महामोह - अहिल्या की जीवनी

by Pratibha Ray

Ahalya is a very popular mythological character in Indian literature. Her story is as old as the Vedas and epics like the Ramayana.

In her original novel in Odia, titled Mahamoha, Dr. Pratibha Ray has become one with her. Ahalya had the blessings and problems of a typical woman, which transcends any fixed historical period. With her magic pen, Dr. Ray has transformed Ahalya to represent a woman of all ages, signifying the struggles of a woman from ancient time to the modern, from her childhood, marriage, and child-rearing to old age.

In this translation of Mahamoha, Ahalya is portrayed as an eternal emblem of women’s quest for equality and love.

This novel, even though based on a mythological story of the Vedic period, is very much appropriate to make the reader ponder about the social concerns of the modern age across all cultures.

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Pratibha Ray is an Indian academic and writer. Her search for a "social order based on equality, love, peace and integration", continues, since she first penned at the age of nine. She wrote for a social order, based on equality without class, caste, religion or sex discriminations which are so common in India.

She was formerly a professor in Education and former member of Odisha Public Service Commission. She is one of the leading fiction writers in India writing in her mother tongue Odia. She has several novels, travelogues, short story, poetry and essay collections to her credit. She is the recipient of the Jnanpith Award for her contribution to Indian literature, the Moorti Devi Award, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Shri given by the Government of India.

Reviews

[Siddhartha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel is very good detailed one on life of Ahalya. I read the Malayalam translation of the novel. The errors in the language and printing made the enjoyment of this novel a bit difficult.

I would rate 5 stars for the novel and 2/3 for the printing quality and translation.

It would have been a much better reading experience if the translation was done with little more effort to avoid very uncommon Sanskrit words in Malayalam. I don't think you can read it without the help of a very good dictionary.

[Savita Ramsumair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking

As much as I understood Ahalya's plight, I do not agree that Gautam was so heartless as he was painted to be in this novel.