Review: "The Secret of the Nagas" by Amish

Book: The Immortals of Meluha

Author:  Amish

Type: Fiction 

Pages- 371

Publishing house: Westland Press

This is the second book in the series and just like the previous one, doesn’t disappoint you a bit. The characters are more vivid but there are too many characters. Sometimes you may need to flip pages behind or check the “List of characters” page to recall the person being talked about. Though that’s not an issue at all. The fiction unravels skin by skin as every chapter is consumed by the reader. It keeps you off the edge and doesn’t make it boring. Though there are certain grey areas where you may find yourself willing to skip pages. The compelling writing style dozes off sometimes but in a whole, it is as good as the first one. As Anil Dharker had mentioned and I quote “Furious action jumps off every page”. It is true to the verbatim to the most of extent. The incidents are written with detailing and have been paid attention just like the first one. The mythological characters have been introduced and given spin-offs to accommodate them in the storyline. For instance, Parshuram has been introduced in the latter pages but his history of parents has been penned completely different. Though in the text, he is an adamant follower of Shiva; does carry battleaxe resembling much to that of Sixth Avatar of Vishnu, Parashurama; have parents named Jamadagni and Renuka and similar few more attributes. But the character in the text has been given a slightly different history to match with the story line up. The prose is like the previous one. Many other issues have also been dealt in this book and they have been handled beautifully. Sati and Shiva do have interesting chemistry though there comes a moment when they have rough patches too.

‘Shiva…’ pleaded Sati. ‘Please don’t go. Please…’

Verdict: The second part is also as good as the first one. The story line up has been knitted very finely. Perfect pinch of masalas has been added to the recipe throughout the book and overall what you get is a satisfying repast. Amish does let you wonder what may have happened next and you surely crave for the rest of the story written in the 3^rd part. So just go for this one too.

Will be completing the next part soon and will review it here itself. 

Review: "The Immortals of Meluha" by Amish

Book: The Immortals of Meluha

Author:  Amish

Type: Fiction 

Pages- 417

Publishing house: Westland Press

I wish I could tell you and convince you about how wonderful this book is!!!!!!!! 
In short, It is just beautiful. The words are easy to comprehend. Prose is quite easy to understand and doesn’t challenge the literary knowledge of an individual.

The story revolves around Shiva who is a Tibetan immigrant to Meluha. 

I will try to make it as simple as possible. Human civilization was not as great as it could have been. People were more selfish, and Lord Ram who was a Suryavanshi, tried to establish truth and justice. He even succeeded to some extent. Though Chandravanshi had evil intentions and they were trying to disturb the balance and harmony of the society. Lord Ram, being mortal, did as much as he could in his lifetime but couldn’t establish his ideals throughout and across the country. Though, the legend said that Neelkanth will carry on the unfinished task of Lord Ram. Neelkanth will transform all of India in line with the ideals of Meluha- a land of truth, duty and honour. His leadership can help suryavanshi end the Chandravanshi crisis once and for all. All the agonies will be over, and the unfinished task of Lord Rama would be completed by the chosen one. But how they will identify Neelkanth? According to Meluhan Legend, Neelkanth will be a foreigner. He cannot be Meluhan or from the Sapt-Sindhu. And that his throat will turn blue when he drinks the somras. Somras is a magical drink that allows human to live for centuries and more. Shiva drinks the somras under certain circumstances and the Meluhans come to know their Messiah.

The story also revolves around Sati, the daughter of the emperor of Meluha. Shiva or Neelkanth does fall in love with the lady. Their chemistry has been handled very well by the author. There is just the adequate amount of attention that the duo should receive and prevents the work from being called a book about love.

The book is not only about mythology but also addresses many other issues like untouchability, women empowerment, love, caste system and much more. Overall this book is a treat and repast for all the book readers and they are really going to enjoy this one. The initial pages may be bumpy, but the rest of the plot is as smooth as butter. It has got a compelling narrative style. Though the prose part is a bit less literature oriented but the story telling is much more commendable and that may compensate for the literature part.

The battle scenes have been written with detailing and attention. The warfare mechanism does remind of movie like Bahubali. Though the book was released earlier than the blockbuster. :D The next 2 books in the series were also well received, though I will try to let you all know my thoughts about those in recent weeks. 

Verdict: Meanwhile, I may just advise that “Immortals of Meluha” is definitely a book that every shelf in the world deserves a place to be kept as of now.

Review: "Why I am a Hindu by Shashi Tharoor"

Book: Why I am a Hindu
Author: Shashi Tharoor
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 302
Publishing House: Aleph
There are 3 sections of the book:

My Hinduism

This section has been written and covered in 137 pages. The first part explains the reasons why Hinduism is the faith Shashi Tharoor is proud of and believes in. Dr Tharoor further says and I quote,
“I find it immensely congenial to be able to face my fellow human beings of other faiths without being burdened by the conviction that I am embarked upon a ‘true path’ that they have missed.”

He further explains, quoting various sources, that Hinduism is not a faith but it’s a civilization. We don’t have any particular scripture that we need to rely on wholly.
Even a person who doesn’t believe in God and who proclaims to be an atheist can be a Hindu as a Hindu can be astika or nastika.  Dr Tharoor expresses his love for the faith as he quotes the hymns of Rig Veda questioning the creator of the universe Himself.

Who really knows? And who can say?
Whence did it all come? And how did creation happen?
The gods themselves are latter than creation,
So who knows truly whence this great creation sprang? -Rig Veda, X. 129

In this well-researched non-fiction, Dr Tharoor further explains about the reasons of Idol Worshipping and people following other faiths.
About idol worshipping, He writes, “Hindus, therefore, understand that all worship of God reflects an effort to reach out to that which cannot be touched or seen; since God is, in that sense, literally unknowable, one may imagine Him/Her/It in any form, since each form may be just as valid as another and none can be guaranteed to be more accurate than the next one”.

About people following other faiths, he quotes Lord Krishna from Gita “Whomsoever follows any faith and worships me under whatsoever denomination in whatsoever form with steadfastness, his faith I shall reinforce”

Shashi Tharoor in his latest books goes on discussing Idol worship; temple construction- reason for the same and consequences; bhajans; Adi Shankara, Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Vivekanand, Mahatma Gandhi among many; caste system- its meaning and interpretation; Dharma- context and what it means for a Hindu and Non Hindu; Moksha, immortal soul.

Political Hinduism

This section deals with The RSS, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, M.S. Gowalkar, Bhartiya Jana Sangh, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, BJP, Hindutva, Indian Nationalism and Hindu Nationalism, Beef Politics and few other notable sub topics. This section is covered in 125 pages.

Taking back Hinduism

This section has been covered in 28 pages. It deals with the personal opinion of the author about the real meaning of the faith and the bigotry dissipated in the masses in the name of religion. He talks about fundamentals of the faith and tolerance. And ends the book with these lines

“I am a Hindu who is proud to offer such a religion to the world. I do so conscious that Hinduism does not seek to proselytize, only to offer itself as an example that others may or may not choose to follow. It does not share with the Abrahamic faiths a desire to universalize itself; yet its tenets and values are universally applicable. But first it must be revived and reasserted, in its glorious liberalism, its openness and acceptance, its eclecticism and universalism, in the land of its own birth. As a Hindu hymn says, in words that resonate with meaning for every human being on the planet.
Asato ma sad gamaya!
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya!
Mrityor ma amritam gamaya!
Lead me from Untruth to Truth !
Lead me from darkness to light!
Lead  me from death to immortality!”


Verdict: 292 pages of content and that’s too when I haven’t counted Index and all, it may go boring. Too much talk of soul, philosophy and Vedanta may make you feel a bit less engaged. But the more you read, the more rational it may begin to appear. The most fantastic part of the book is the part 1 in which he explains how Hinduism evolved through centuries. It is similar to that schools of management or schools of economics which evolved and was shaped by different people and different time demands. Having said that, I would like to conclude on the note that Why I am a Hindu is a book that wouldn’t fail up to your expectations. Dr Shashi Tharoor seems to have penned down a non-fiction which is going to continue to be in high-demand as of now and later.