Book Review: Yayati by VS Khandekar

‘Yayati’ (Novel) (Hindi)

(Winner of Gyanpeeth Puraskar and Sahitya Akadami Puraskar)

By Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar

Translated in Hindi by Moreshwar Tapaswi

Rajpal and Sons

ISBN 978-81-7028-559-5

‘Yayati’ is a mesmerizing epic tale as told by the brilliant author VS Khandekar. Yayati was originally a character from the great epic Mahabharata. In this novel, the author has used his own literary skills and imagination to develop the story by adding some character and modifying the story, which he has clearly and honestly clarified in the introduction section of the book. His is not really a mythological story but one with which readers of every generation and time can connect with. Though essentially Yayati is a king and this novel revolves around his struggle for power and affluence, the finer elements of the story and the lessons coming out of them are relevant even for today. Here is a novel which describes heights of greed, lust and craving for materialistic pleasure which are increasingly becoming inherent part of human nature. It is not a depressing story but one which shows that there always is light at the end of the tunnel if we care to find it…

This is my first reading of Mr. VS Khandekar, which was recommended by a friend. And how lucky I was for being introduced to it! Though the book was originally written in Marathi language, it has been translated into many languages. The same book is available in English as well. I got its Hindi translation and found it exceptionally good. The language is of very high quality and it’s a pleasure to read through the book. At some places, the language is so beautiful, with such relevant and wonderful adjectives being used, that we can’t remain without falling in love with the book.

A few lines from the book from pages 52/53:

“Sabhi Rishi aur pahaad door se ek-se hi lagte hain.”

“Japmala me jaise ek-ek rudraksh pichhe khisakta jata hai, usi tarah se eke k din bitataa chala gaya.”

“Gahri hari vriksh-vaatikaon me we do kutiyan aise lag rahi thin, mano do nanhi-munni bahnen ek-dusre se lipatkar ek hi kambal me so gai hain.”

I felt in love with author’s such a strong connection with nature and an eye for detail…

I highly recommend the book to all.

- Rahul