IF THE LION TELLS THE STORY: ANAND NEELAKANTAN’S ASURA: TALE OF THE VANQUISHED AS A SITE OF DIALOGISM AND COUNTER-NARRATIVE

Abstract

This paper employs Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism to explore the nuanced portrayal of Ravana in Anand Neelakantan’s Asura: Tale of the Vanquished in contrast to the depiction of the character in Valmiki’s Ramayana. By presenting Ravana’s perspective, the novel invites dialogic engagement with the myth, amplifying the voices suppressed in the dominant Deva-centric narrative. By utilizing Asura as a case study, this paper seeks to posit an important question pertaining to the dialogic narrative strategies: In what ways does Anand Neelakantan’s Asura embody Bakhtin’s concept of dialogism by presenting multiple, independent voices that resist unification under a single ideological perspective? In its attempt to respond to these questions, the paper seeks to accomplish two objectives: to foreground the interpretative texts written for the Asuras, and to situate Ravana as a product of his choice and circumstances rather than a quintessential villain. By humanizing Ravana and situating his actions within a matrix of social and personal struggles, Neelakantan reframes the myth, presenting him as a tragic figure shaped by his circumstances rather than pure malice. The novel, thus, interrogates the moral absolutism of mythological archetypes and replaces it with a morally ambiguous, dialogic understanding of Ravana’s life.