Posted:
My dear Ria,
It is a measure of the success of your writing that I could literally smell the blood all over the battlefield at Kalinga, and it made me feel sick. It must not have been easy for you to compose this piece, and you have clearly put your heart and soul into it.
The only line that comes to mind when one reaches the end is: They made a desert and called it peace.
Still, though this might sound blasphemous to those swearing by the dauntless courage of the ordinary people of Kalinga and the value they attached to their independence, I personally felt that it was foolish of them to destroy not just their kingdom but their entire existence as a people in order not to be submerged in the Mauryan empire. Which need not have been a horrible or even an especially bad fate.
What purpose was served by this massive display of valour? Nothing, except perhaps that it made possible the transition from Chand Ashoka - and you have brought out the reasons for the seething volcano inside him vividly - to Dharma Ashoka. As for why it had to be this battle that triggered that transition, for Ashoka must have been used to blood and gore aplenty in his earlier battles, it was surely the role of the common people in fighting the invading Mauryan army.
To come back to your piece, do you mean to continue with Dharma Ashoka? It should be interesting,and soothing as well after this carnage that you have described in such agonising and telling detail.
And yes, I loved the opening line from the Lord Buddha, with its distilled wisdom.
Shyamala Aunty
It is a measure of the success of your writing that I could literally smell the blood all over the battlefield at Kalinga, and it made me feel sick. It must not have been easy for you to compose this piece, and you have clearly put your heart and soul into it.
The only line that comes to mind when one reaches the end is: They made a desert and called it peace.
Still, though this might sound blasphemous to those swearing by the dauntless courage of the ordinary people of Kalinga and the value they attached to their independence, I personally felt that it was foolish of them to destroy not just their kingdom but their entire existence as a people in order not to be submerged in the Mauryan empire. Which need not have been a horrible or even an especially bad fate.
What purpose was served by this massive display of valour? Nothing, except perhaps that it made possible the transition from Chand Ashoka - and you have brought out the reasons for the seething volcano inside him vividly - to Dharma Ashoka. As for why it had to be this battle that triggered that transition, for Ashoka must have been used to blood and gore aplenty in his earlier battles, it was surely the role of the common people in fighting the invading Mauryan army.
To come back to your piece, do you mean to continue with Dharma Ashoka? It should be interesting,and soothing as well after this carnage that you have described in such agonising and telling detail.
And yes, I loved the opening line from the Lord Buddha, with its distilled wisdom.
Shyamala Aunty
...Finding The Light...
Chapter 1
"You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger."
----Gautam Buddha
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
