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What if the Ramayan was not only the story of Ram, Sita, and Ravan—but also of the silences that shaped them? What if forgotten voices, overlooked choices, and hidden sacrifices carried as much truth as the battles we celebrate? In Bachelor’s Wife and Other Stories, Ashok Subramanian reimagines these silences with lyrical depth and emotional clarity.
Ahalya’s suspended time, Lakshman’s guilt over the fatal line, Sabari’s unwavering devotion, Sampati’s sorrow, and Hanuman’s immortal leap reveal the unseen tremors of faith and destiny. The karmic echoes of the Hunter’s Tale, the tragic brilliance of Indrajit, and the wisdom in Ravan’s final moments widen the epic’s emotional horizon.
Amid these voices stands Ram—not only as the warrior-king, but as a grieving husband and a solitary soul burdened by love, loss, and duty. His sorrow through Sita’s absence and his final farewell remind us that divinity, too, bends under the weight of human pain.
At the heart of the collection lies The Bachelor’s Wife, the six-part chronicle of Shanta, Ram’s forgotten sister. Cast aside by royal decree, bound by sacrifice, and ultimately redeemed through resilience, her story embodies the strength of women whose lives history chose not to remember.
Enriched by the creative collaboration and fact-checking of Shweta Hitesh Joshi, this book does not merely retell the Ramayan—it reawakens it, giving voice to what lay unspoken and illuminating the timeless truths within its shadows.
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Ashok Subramanian, Shweta Hitesh Joshi
Ashok Subramanian is a poet, storyteller, and essayist whose work moves across poetry, fiction, and reflective non-fiction with equal ease. Since beginning his literary journey in 2011, he has written with a voice marked by clarity, emotional resonance, and a quiet, insistent lyricism.
His Ponder series (2020–2024) established him as an insightful reader of contemporary poetry, offering annual meditations that blend critique, interpretation, and personal reflection. He is also the driving force behind the Poetarrati trilogy—A Collection, Angel: An Unrequited Love, and Verses of this Universe—co-authored with Shweta Hitesh Joshi. These anthologies reflect both his individual poetic explorations and his commitment to nurturing wider creative dialogue.
Ashok’s fiction debut, A City Full of Stories: Tales Inspired by Life and Events of People in Mumbai, captured the pulse of urban India through intimate, character-driven narratives. His later works, including River’s Heaven: Poems of Self-Discovery and Introspection and his first major non-fiction title, Fountainhead – A Review: A Deep Dive on Ayn Rand’s Masterpiece, further reveal the range of his interests—from inner landscapes to philosophical inquiry. His writing has appeared on platforms such as BizCatalyst360, and he continues to share new work across LinkedIn, Instagram, and Medium.
With Bachelor’s Wife and Other Stories, Ashok turns to the Ramayan—not to recreate its spectacle, but to listen for what history left unsaid. Through forgotten voices, reimagined destinies, and the emotional truths that lie between verses, he brings to the epic a modern, deeply human retelling that is unmistakably his own.
