KALIDASA

Kalidasa is undoubtedly the
greatest poet and playwright in the Sanskrit language. The exact time when
Kalidasa is said to have lived has always remained inconclusive, but it is
largely believed that he composed his works at the close of the first millennium
BC. His writings not only recreate glorious Puranic lore, but also epitomize
the richness of ancient Indian literature. In this novel, acclaimed writer
K.C. Ajayakumar recreates Kalidasa metamorphosis from a Malva boy to a
literary genius. The book Gives ingenious insights into the life and works of
Kalidasa and also relives Kalidasa’s travels all over India. The reader is
taken to the times when Kalidasa’s soaring popularity earns him a place in
the royal court of King Vikramaditya. Soon, however, he becomes a target of
Ujjain’s palace politics, and the court’s jealous intellectuals and literary
gurus have him banished to a remote place called Ramagiri. It’s here that his
pain and anguish find expression in the form of his literary masterpiece, Meghadutam.
Later, as he is set to marry the sister of Vikramaditya, she dies in an
accident. Overcome with grief, Kalidasa immerses himself in writing. His
enemies feel even more threatened and they instigate people to set Kalidasa’s
house on fire, in which his parents die. They also manage to poison the mind
of Vikramaditya and, as a result, Kalidasa becomes completely unwelcome and
unwanted. This is the tragic story of the greatest writer in Bharatavarsha.