Sonali Kolge

My love for reading is largely credited to mythical fictions. I grew up reading books based on Greek myths, and wondering if there are books based on Indian myths. Well, here is one! Path of Suksmaloka by Nihar Bhonsule is a mythological fiction. It is based in the time after the war of Mahabharat in Kurukshetra and Sri Krishna's death. Author has woven absolutely amazing action packed thriller with three timelines running parallelly. The book begins in the dystopian future, with Mumbai in ruins and run-over by Rakshasas. Two mysterious super heroes- Dust Man and Street Archer are making their way through the hordes of Rakshasas to get to the Alpha Rakshas- and kill him. Next we go back in the past to 3102 BC when the war has ended, Krishna is dead and demons are on the rise. The only people standing between the Rakshasas are the Dharmayodhas and their guru Harshawardhan. Next, in the present day we see the stories of Prithvi Sen and Gopal. Both of them struggle in their own ways and find themselves on opposite sides of the line that differentiates good from bad. These characters have been written beautifully, and you will find yourself connecting to Gopal despite him being the antagonist. The book's subtle message is that there will always be an on going war between positivity (spirituality) and negativity; and the only ay to win this war is by working on ourselves and not letting the negativity take over you. My only complaint being- the book starts off incredibly difficult to follow. It took me a while to figure out what the Sukshmaloka was and why it was giving orders, what Shtirbuddhi and Maleentwama were, etc.  So don't make the mistake I made, read the glossary before starting the book. All in all, the book is a nice read and does not disappoint. My ratings: Creativity- 5/5 Character development- 3/5 Mythical References- 5/5 Overall rating: 4/5