Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Book Review: THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA by Amish

I could feel the resonance in the core of my being…


What is the book about? 
     ‘THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA’, the first book of the Shiva trilogy is a No 1 National Bestseller, having sold over 100,000 copies since its launch in March, 2010.
     It is set in 1900 BC, in what the modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation. The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha – a near perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived.
     The once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis. 
     To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracised and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills.
     The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend – ‘when evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge’.
     Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero?
     And does he want to be that hero at all?
     Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?
     The above matter is taken from www.shivatrilogy.com


What follows is my take on it
     If you are interested in history, mythology and philosophy, you will find the book a totally absorbing reading. If you are not interested in any of the above, you will still find it fascinating.
     Amish aka Amish Tripathi has a fertile imagination clubbed with powerful story-telling skills. The result is simply awesome. 
     As I read the book, I forgot that I was living in the 21st century and felt transported to 1900 BC. I could feel myself walking the streets of the Indus Valley. I fell in love with Shiva and so wanted him to be human and not just an unreachable God. 
     I must congratulate the author on the details that he has imparted during his narration without it appearing to be a lesson in history. The characters - all of them you must have heard of- either from your grandparents, parents or from the pages of mythology or may be even from Amar Chitra Katha
     While we had believed them all to belong to some other alien world, they all spring alive in the pages of The Immortals of Meluha. How Amish has managed to give each of them a human persona is to be read to be believed. Imagine Shiva, Sati, Nandi, Veerbhadra, Daksha, Parvateshwar, Brahaspati and many more of them talking and walking the earth! I found the experience just mind-blowing. 
     The description of Swadweep and its residents so reminded me of present day Mumbai. 
     I could not keep the book down while my son and I took turns reading one copy – almost coming to blows over it. ;)
     As the book ends, the author has you begging for more, literally, as the sequel – The Secret of the Nagas – has just got out into the market. 
     Can’t wait to lay my hands on this one!


Click here to know all about Amish Tripathi!

6 comments:

  1. Wow Sundari, I am just working on getting this book and the sequel. Have heard lots about it and your review below adds on to my desire to read this one. Thanks for the review and kudos again for the wonderful writing on your blog on just about everything - Kudos!

    Shyam

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  2. Thank you Shyam! You should get the books. Planning to get the sequel today at Crossword. I hope the Sion outlet has it. :)

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  3. Perfect review. You havent revealed all but also increase the curiosity in readers.
    Hope to read it soon :)

    Thanks for the review!

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  4. Thank you Nilima! I am glad you liked the review. :)

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  5. Yes, I also fell in love with Shiva after the first few pages! Nice review!

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  6. Thanks Lak! I am glad that finally you and Jay got to read both the books. I am so looking forward to reading the third book that is yet to come out :)

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