Usha Narayanan’s book: Praduymna is a mythological work based around the events that took place when the world was on the threshold of Kali-Yuga. The years span across the time when Lord Krishna was reigning over the kingdom of Dwarka-India.

Praduymna is the son of Lord Krishna. Praduymna’s destiny forces him to fight it out with the asuras from the monster-kingdom. The young and valiant man has to fight many other battles, too, between politics and power beseeching those times.

There are plenty of characters in the book that are described so well by the author. It is apparent: Usha Narayanan has done her research on all the characters of her book – very thoroughly. The plot turns into a gripping saga as the events spread a canvas of different hues and scenes – from the glittering palaces to the bloody battlefields. The beauty of Rati, the grace of Rukmini, the jealousy of Jambavati, the rage of Samba, the calm wisdom of Lord Krishna, the demonic nature of the asuras, – all of this and more are brought out in the most enchanting manner by the writer.

Narada, the devrishi, is playing an important role in the book, and through his narratives, the book lover is able to imbibe the true flavor of Hindu mythology.

Pradyumna can be considered as a fantasy thriller; the elements of fantasy have always been the crucial arm of mythological tales. The numerous adventures of the hero have the vivid structure of a fantasy thriller.

The novel superbly narrates tales through Narada, who reasons on karma, re-birth, and why we are reborn with certain twisted relationships. Within the novel, there are various stories which explain, again and again, how karmic burden cannot be shaken off so easily! The commanding forces of cosmic law will neither spare any gods or mortals – everyone must be humbled, or, rewarded by the individual act of his free-will. The most important message from the book is that whether they are gods or ordinary mortals – all of them have to pay for their actions; good actions will be rewarded with goodness, bad actions will be rewarded with unhappiness.

It is appropriate to mention that the story, in spite of so many characters with different backgrounds is able to retain the attention of the reader – right from the start to the end of the novel.

Usha Narayan’s debut novel, The Madras Mangler has also been received very well by readers and the media. Her next book is a romcom with the title: Love, Lies, and Layoff.

Praduymna is published by Penguin metro reads.