If you are someone who is familiar with even an iota of Hindu mythology, you’d know of Lord Vishnu (the preserver) and his ten avatars. Mohini is one of his ten avatars, the only female one and in some texts, is said to be one of the most powerful and less an avatar and more of an extension of Vishnu. Her name means “someone who is pleasant” and her weapon of choice is seduction. In popular mythological texts, she is shown to be someone who uses the art of seduction from something as simple as stopping wars and something as complex as fulfilling her needs. (Yep. Read that again. It’s true.)
Sadly, across many texts, even a lot of modern versions, she doesn’t get the light even though she is a slayer of demons throughout the cosmos and she holds the power of Vishnu and that of her own. I have been reading a lot about her over various versions and interpretations of mythology, but I’ll leave you to reading this author’s perspective first.
Speaking of the author, when I dove into the book, before I came across Mohini and her charms, Anuja’s writing style is what felt enchanting. The beautiful language, descriptive yet contained, flowing like silk is what enhanced my experience of the stories. It is also what took me a long time to complete reading the book but that is a whole other thing.
The story has various stories imbibed into it. It flows like a river that gets distributed in various tributaries but they all meet again at the same bay. And although they are very well narrated when seen individually, I felt the narration, overall, was dwindling in places. It is not difficult to keep track if you know the mythology stories beforehand. I guess it is bound to happen, since most of the characters we came across are practically immortal and you just keep bumping into them time and again.
I loved the matriarchy perspective the book had and how women were portrayed throughout. Before picking this one up, I was working on a blog post on how male writers write women characters regardless of whether they are the protagonist or a side character or just someone in passing. I thought the problem was they sexualised women without maybe even realising it. And then I crossed paths with this book and it changed my perspective. Women are sexualised in this book. Yes. And very tastefully. But not like the sexualisation taboo that either reduced them to sexual objects or plain out crazy maniacs. Their description here made them powerful and portrayed them like the Queens and Goddesses they are! The sexualisation wad not to shame them, but to humanise them and provide an insight. If you want to see true feminism and fair treatment, then this book should be well on top of your reading list. Honestly, I have never came across such a portrayal and it’ll be hard to match. Even the story of Tara, who is shamed across the boundations of time, is shown in a true light and a new perspective and I loved that! For Mohini herself and how her charms were frowned upon in the name of sins and still seeked out by many, it truly portrays the irony of the real world.
I wished there was more emphasis on the stories of Aditi and Diti as well, since the Asuras and the Devas were present for a huge chunk of the book. I really want to know how they would’ve been portrayed in this context.
This book is inclusive of third gender and its origination story. While most of mythological stories shun that part out and as a result, not many know of it, this book brings to you in detail and leaves you wanting to know more. I, for one, wasn’t aware of it, and to be honest, I like mythology better when it comes bearing the pride flag. (petition to add a pride flag behind every Shiva deity, stone or picture)
On another note, I am someone who rarely talks about book covers in a review but would you just look at that beautiful cover? One of the best ones for mytho-fiction I have seen in a while!
Overall, it was an amazing read and I look forward to reading more from this author. I recommend this book for mature audience only as it gets a little graphic at some points.
Reviewed by Muskan Rajani
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