the story. I hope, through this novel, the real story of Ayodhya will reach the world. It’s a story of treachery, valor, tyranny, resistance, deception and triumph. It’s the Story of Ayodhya,”explains the author YaduVijayakrishnan, a filmmaker whose film won several international awards including official selection in International Film Festival of India and Bangalore International film festival.
The book, dubbed as “a mix of Indian history, politics and mythology”, has garnered praises from Kummanam Rajasekharan, Former Governor, Mizoram; Tymur Yashchenko, Ukrainian Film Director; and Renee Lynn, Author and Activist, Voice for India.
Personally, Yadu’s signature is different. He was able to move forward in a different path from the young age itself. He was able to make a documentary on Emergency and a full length Sanskrit movie due to this fact. Now, he is bringing out a very unique novel. said P Sreekumar.
The story of Ram is eternal. Ramayana will persist. It should. This book is an Avatar of Ramayan of our era. It’s a time machine that starts in Treta Yuga and ends in our times of the Kalyuga. Each reader of this book is a time traveller. Each character whether it’s Ram, Babur, Humayun and the politicians of our contemporary period appear as though in a movie. It’s like carefully woven threads of different colours. It’s that much beautiful. Although readable, each moment would make us laugh, think and entwin us in thrilling moments and then relieve us. This new version of the story of Ram Lalla would amaze us with its extravagance.Said Political Analyst, Renjith G Kanjirathil.
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