Kaikeyi

I read the Ramayana many years ago, but I didn’t even remember Kaikeyi, which just goes to show why we really need Vaishnavi Patel’s reimagining of her life. Kaikeyi is more than the mother of Rama. In Patel’s novel, she is a powerful warrior. The chariot battle scene from early in the novel still stays vivid in my mind. Nonetheless, the reality of being a royal consort pressured to conform eventually puts Kaikeyi in her place. When she rebels, she is shunned and even vilified.

I loved rediscovering Hindu mythology while unearthing new dimensions and depth to this misjudged, maligned… show more.

You know how Madeline Miller jazzed up Circe's tale? Well, Vaishnavi did just that for Kaikeyi.

It is uncanny how Indian Mythology has been ignored on the world stage for decades and suddenly two reimaginings, one on Ramayana (Kaikeyi) and one on Mahabharata (Sons of Darkness) hit the shelves in the same year. Coming to the book. Well, forget what you've heard about Queen Kaikeyi being the 'villain' – this book flips that script!

Kaikeyi is the badass feminist hero you didn't know you needed. Vaishnavi Patel's retelling gives her this awesome makeover, painting her as this brave woman fighting… show more.

I absolutely loved this marvellous reworking of the Hindu epic The Ramayana, a familiar tale I heard every Diwali as a child. Kaikeyi takes no less a figure than the villainous stepmother of Prince Rama, who demands his exile, an event that culminates in a battle to overthrow Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Patel’s reworking takes its cues from the original texts (there are hundreds of different versions) and spins a cleverly complex, nuanced tale of Kaikeyi as a proto-feminist heroine, trapped within a patriarchal system.