WRITING STYLE: 5/5 PLOT: 4/5 CHARACTERs: 5/5 OVERALL: 4.5/5
I was in mood for a mythological read when I browsed my library and came across “Vikram and Betal: Life Lessons for Our Times,” a book that my mother had purchased for me a while ago. This book brings to life the famous Indian classic, “Baital Pachisi.”
The original classic “Baital Pachisi” has twenty-five stories. In this book, however, ten of these stories are selected by the author and presented along with some beautiful illustrations.
The main characters of our story are Vikram and Betal. Vikram is the legendary king Vikramaditya from our Indian history, and Betal is a dead corpse that turns into a Pishacha after dying.
The stories are about an agreement between King Vikram and a sage. As a part of the agreement, King Vikramaditya has to bring the dead corpse to the sage at the cremation ground. So, the story is about how the king completes this task and what happens when he goes to get the dead corpse.
I must warn you that this task is not so easy. It has one condition: King Vikram had to not speak a word while bringing the corpse to the cremation ground.
This was also not easy because each time King Vikram took Betal to the cremation ground, Betal narrated a story and asked a riddle at the end of each story. Betal would threaten to smash his head into a thousand pieces if Vikram did not answer the riddle.
Vikram knew the answers to each riddle, but every time he would speak and answer the riddle, the agreement between the sage and Vikram would be broken.
I love the theme of the book. It is about a ghost, but even then, the book is not a very scary read. The stories are interesting and are based in ancient India.
The illustrations are eye-catching and enhance the value of the book.
Out of the ten stories, two are my favorites. These are “The Third Hand” and “A Difficult Choice.” I would certainly recommend this book to all readers in the age group of seven to eleven years.
It is a book worth reading and having in your library.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of “Vikram and Betal: Life Lessons for Our Times”.
