By Anupama Garg
Review By Ila Garg
The Tantric Curse, a novel by Anupama Garg, is published by Rupa Publications. The cover shows two well-defined eyes and the fire symbol on the forehead is much noticeable. Next, I can see a white silhouette of the girl in the centre. Huge eyes amidst geometric patterns creates an hypnotising effect. The colour combination of red, black and white is appealing and at once, transverse you into the world of tantra.
I had recently interviewed the author Anupama Garg, immediately after reading the book. If you missed it, you can read it here.
Anupama Garg was born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. She is a post graduate in chemistry, and has received a Diploma in Business Management and completed law thereafter. She has been training under her Guru, Baba Batuk Nathji, a renowned Tantric and head of the Bhoot Nath Charitable Trust, since the last twenty-two years. Today she conducts experiential workshops for corporates, hospitals, college and schools under the name ‘Life by Choice’. She also devotes time at the ashram of her Guru, The Bhoot Nath Ashram. The focal point of all the programs is self-awareness and self-cultivation leading to holistic wellness. Anupama is married and lives with her husband and son.
The Tantric Curse is her literary debut.
I was excited to begin it.
The blurb reads as, “On an amavasya night, eight-year-old Rhea mysteriously lands at the doors of Shaktidham, a Tantric house of worship, in a trance. Realizing that she is blessed with unusual faculties, the guru of Shaktidham, Satya, chooses her as a disciple over his own son, Krishnam, to carry on his lineage, a privilege previously bestowed only to males. But the lineage has been cursed for generations, and it is up to Rhea to either break the curse or perish in the attempt.
Will she succeed in her endeavour? Will her love for Krishnam become an obstacle in her path? The Tantric Curse, an unusual story set in the world of Tantra that aims to dispel most of the myths about the practice, will keep you spellbound till the very last page.”
It was a night of Amavasya, when an orphan girl of 8 years, Rhea arrives in a Shaktidham, a Tantric house of worship. The guru at Shaktidham, Satya takes her in. Gradually, as Rhea continues to grow up there, Satya discovers that Rhea has her own special powers. Rhea along with guru’s son Krishnam thrives in this unique environment and shows deep understanding for human dreams and emotions. Growing up together in the proximity of mother earth, they fell in love. It was a love so powerful and consuming that they felt that they were soulmates from time immemorial. But like it happens in every story, the good things did come to a pause when Satya finds out. Subsequently he tells Krishnam something that makes him to away from India for a long time, leaving Rhea behind.
Life for Rhea isn’t too easy – first, she is an orphan and second, a student of tantra. The author brings to the light the wrong notions that people have with regard to tantra. Some people consider tantric life to be full of orgies and sexual activities. For this and many more beliefs, Rhea is a butt of ridicule at her college.
The students fear her – “They have powers to possess people and are destructive. I have heard tantrics are dangerous people,” said someone.
The questioning and answering of these beliefs have been done in a convincing manner by the skillful author. Tantra is not an evil practice; it is on you that how you use the knowledge of tantra. Magic has always been talked about in hushed voices, which everyone of us want to possess. When you are in sync with nature and you understand the law of nature, you can understand the power of magic, you can have your answers. In the book, Rhea has unusual dreams and she can make things happen without moving an inch from her place. A person like us would fear her and think she is not normal. However, she is as normal as she can be. The only thing that makes her different is that she understands the true meaning of nature and has a powerful mind. Even science has not been able to enter in the realms of human mind completely and thus; magic is always seen as contradictory by science.
The author has sketched the characters—Rhea, Satya and Krishnam—beautifully. The language is simple and easy to comprehend. Nowhere will a reader feel any disconnect. It’s so well-written and the concept is such an eye opener that once you pick up, you cannot keep it down without finishing it off. I found it quite engaging. The subject is tackled beautifully by the skillful author. And that she chose a controversial subject like tantra for her debut novel is remarkable!
How Rhea grows up in the world of tantra, what is black magic, is tantra as bad as we think it to be, how Krishnam and Rhea fell in love, what did Satya tell Krishnam that made him go away, will Krishnam and Rhea reunite, are some of the many reasons why you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens in The Tantric Curse.
Further, this 280 page book is good enough to expose the world of tantra and clearly defines what it is in contrast to the myths that prevail around it. Overall, it’s a compelling book.
Ratings: 4.5/5
so the cover exactly shows what type of book is.. i guess this will be an interesting read..
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