What? A book by a fifteen year old? Aren’t they usually out playing cricket or sitting indoors glued onto their computer screens? But the fact is that young Dev Popat has written and published a book of his own. What a feat!
Now about the book … almost every Indian is well-versed with the plots and at least a few subplots from the epic Mahabharata. There are scores of characters – lovable, awe-inspiring, mighty, impressive, despicable…. Dev has picked one of the most misunderstood and wronged characters and made him the protagonist of his first book ‘The Forgotten Son’. The hero, Karna, abandoned at birth and forsaken by those he looked up to, is one character from the Mahabharata you don’t hear about as much as you’d want to. His face off with his enemies, his initial infatuation with the woman he could never have, the only friendship he forges and stands by steadfastly – all this and much more has been dealt with by Dev in a style of story-telling that is simple yet engrossing, informative yet interesting and entertaining. He has done his research well and isn’t just narrating an oft-told tale that we think we know so well. So kudos to you on that, Dev.
The book itself is eye-catching with the colours and illustration on its cover and I think the title indicates more than the fact that ‘this son’ was forsaken by almost everyone, even those that should have been on his side the most. It also seems to remind us that this brave, honest and faithful man, son of our soil, has seldom received his fair share of the respect and awe he rightfully deserved.
To sum it up, this is a well-written first book by Dev and I hope he keeps writing and continues to impress…
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