Rendezvousing With the Chakravartin Samrats Of Bharatvarsh!


Book Review - The Prince of Patliputra
Pages - 382
Reading time - 2 days (Once you start, you just can't stop! )



The book is authored by Shreyas Bhave,whose first book proves he is a rising star in the literary horizon.Writing a historical fiction isn't a layman's task.It requires deep knowledge, well researched facts and the ability to weave magic of words so keep the readers enthralled. The author has done the work quite well. The book never makes you feel at dullsville .Each line in the book is well measured and deeply embedded with the historical roots of India.

Why should you read the book? 
There is actually no reason you shouldn't. The book is a must read. After Freedom at midnight, this is the only book that actually kept me gripped.
Samrat Chandragupta and Samrat Ashoka are two names which never fails to fascinate the ardent folloWers of Indian history,including me. This book ''The Prince of Pataliputra'' deals with both the great emperors and their journey towards the throne side by side.
Somehow the trials and ordeals faced by Chandragupta Mourya were similar to the ones faced by Ashoka.This book shows the journey in a parallel way without creating any confusion in the reader's mind. As you turn the pages, you will get transited to the great palace of Pataliputra. The chapters are so well written that each words evokes a feeling of ecstacy in the mind of readers.The descriptions are so vivid that one moment you are the brave King Porus facing Alexander the great, another moment you feel you are Arya Chanakya,  smirking and vowing vengeance.
A must read if you are a fan of historical fiction. And even if you aren't, you will not regret picking up this book.
My say on the book
I thoroughly relished the book. My favourite character turned out to be Arya Chanakya. The great teacher of Taxila academy, Chanakya is a well known personality. His wit beyond measure is fantastically depicted in the book. Be it great emperors like Chandragupta,or Ashoka, or a reprobate like Raja Ambhi, none could match upto Arya Chanakya when it came to getting his work done. You will not fail to smile as the book progresses and you see how he gets the ball in his court with his intelligence.
The narration of the book is incredible, the plot never loses it's grip, the romance portrayed never goes overboard and the language is easy to read and grasp.
The book portrays bitter betrayal, victories, bravely fought battles, grave life changing decisions and ingenious tactics.It is a perfect feast, adorned with the right amount of politics, and a pinch of romance, added to the cauldron of conspiracies relating to the Game of thrones.
The only part that could have been taken into consideration would be the way Maharaja Bindusara has been portrayed. THis character has been overlooked in the book. . Apart from his consistence illness and his hatred towards Ashoka,nothing much is known about him.
There could have been a chapter or two from his perspective too and t his could have acted as an extra topping on this book. But this absence doesn't steal the grandeur of the book.
Hence,  to conclude,this book is a perfect depiction of the lives of the two great emperors.
I would have loved reading the next part as soon as i flipped the 382nd page. But alas!  Its a long wait I suppose.

My ratings.
Plot ****

Depiction *****
Language ****

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An open letter from the tricolour!

Image
Dear Indians, It's the time of the year when I will be *in demand* again. So I considered talking to you all. I see you all everyday, from the clogged drain, as you are busy in your daily chores. I also see you from the garbage dump and from the terraces of a few houses. I'm the tricolour. I'm hoisted everywhere. If offices and governmental venues are ignored, I can be seen on the visor of bikes, hood of Cars, on terraces, on the entrance of houses and in the hands of everyone who is painted in patriotism. But this happens only on two days. After dusk, I'm back in my place. In municipal garbage dump, in clogged drains, on roadside ditches. I can be found everywhere. Patriots tread on me and I go unnoticed most of the times. There are some who have the courtesy to pick me up from road and keep me in the acute corner, so that nobody treads on me again. But alas, there are a few like that.  Others are ignorant. This goes on and on till my day arrives. I ...
Read more

The Plight of Old Aged People!

Image
Ephesians 5:31 of the Holy Bible says,“ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Little had one known this would come true in the worst possible way. Little had one known that's exactly how people will turn out to be. Selfish. Insensitive. Heartless. We all are silent witnesses to the massive rise in the number of old age homes in the country. We don't fail to discuss in hushed tones about someone who left his mother to wither away in an enshrouded old age home, or worse, someone who keeps his parents with him and never fails to torment them in the last few days of their life. We are silent spectators to the ordeals faced by old aged people in our own family. Where have we come to?  The plight of these old ages people is heart wrenching. Why do parents become a burden after a point of time? The will to stay ''alone'' With the advent of western culture, men and women of...
Read more

The Expression of our lives- Evoking a smile, Resurrecting a memory!

Image
The fifteenth Edition It becomes increasingly easy, as you get older, to drown in nostalgia. ~Ted Koppel The 15th edition of ''Expressions'' is out.  It suddenly makes me Conscious about how old I have become.   The first edition of Expressions was published in 2002-03 when I was a first grader.  The cover page unleashes the feeling of nostalgia which generally remains hidden behind the cloak of maturity.  The Older Editions I remember how Hira bhaiya would enter our classroom with two bundle of new magazines and a whisper of ''Magazine aa gaya'' would ensue in the classroom.   Sometimes the class monitors would be called in the office which would provide us a moment for gossiping.   The magazine would be distributed in a scurry by the same monitors, with the teacher in the classroom repeatedly saying, ''Keep your magazines inside your school bags.  You will have plenty of time to read it later.'' 🙈 Brats as we were...
Read more