The concept of celestial beings descending to Earth in order to fulfil their purpose fascinates to the core. On the one hand, it also ignites curiosity about how things would be if so happens. “Dvaitam: The rise of Asura” by Uttam Dutta emerges as an interesting combination of this element, which forms a major fragment of the book. At the same time, the portrayal of their identities is done in a distinct and remarkable manner.
Human beings and celestials may strike as different entities, their actions, reactions, temptations, behaviour, priorities, moralities and individual views bring them closer to being similar and alike in multiple ways. The exploration of the plot in a world that is deeply rooted in human issues yet driven by matters larger than life also gives “Dvaitam” an existential touch and makes the readers wonder how much larger the life is as compared to their routine problems. By the time the reader finishes the first part of the “Dvaitam” series, his perspective towards life changes, especially after going through the tales and different versions of historic and celestial beings through the journey this book takes you on.
The author shares elaborate details of the type of people of earth and the celestials, which makes the distinction easy even at an imaginative level. Whether it is the specifics of clothes, appearance, or physical attributes, Uttam Dutta does justice to the depiction and details. On the other hand, it depicts the emotional aspect of human beings and celestials that draws similarities and places them on common ground. Furthermore, even though the celestials strike as almighty and omnipotent, human life is celebrated for its temporary yet important nature with the chance of gaining moksh. Likewise, the author draws significant parallels that do not let the plot get biased towards only one way of life and give readers the space to form a neutral opinion.
One of the most distinguishing features of “Dvaitam” is the cover of the book. As it depicts an important event in the story and justifies itself at the later stages of plot development, it keeps the readers engrossed with the book throughout the read to enjoy and cherish its context and relevance. It also serves to give The author, making using his words successfully creates visuals for the readers using which they are easily able to form a mental picture of the places, characters and events. “Dvaitam” would find an accurate representation in graphic presentation, comic form or in the movie version. The narrative and the impressive dialogues ensure that the book would also appeal instantly to the readers of all age groups and hold relevance for every reader. While the graphic aspects would find appeal among younger readers, the references to mythology and use of epic characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata, the parallels drawn to present day world would appeal to the grown-up readers.
With a swiftly developing plot driven by back-to-back events and interesting shifts of narrative as and when necessary, “Dvaitam” by Uttam Dutta comes across as a novel that carries potential of being read, heard, recited, and quoted across different times and even generations.
