When Arya Fell Through The Fault

by Reenita Malhotra Hora

When Arya Fell Through The Fault Is The Magical, Coming-Of-Age Tale Of Arya, A 12-Year-Old Boy From San Francisco, Who Is Ridiculed By Bullies. Anything To Do With His Ethnicity—Food, Traditions Or The Fascinating Mythological Stories He Has Been Raised With, Has Become The Building Block Of Unpleasant School Experiences. In The Wake Of An Accident That Confines His Once Vibrant Mother To A Hospital Ward—Kept Alive By Tubes And Machines—Arya Clings To The Only Remnant Of Their Bond: An Old, Battered Copy Of The Ramayana, India’S Ancient Epic Story Of Rama’S Battle Against Demons.One Night, Arya Falls Through A Fault In The Earth Into The Wild Woods, Where Ravana—The Demon King—Strategises To Destroy His Ramayana—The Last Copy Left—And Threatens To Rewrite History From His Evil Perspective. Will Arya Be Able To Save The Story Of Rama, Heal His Mother And Return Home To Tackle The Demons In His Ordinary World? Reenita Malhotra Hora Is An Award-Winning Broadcast Journalist, Ayurveda Clinician And Author Of Books On Ayurveda And Finance. Her Debut Fiction Novel, Operation Mom: How I Got My Mother A Life And Man Has Been Recognised As A Must-Read Young Adult Book Written By An Indian Author. When Arya Fell Through The Fault Is Her Second Release In This Genre. Reenita Anchors Hong Kong’S Popular Morning Finance Programme, Money For Nothing On Rthk Radio 3. Her Weekend Storytelling Show, Asian Threads Has Won Her A Gold Trophy At The New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards. Native To Mumbai, She Currently Lives With Her Family In Hong Kong. Talking Points - Recommended And Reviewed By Veteran Actress And Bjp Mp, Kirron Kher - Author Of Two Non-Fiction Books And Two Anthology Of Short Stories, Reenita Malhotra Hora Has Worked As A Story Developer For Cartoon Network Asia, And Disney - Offers An Interesting Retelling Of The Ramayana Through The Eyes Of An 12-Year-Old Boy - Arya’S Adventurous Journey Is An Innovative Exploration Of The Fascinating Details About The Ramayana Worldwide Readership/Market Schoolkids, Teenagers, Young-Adults, Schools, Teachers, Parents, Mythology Lovers, Libraries, General Trade

207 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

Reenita is a founder, executive-level content, operations & marketing leader, and prolific writer. With multiple years of experience in media, entertainment, communications, tech/innovation and wellness industries in the USA and Asia, she grows organizations, ranging from early stage startups through mid-size businesses, through storytelling, creative marketing and business strategy. Reenita has written seven books - five non fiction and two fiction. She is the writer, anchor and executive producer of Shadow Realm and True Fiction Project podcasts and founder of the Chapter by episode fiction app. She has contributed to The Hindu, South China Morning Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Asian Investor, Times of India and National Geographic Kids, Cartoon Network Asia, Disney and more.

Reviews

[Diptendu Mandal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review : When Arya Fell Through The Fault - by Reenita Malhotra Hora.

Genre : Fiction

Publisher : Om Books International

Book Length : 207

Price : Rs.195

Cover : The cover of the book is quite fascinating.An animated graphic representation of the mythological characters of 'Ramayana' along with the 3D image of the protagonist of the novel,a twelve year old boy Arya is very beautifully presented on the front cover of the book.The title of the book is imprinted in glossy white, in uppercase font on a fading crimson background,at the upper edge of the front cover.The name of the Author is also inscribed in at the very bottom edge.The back cover primely consists the blurb about the novel along with the invaluable view of national award winning actress,Kirron Kher.

Title : The title is apt to the content of the novel.The novel has a balanced amalgamation of mythology and a streak of moral teachings which definitely has come up with the positive note of the glory of good over evil.The plot of the novel mainly centres around the life of a twelve year old boy Arya from San Francisco who is ridiculed by bullies,in his middle school days due to his ethnic way of living and things.The author has done an excellent job as the novel is a well synchronised one and lucid in language.Moreover,the pinch of realism in the cuisine of fantasy features the novel as a magnificent creation to tender aged.

My Verdict : 'When Arya Fell Through The Fault ' by Reenita Malhotra Hora is a worthy attempt on part of the author to uphold the core preaching of the victory of good over evil irrespective of the circumstances or the time they live in.The story mainly fosters to provide its young adults with the knowledge of striving over all negatives in their lives,even in the most grave situations.The novel essentially revolves around the life of the twelve years old boy Arya,who has turned up to be a bullied character by his classmates because of his ethnicity and uniqueness.The constant humiliation that he had gone through day after day gradually changed him and compelled him to take up the ways of evil despite his mother's rigourous warnings.Ultimately one day Karma paid back and it was because of Arya that his mother faced a severe accident,which left his mother in the state of coma.Arya soon regained his conscience through this massive jolt from destiny and gets back to his senses,leaving behind his evil ruins.It is in this part of the novel where the plot takes a dip into the ocean of fantasy as Arya struggles to defeat the evil lord Ravana deep within himself to save his mother.An unexpected culmination of the novel which will leave its readers in a bit of distress and mystery about the happenings.Overall the book was a brisk read and is a real treat to its young readers.

Ratings : 3.5* / 5*

- Diptendu Mandal.

[Indrashish Mitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author : Reenita Malhotra Hora

MRP : ₹195

Pages : 205

Publisher : OM International

 

One Liner : A unique novel that shows us the life of a little boy named Arya, who’s always bullied by his peers and how he undergoes a journey that changes him permanently.

 

Ratings:

Cover : 4/5

Title : 3/5

Theme : 4/5

Characters : 4/5

Story : 4/5

Overall : 3.8/5

 

Plot Spoiler:

The book begins with a fun little episode of an Indian origin boy in San Francisco who is continuously bullied by his classmates because of his background and origin. His primary problems in life are facing a mean girl named Athena who calls him a goopeater, where what he actually eats is a “khichdi” or a special Indian dish that his mother, an Ayurvedic doctor makes for him. It isn’t that he doesn’t like the food, but the thing is that he doesn’t like bullied by everybody around. His secondary problem in life are “The Boys” – supposedly the coolest gang in neighborhood who called him terrible stuff like a terrorist or “Arya Bin Laden”. The major problem of peer pressure is shown here as Arya, a well mannered, cultured young lad does inapt activities like stealing things from departmental stores, just to look “cool” and join the gang.

His association with the gang gets deeper and deeper and he fundamentally changes his own nature. The only thing that does not change is his love for hearing stories from the Ramayana which his mother tells him every night. In an attempt to not spoil the story further for the readers, a tragic series of events occur which cause the death of his mother due to an accident.

This incident provides another shock in his life. His mother is strapped to life support, his father barely able to make ends meet with the hospital bills to be paid too. Soon, the doctor comes up with the imminent question. Should the plug to life support be pulled? There was no point in going on.

This impacted the little boy’s mind even more. He stopped attending schools and took to reading stories from the Ramayana for his mother, in an attempt to wake her up from her coma. This story was so wonderfully crafted that I could tell you every tiny detail of the story but that would spoil the story. In the end, it so happens that Arya, undergoes a transformational journey in his mind that changes him. He finally overcomes his own demons lurking within him, the Ravana within him.

 

Review:

This is an exceptionally written story with very simple use of language the adventure in the imaginary lands of Ramanaya where Arya defeats his own ten headed Ravana.

 

Disappointments:

I truthfully found nothing to be disappointed about.

 

[Rahul Mohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

" As long as Man continues to walk upon Earth, the story of Rama shall be chanted..."

This statement hold true as there has been various interpretations of the great epic like Amish Tripathi's Scion of Ishvaku and Devdutt Pattanaik's Sita. Reenita Malhotra Hora follows the same path and retells Ramayana is a new perspective through When Arya Fell Through Fault. The story is about an Indian family settled in San Francisco. The protagonist is Arya, a 12 year old buy who is subjected to bullies by his peers for his ethnicity. Through the beautiful relationship between Arya and his Ma, Ramayana is introduced as the bed time story narrated to Arya by his mom. Arya's Ma, a true devotee and follower of Indian traditions believes in upholding our moral and cultural values without forgetting our roots. The story takes a turn when one of Arya's mischievous act pushes his Ma to a state of coma. with no hopes let for her recovery, Arya is left devastated and an earthquake in San Francisco results in Arya falling in a fault where he has to relive the epic Ramayana once again, as Rama. While Lord Rama had to fight the demon king Ravana for Sita with the help of Hanuman and the vanarasena or ape army, Arya fights the demon king for the copy of Ramayana which Ravana steals to destroy and wipe off the epic forever. What happens next forms the rest of the story.

This book starts off as a normal one and takes a drastic turn once the protagonist falls through the fault. A new fantasy world is introduced to us where Arya takes up the super hero role, the chosen one (too filmy, as it reminded of many Tamil and Telugu super hero films) to fight the demon king for safeguarding the vanaras. The fight turns personal after a stage where Ravana steals his Ramayana to destroy it once and forever. This battle guided by Guruji and aided by the vanaras turnout to be a self realisation process for Arya - a life changer indeed.

The end was not as I expected it to be and I am glad for that. This is a light bed time read which can be finished in one go.

[Aditi Malhotra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book by Reenita Malhotra Hora who is an award winning broadcast journalist,Ayurveda clinician and author of books on Ayurveda and Finance. Operation Mom:How I Got my Mother a Life and Man her debut fiction novel has been widely acclaimed and recognized as a must-read young adult book written by an Indian author.
When Arya Fell Through The Fault is her second release in this genre.Reenita anchors a popular morning programme on Hongkong’s RTHK Radio 3.Her weekend storytelling show,Asian Threads won her a Gold Trophy at the New York festivals International Radio Programmes Awards.
A native of Mumbai,she currently lives in Hongkong with her family. The book essentially is the growing up tale of a twelve year old Arya a “Brownie” from San Francisco who is continuously ridiculed by his schoolmates be it for his color to his ethnic traditional food. The boy has been brought up at home on traditional,fascinating and magical mythological stories by his ever cheerful Mom more precisely the Ramayan. It is a tale of a typical child who is ridiculed by one and all and his endeavor by any means to get rid of the Brownie image by any means His frustrations and trials and turbulations are aptly described. In the eagerness to be accepted by others he takes to the path of evil despite his mothers stern warnings. It so happens that he becomes the cause of a severe accident which leaves his mother in a state of coma. The one thing Arya holds on to dearly is his mothers copy of the Ramayana. From hereon the author very cleverly juxtaposes the young Aryas fight against evil through the characters of the Ramayana. Does good prevail over evil,Is Arya able to save her Mom while fighting his own demons makes for a very interesting read. Grab a copy and get ready to be transported to the glorious era of Ramayana. Fascinating Read. Highly recommended.

[Merril Anil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for imparting lessons

I guess Ramayana is the most repeated story ever in this world. Well correct me if I am wrong but that's what I have understood from having read and gone through so many versions of it but frankly the lessons are too big to be contained in a small space

The book was perhaps one of its kind where I saw Ramayana tackled in a high fantasy fashion but to be honest you can't actually call the book a proper renarration of Ramayana because the theme definitely is ramayana, the battle of Lanka but the author has used the core points and have given the rest of the attention to narrating the story of a boy of modern time who suddenly finds the relevance of Ramayana in modern times.

It's interesting to see how as a normal teenager our central character refuses to blindly follow the story and its importance unless time makes him see it's relevance

If what is stopping you from picking this book is because you feel that it would just another Ramayana version then you would be surprised that it doesn't even count in retrospect to what is happening with the whole book.

Language is simple and absolutely smooth. No heavy dose of Thesaurus or philosophies . It can be treated as a high fantasy plot where a boy fights his way through demon to learn some interesting lessons about life.

[Vibha Hegde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed review on: https://dreambookreviews.wordpress.co...
The Best part is

The conclusion. Nothing can be as amazing as that. After reading it I was like “How can the Author make something so sad the happiest moment in the book??”

It is such a beautiful ending that I must have read it around five times just to relive the emotions I felt while reading it.

Maybe the book is for children, maybe people who have read Ramayana find it little boring, maybe the starting was very weird and you can say anything you want, but nothing, absolutely nothing can match the ending. It is the best and the perfect ending I could ever imagine. The whole book is waiting for you to reach there, to live that moment.

I read while commuting back from college and the sun was setting with golden hues painting the skies marking the end of an amazing story. I remember looking at all the other people traveling with me and wondering did they just feel the sadness? did they feel the emotions of Arya? did they go through the trauma? maybe not, maybe they never will.

However one thing is for sure,

Everyone who reads this carries with them Arya’s lesson. An adult or a child, they will remember it!

[Book Reviews & Promotion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from a promotional website to review it.
Talking about this book, the author has created a world of fantasy.
Children would love to read this book!
The whole environment/atmosphere created by the author is amazing ,the story is inspired from the Hindu Epic -Ramayana
There are many inspirational messages also given - Like invoke your inner energy.
The story revolves around the protagonist Arya , he is a young child.
In childhood ,his mother used to tell him many stories from Ramayana.

Once an unfortunate accident happened with her mother and he held himself responsible for that.He will have to fight against it ,to get her mother back .He had to come face to face with the demons.
Ravana had wanted her to die because she had done her bit to kindle the Rama inside him,something that was quite opposite of the demon's master plan.
Arya of Ravana's paassion.

He caught the glimpse of Hanumana hovering up in the sky.Now he is ready.
Now he needed to see his father again and bring the sunshine back to his life.

[Sonali Agarwal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read full review on : https://sonalify.com/2016/09/22/revie...
Characterization : Arya : The protagonist, is in his early teens. He lives as an Indian, brought up in San Francisco. Being the only Indian in school, he faces racial remarks and is always teased for the kind of food he eats. He struggles to live up to the cultural values imbibed by his mother through the renowned stories of epic Ramayana.

Arya’s Mother : An ayurveda doctor and she carries the Indian values in her heart.

Arya’s father : A taxi driver, he works day and night to provide the best forhis son.

What I liked : The narrative is very simple and lucid as kids can finish this book in few hours. The message (which this book gives) is what I liked the most. As it re-emphasizes that Ramayana is still valid and its in our hands to choose the role of Rama or Ravana for us.

What I disliked : I couldn’t feel connected with the book. I felt it drags in the middle and then I just wanted to end the book. I expected more of Ramayana but in middle it vanished.

[Kaushal Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please visit http://www.guptakaushal.in/2016/07/bo... to read the complete review of the book.

The book is about the protagonist 'Arya' who is bullied in the school because of ethnic reasons and is never considered a part of the cool group. The story is about his liking towards the Indian Epic Ramayan, because of his mother, and how he lives through it. It is also about various battles that Arya, as a kid, goes through and battles to survive.

The seamless transition from real to unreal, in the book, makes it more interesting. The cover of the book, is very apt wherein you can see Arya between good and the evil. My concluding thought of the book is that it conveys the message that the stories of Ramayan are still valid and has great learning for life.

[Kritika Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

As mentioned in the blurb, the book revolves around a 12 year old Indian boy who lives in San Francisco. The biggest challenge in his life is the racism he faces throughout. Be it is his skin color or food, he is bullied in and out. His mother, an ayurvedic doctor is a well-cultured traditional woman who tries to embrace her traditions deeply and his father is a taxi driver who is trying real hard to meet the ends. The soul purpose of their lives is to ensure Arya gets the best. In all challenges that Arya faces, there is one thing that binds him to his family and his culture - the Ramayana. He embraces the story of Ramayana to his core. The moral learnings from the epic story have such significant impact on his own life that he uses them to fight all his demons.

Full review at: http://bit.ly/2dZWUci

[Purba Chakraborty · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is 3.5

"When Arya Fell Through the Fault" is an adventurous tale of how a young 12 year old boy manages to fight his inner demons. However, I felt that in the middle of the book, the pace dropped. The narration was good in parts. In some places, it was bland.

There are some good quotes in the book. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Life was a myriad of experiences. Some good, some bad and others that made no sense at all. However over time, even the most nonsensical things would make perfect sense."

I would give the book 3.5 for the adventurous ride and for the beautiful morals embedded in the story.

Highly recommended for children as they will find this book extremely intriguing.

Read complete review at http://purbareviews.blogspot.in/2016/...

[Ammu Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Story is all about Arya and how he is bullied in his school in San Francisco, and how agitated he had become of his life. But he always look forwards to hear stories of Ramayana from his mother. But something happens and life has a sudden twist , his mom is in hospital and he find himself in woods. Its his journey to Save his mom and all those who he came across.

The best part of the book is it takes you to a Journey of Ramayana and Arya meeting the Vanars. I have loved its first part a lot.

The negatives of the book I feel is it drags and you sometimes want it to Just end. I expected more of Ramayana but in middle it just vanishes and the story becomes the survival. I couldn’t feel connected with the book. Sorry