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Vanara

Vanara

The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara

Anand Neelakantan
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Baali and Sugreeva of the Vana Nara tribe were orphan brothers who were born in abject poverty and grew up as slaves like most of their fellow tribesmen. They were often mocked as the vanaras, the monkey men. Sandwiched between the never-ending war between the Deva tribes in the north and the Asura tribes in the south, the Vana Naras seemed to have lost all hope. But Baali was determined not to die a slave. Aided by his beloved brother, Sugreeva, Baali built a country for his people. The capital city, Kishkindha, became a beacon of hope for emancipated slaves from across the world. It was a city of the people, by the people, for the people, where there was no discrimination based on caste, creed, language or the colour of skin. For a brief period in history, it seemed as if mankind had found its ideal hero in Baali. But then fate intervened through the beautiful Tara, the daughter of a tribal physician. Loved by Baali and lusted after by Sugreeva, Tara became the cause of a fraternal war that would change history for ever.
The love triangle between Baali, Tara and Sugreeva is arguably the world’s first. Written by Anand Neelakantan who gave a voice to Ravana in Asura, Duryodhana in the Ajaya series and Sivagami in the Baahubali series, Vanara is a classic tale of love, lust and betrayal. Shakespearean in its tragic depth and epic in its sweep, Vanara gives voice to the greatest warrior in the Ramayana-Baali.

Imprint: India Penguin

Published: Nov/2018

ISBN: 9780143442837

Length : 304 Pages

MRP : ₹350.00

Vanara

The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara

Anand Neelakantan

Baali and Sugreeva of the Vana Nara tribe were orphan brothers who were born in abject poverty and grew up as slaves like most of their fellow tribesmen. They were often mocked as the vanaras, the monkey men. Sandwiched between the never-ending war between the Deva tribes in the north and the Asura tribes in the south, the Vana Naras seemed to have lost all hope. But Baali was determined not to die a slave. Aided by his beloved brother, Sugreeva, Baali built a country for his people. The capital city, Kishkindha, became a beacon of hope for emancipated slaves from across the world. It was a city of the people, by the people, for the people, where there was no discrimination based on caste, creed, language or the colour of skin. For a brief period in history, it seemed as if mankind had found its ideal hero in Baali. But then fate intervened through the beautiful Tara, the daughter of a tribal physician. Loved by Baali and lusted after by Sugreeva, Tara became the cause of a fraternal war that would change history for ever.
The love triangle between Baali, Tara and Sugreeva is arguably the world’s first. Written by Anand Neelakantan who gave a voice to Ravana in Asura, Duryodhana in the Ajaya series and Sivagami in the Baahubali series, Vanara is a classic tale of love, lust and betrayal. Shakespearean in its tragic depth and epic in its sweep, Vanara gives voice to the greatest warrior in the Ramayana-Baali.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback
Ebooks

Anand Neelakantan

Anand Neelakantan is the author of the Bahubali trilogy, the official prequel to S.S. Rajamouli's movie. The first book in the series, The Rise of Sivagami, was released in 2017, and was a bestseller across all charts for two years and was on Amazon's list of top five bestsellers for 2017. The second book, Chaturanga, and the final book in the trilogy, Queen of Mahishmati, were subsequently published with outstanding success. Netflix has announced a series based on the Bahubali trilogy.

Anand debuted as an author in 2012 with his iconic book Asura: Tale of the Vanquished, which told the tale of Ramayana from the perspective of Ravana. The book has been translated into sixteen languages and is on Amazon's '100 Books to Be Read in a Lifetime' list. Anand followed it up with the hugely popular Ajaya series, a retelling of the Mahabharata from Duryodhana's point of view. Vanara, published by Penguin, told the story of the Ramayana from Baali's perspective and became an instant bestseller. The book is slated to be a major motion picture and was optioned for one of the biggest bids in the Indian film industry.

Anand also wrote the popular children's book The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids, published by Puffin. There is an upcoming animation series based on this book. He has also published a short-story collection titled Valmiki's Women. Anand's audiobook, Many Ramayanas, Many Lessons, was in the top three listens of Audible India in 2021 and 2022. Nala Damayanti first appeared as an audio drama in Storytel in ten languages and became Storytel's most-listened-to book in 2022.

Anand is a prolific screenplay writer and has written hugely popular series like Siya Ke Ram, Chakravarthi Samrat Ashoka, Mahabali Hanuman, Sarfrosh, Adaalat, Taj and Swaraj, among others. Ace director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has announced a two-part film based on the Mahabharata that Anand is co-writing with him. Reliance Entertainment has announced a spy thriller for a major OTT channel with Anand as the lead writer.

For the past six years, Anand has been writing a regular fortnightly column, named Acute Angle, for the New Indian Express. Anand also writes in Malayalam and has authored a short-story collection, travelogues, articles and film reviews for leading Malayalam dailies. Anand dabbles in cartooning, painting, public speaking, life coaching, acting and modelling. He lives in Mumbai with his family.

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