Venmurasu

Venmurasu (Tamil: வெண்முரசு) is a Tamil novel by writer Jeyamohan. A modern adaptation of the Indian classical epic Mahabharatha, it is Jeyamohan's most ambitious work to date, with a scope and scale that seeks to match the grandness of the epic itself. Jeyamohan started writing the work in January 2014 and has announced plans to write it every day over ten years. The overall volume is expected to cross 25,000 pages.

'Venmurasu' is being written as a series of books, each one composed in a different style and genre. As of April 2015, four books have been published, the fifth one is being published in the summer of 2015. Jeyamohan is working on the sixth book in the series.

Background

Jeyamohan had been an avid reader of the Mahabharathaha, the quintessential epic of India. In his childhood he had been fascinated by the Kathakali renderings of Mahabharatha stories, their expressive portrayals of characters like Duryodhan and the angst-ridden life of Karna making a deep impression on him. Far from being a simple tale of 'good vs evil', Mahabharatha opened up for him as a true classic with multi-dimensional characters, drama, emotion, and a deep meditation on truth, philosophy, ideals, fate and the universe itself.

As he grew up and traveled the length and breadth of India, Jeyamohan saw and read the various adaptations of the Mahabharatha and its universal influence on the culture and language of India across all regions and languages. He delved deep into the work of Vyasa and followed the path of the epic as it was told and retold over the works of thousands of authors, singers and performers into the twentieth century. The epic grew with him and helped him chart the path of his life as a writer. The Bhagavad Gita had a deep influence on his worldview and he continued to explore its meanings under Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati.

In the late 1980's and 1990's, Jeyamohan wrote many short stories based on the Mahabharatha, including the highly praised Thisaigalin Naduve and Padma Vyugam. He later wrote a series of essays on the Gita on his website. Jeyamohan also continued to build up on decades of personal research for his ongoing work on Asokavanam.

On the night of Christmas 2013, Jeyamohan was conversing with his children on the classic drama of Mahabharatha, and his daughter Chaitanya requested him to write it all himself. With just an outline in his mind and trusting his instinct, Jeyamohan decided to commence the immense project that will stretch over the next decade.

Style

Jeyamohan has described Venmurasu as a modern novel based on the Mahabharatha, and not just a retelling of the story in modern idiom. Venmurasu is guided by the storyline of the epic and the dynamics of the Indian Puranic tradition, but as a work of literature composed in the twenty-first century, it assumes its own form and aesthetics that place it in a modern context.

Venmurasu roughly follows the Mahbharatha on a linear narrative, but imbues it with much more detail and colour. While the Mahabharatha is traditionally narrated as 18 Parvas, Venmurasu breaks it into a series of novels, each self-contained with a plot and storyline, but remaining inter-connected with each other. Stories that are mere bylines and footnotes in the traditional Mahabharatha assume giant proportions in Venmurasu, and become central to the plot development across generations. Over its course, Venmurasu taps into Vyasa's original work that was written four thousand years ago, the Srimad Bhagavata written two thousand years later, the Devi Bhagavata written another five hundred years later.

In a nod to the great oral story-telling traditions of India, most of Venmurasu is narrated by Sūtas the traveling bards. They carry the story across the length and breadth of the country and provide both embellishment and meaning to the dour palace intrigues of Asthinapuri. Through their words and trances, the characters assume mythical dimensions and find their place in the common dream of the author and the reader.

In each of its books, Venmurasu adopts a distinctive genre and style that is based on the storyline. The imagery, symbolism and language varies as the plots sweep across the vastness of ancient India and follow multitudes of characters. It stitches together hundreds of myths and legends from the various Indian religions and traditions. But at its core, it retains the highest ideals and poetic vision of Vyasa, and the tremendous drama that makes it accessible to the common reader.

Within the innumerous folds of Mahabharatha, Jeyamohan finds scope to explore and describe his philosophy based upon forty years of study and practice. In his own words, Venmurasu "is a classical work that possesses density and depth but leaves enough space for discerning readers to fill with their imagination".

Outline

The first book, Mudharkanal (First Spark), starts with the story of Asthika and Vyasa as a prelude to Janamejaya's Sarpa yagna, and ends with the liberation of Daksha by Asthika. In between, Mudharkanal builds the story of Asthinapuri, Shantanu and his empress Satyavathi, Bheeshmar, Ambai, Shikhandi, Vichitraveeryan, Chitrangadan, Ambikai and Ambalikai.

The second book, Mazhaippadal (Rain Song) describes the stories of Ambikai and Ambalikai, their sons Dhritarashtran and Pandu, and then traces the rise of Gandhari and Kunti. The plot sweeps across Asthinapuri, the North Western kingdom of Gandhara and the Yadava lands. Mazhaippadal is as much a story of the conflict between the adversarial communities and tribes of ancient India as the one between the women of Asthinapuri - which ultimately develops into the great Bharata war.

The third book, Vannakkadal (Sea of Colors) describes the childhood and youth of Kaurava and Pandava princes growing up together in Asthinapuri. Vannakadal also follows the backstory of Dronacharya and his becoming the Guru of Asthinapuri's princes. Almost all the stories are told through the experiences of Ilanagan, a young bard from South India who travels towards Asthinapuri and learns various schools of Indian thought and philosophy on the way.

The fourth book, Neelam (Blue), is the story of Krishna and Radha. At once romantic and lyrical, it describes Krishna through Radha's eyes and develops the archetypes underlying the Advaita philosophies. Neelam also follows the story of Kamsa, who is slain by Krishna.

The fifth book, Prayagai (Confluence) is the story of Draupadi's birth, youth and marriage with the Pandavas. In parallel it describes the rise of Krishna and his city of Dwarakai.

Development & Release

Jeyamohan started writing Venmurasu in serialized form on his website with an episode being released every day. The illustrators Shanmugavel and Manikandan added a painting for each episode.

• Mudharkanal began on January 1 2014 and was completed by mid-February.
• Mazhaippadal was completed by May 2014.
• Vannkkadal ran from June 1, 2014 to August 10, 2014.
• Neelam was published online from August 20 to September 26th, 2014

Once each book was completed, it was published in book form by Natrinai Pathippagam, the Chennai based publishing house. Natrinai, which had earlier brought out the collector's edition of Vishnupuram, published collector's editions of all the Venmurasu books and also paperback versions. The hardbound collector's editions were available only on pre-order, and carried personalized signatures of the author.

The Vishnupuram Ilakkiya Vattam held a major release event in Chennai on November 9, 2014 for the Venmurasu series of books. The event hosted luminaries of Tamil art world including Ashokamitran, Ilayaraja, Kamalhaasan, Prapanchan, Nanjilnadan, P A Krishnan and felicitated exponents of the traditional folk art forms and kathaprasangis of Mahabharatha.

Reception

Venmurasu has met with tremendous response among readers of Tamil literature across the world. While Jeyamohan himself attributes it to the enduring popularity of the Mahabharatha, critics have praised Venmurasu for blazing new trails in the Mahabharatha canon.

Noted writers Indira Parthasarathy and Ashokamithran have praised Venmurasu for its intricate descriptions, poetic depth and classic dynamics. Writer and orator Marabinmaindan Muthiah has written a 7-part series of essays titled 'Vyasa Manam' introducing the finer aspects of Venmurasu. Filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Vasanthabalan, Mysskin and Seenu Ramasamy have expressed their of the lyrical beauty and visuals.

Reader statistics for Jeyamohan's site jumped to more than fifty thousand per day, necessitating a move to cloud-based hosting to handle the extra demand.

References

External links

• http://www.venmurasu.in
• http://www.jeyamohan.in

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