I have been slightly obsessed with imagining the Mahabharatham from the Kaurava perspective, and found a book called Ajaya by Anand Neelakantan, which is exactly what I was looking for. Asura is by the same author, telling the perspective of Ravana and his people on the Ramayanam.
But alas, the book was meh at the most. Ravana's tale is a tragedy from start to end. His character makes many blunders, and if he were real, such a person would never have been made king, never have the support of so many people to take on Rama's army.
The romanticized idea in my head is that the antiheroes of these epics are only seen as such because they lost in the end. Anand Neelakantan's Ravana would have been portrayed as he is now regardless of him losing the war. Compared to Ravana in the book, I think the original story of a great man who just made the mistake of lusting for Rama's wife is more redeeming.
The Ravanan in my head wanted to avenge his sister. Lust was not his goal, hence why he didn't harm Sita. He really did believe Rama and Lakshman to be villains. Whether or not they were villains is not of any concern. Ravanan's story is the tale of a king who happened to lose a great war.
But alas, the book was meh at the most. Ravana's tale is a tragedy from start to end. His character makes many blunders, and if he were real, such a person would never have been made king, never have the support of so many people to take on Rama's army.
The romanticized idea in my head is that the antiheroes of these epics are only seen as such because they lost in the end. Anand Neelakantan's Ravana would have been portrayed as he is now regardless of him losing the war. Compared to Ravana in the book, I think the original story of a great man who just made the mistake of lusting for Rama's wife is more redeeming.
The Ravanan in my head wanted to avenge his sister. Lust was not his goal, hence why he didn't harm Sita. He really did believe Rama and Lakshman to be villains. Whether or not they were villains is not of any concern. Ravanan's story is the tale of a king who happened to lose a great war.
