A01=Aashish Kaul
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Author_Aashish Kaul
automatic-update
Category1=Fiction
Category=FA
Category=FBA
Chess
COP=United Kingdom
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
eq_bestseller
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_modern-contemporary
eq_nobargain
Fiction
Language_English
PA=Available
Pieces
Price_€10 to €20
PS=Active
Ramayana
softlaunch
Product details
- ISBN 9781782798613
- Weight: 172g
- Dimensions: 142 x 210mm
- Publication Date: 27 Feb 2015
- Publisher: Collective Ink
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
In the second age of the world, a time of prehistory, a time of myth, Mandodari, queen of the demon king Ravana, invents chess to carve out a role for herself in a world where male, martial virtues are paramount. As a chess player, she can play at warfare; as queen, she can be the most potent warrior on the battlefield. The Queen's Play attempts to write the origin of chess into the narrative cycles of the Ramayana, one of the two formative epics of ancient India.The cursory mention of a chess-like game in the Ramayana lore offers interesting parallels and openings between the game and the themes of the epic poem. At the centre of it is a queen, first entering and then growing from strength to strength to become the most powerful piece on the board, inventing a game which closely parallels the epic battle taking place not far from the royal palace, a battle which she is not permitted to join, a battle where she will lose her king. Foregrounding certain episodes from the vast tapestry of the epic, the novel develops new narrative variations that feed back into the classical text with freshly imagined material.
Aashish Kaul was born in India, and educated in India and Australia. He is the author of A Dream of Horses & Other Stories.
