These days, I rarely find the time to sit down and read a book. My schedule is packed with work, teaching Sanskrit classes, sloka classes, my abhyasa classes, practicing the Veena, my daily mandatory walks, and cooking, to name a few. However, with summer here and my classes on break for three months, what better way to spend the time than by reading a good book?

Currently, I’m immersed in the works of the famous author Padma Bhushan Shri. S.L. Bhyrappa. For those unfamiliar, Bhyrappa avare is a renowned author from Karnataka, and all his books are immensely popular. Unfortunately, I don’t know Kannada, so I rely on translations. Most of his works are translated into English, though I prefer reading translations in either Sanskrit or Tamil or Hindi when available; otherwise, English suffices. Thankfully, I found his latest book translated into Sanskrit.

If you’re familiar with Bhyrappa’s work, you know it evokes strong emotions, and this book, based on the epic Ramayana, is no exception. I’m finding it hard to put down, even enduring head and eye pain from continuous reading. A detailed review of the book will follow in another post once I finish it, but if you have time and are an avid reader like me, give one of his books a try.

I’ve also bought his “Parva,” which is based on the epic Mahabharata. When reading these, keep in mind that the author takes liberties and writes from his point of view, sometimes diverging from the original epics. Since I know the language and have read the epics, I’m not looking for a retelling but rather a different perspective that provokes new thoughts.

While the characters and overarching plot remain consistent with the epics, the story leading to some incidents differs significantly from those in the epics, making it a work of fiction. I’ll stop here before I end up summarizing the plot, but for non-Kannadigas, these are books you should definitely consider reading.