Forever Yours, Krishna

Krishna is an anti-hero, an anarchist and a rebel extraordinaire. He fulfils all the dark desires lurking in the depths of our unconscious. He holds an instant appeal for all of us, young and old, transcending caste and gender. Krishna's unconventional behaviour is celebrated with great ecstasy and devotion in Indian art, music, literature and folklore.

 

Krishna cannot be judged by the moral yardstick used for others. To the Indian mind, he cannot but do what he does. His deeds, righteous or not, are never questioned by anyone. In the imagination of the Indian people, he is the fountainhead of eternal energy, pranks and wisdom.

 

This novel portrays him as our contemporary and also as a character who would be relevant in all times to come. Krishna is the most charismatic character in the Harivamsham, Sri Bhagavatam, Vishnupurana and the Mahabharata, yet he is not the hero in any of them. In this novel, he is the hero, the central figure around whom things revolve. The dying Krishna himself narrates his story to Jara, the hunter, who, in turn, chooses Narada, the eternal cosmic traveller who is well-versed in an idiom that is forever contemporary, to tell us in his own way what he has heard from Krishna.