The Daughter from a Wishing Tree - Sudha Murty

AUTHOR: Sudha Murty

GENRE: Indian Mythology.

RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: Loved it! It does what it sets out to do – focus on the women of Indian mythology, most of whom are unheralded in the world of men. Won’t work for everyone though.

Indian mythology is quite vast, and except for scholars in the subject and those who read it dedicatedly, no one can claim to be well-versed in it, especially in this world of new-fangled “experts” who consider themselves learned after browsing through a few Internet sites. As such, getting an authentic experience of Indian mythology while not making it overwhelming to newbies is difficult. This book feels authentic.

I am no expert of Indian mythology. What little I know is what I have gleaned by reading bits and pieces in comics and some retellings (and some TV shows! Ssshh!) As such, I can’t pass a personal comment on the accuracy of the stories in this collection. However, from what I know of Sudha Murty, I am sure her knowledge can be trusted.

As the tagline of the book declares, this collection focusses on ‘unusual tales about women in mythology’. (Indian mythology, to be specific.) Some of the stories were familiar to me, and featured characters I had heard/read about. However, a great chunk of the book was new to me and I loved learning about so many varied women characters. (I must add that my kids also read this book, and they had the same opinion as mine. All three of us relished this anthology, and its language works well for the tween plus age.)

The stories are written in typical Sudha Murty style: simple language, straightforward storytelling, no flowery prose. Her focus is always on the main plot and not on decorative writing - a tendency that causes some reviewers to look down on her works but appeals strongly to my taste.

Of course, we need to remember that mythologies (across cultures) were written by men of traditional thinking. As such, the role of the women in some of the stories isn’t what we are accustomed to in the contemporary world. ‘Unusual’ is the key word in the tagline; the women in the book aren’t all goody-goody but represent a wide spectrum of human emotions. At the same time, most of the stories have them as secondary/subservient to men. This anthology isn’t a modernised retelling but a faithful narration of some of the original stories with women in major roles. Keep this in mind if you intend to pick up the book; don’t go 21st-century-judgemental on it.

The stories are accompanied by full-page B&W illustrations. I have mostly positive feelings about these. They are drawn in a classic Indian style, which suits the book well. However, the human proportions are odd in a few sketches.

The only major shortcoming of the book is that it presupposes a certain familiarity with the Indian mythological epics. If you are an absolute novice to Indian mythology, this might not be the great book to begin with, as you will find yourself a bit lost in the proceedings. The stories still work well, but you won’t understand the background and significance of the characters.

Can we have a shout-out to that gorgeous cover art? See how dazzling the red and gold appears in the physical copy.

Definitely recommended to those who want to read some uncommon tales from Indian mythology.

Sudha Murty begins her book with this sloka. I’ll end my review with it.

‘Yatra naryastu pujyante, Ramante tatra Devata.’

(God resides wherever women are respected.)