Book Review: The Empress of Indraprastha Entering Kuruvansh by Sonali Raje

Draupadi is one of the few characters from our epics who is loved and maligned at the same time. It is difficult to understand the reasons for her silent acceptance of the unknowingly spoken words of her mother-in-law, Kunti, that made her the shared wife of five men. It is also not easy to understand the carelessly uttered words of an intelligent woman as she rejected Karna as low-born.

The book starts with ongoing preparations for Draupadi’s wedding. She recalls the words of her mother that she has the right to say no even if the suitor is successful in completing the task during her swayamvar. Her mother is a strong woman and has a deep influence on Draupadi. She is a feisty young woman and would love to be actively involved in the preparations. We are introduced to her origins along with those of her brother, Dhrishtadyumna, born out of the sacred fire. The young woman has been raised by her parents to be an independent thinker with respect for all. The older brother of the twins, Shikhandi, is the commander of the army. He is a transgender. This speaks volumes about gender equality of the times. Her refusal to let Karna string the bow is well-documented. Arjuna completes the task.

Draupadi faces a litmus test when Kunti inadvertently utters the words that would change the course of lives. The brothers are asked to share whatever they have brought. Draupadi is shocked but realises that all five brothers are attracted to her. She understands the rationale that the brothers would need to remain united to survive in a hostile world, and their unity would be adversely tested unless she is with all of them. As the story progresses, we are exposed to her far-sightedness. She is shown to be a strategist as she keeps insisting upon her husbands to seek partition. They are granted their wish. The Pandavas are given one half of the kingdom, but not the way that they had imagined. Khandavaprastha is an arid and barren land. They embark on a quest to build an empire, confident of their capabilities.

The Empress of Indraprastha by Sonali Raje is Book 1 of a five-part series. The story is chronicled in first person as the memoirs of Draupadi. This is a new genre of writing, the contemporary mythic-fiction. The book is short, only 138 pages. The language is easy to follow. The writing will appeal to all ages, including the younger generation.

Sonali Raje has a science background. Attempting a subject, about which much has been written by other writers, in a new style, is creditable. Sonali is an associate professor of Chemistry based in America.

Book Reviews by a Pioneer: The Diary, The Crooks and the Albatross by K Amol

I am a fan of Agatha Christie, particularly the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot created by her. There is a suspicious death in many of her stories. The famed detective is called to investigate. He visits the scene of the crime. Then he starts meeting people, visiting the neighbourhood, before calling all involved for a final meeting, usually in the living room of the dead person, to disclose the culprit with a flourish.

There is death in K Amol’s story as well. The culprit is revealed and apprehended in the living room of the dead person in the end. But that is the only similarity with the Christie investigator. The living room is the stage for the drama during the entire book. However, this does not slow down the narrative in any way.

Shivika, a young professional, falls to her death from her high-rise apartment three days after the announcement of demonetization. Initial investigations by the police point to suicide due to cash crunch caused by the demonetization or accidental falling from the balcony due to damaged railing. The case is closed as accidental death.

A year later, six people, close to Shivika, assemble in her living room for the first death anniversary, all asked to be present through a mysterious text message. They all want a closure to her death.

They start reading diaries maintained by Shivika. As the entries in the diary progress, each one of the six comes under suspicion, including her parents. The investigator is one of the six.

There are back references to incidents in Shivika’s life involving those present in the living room, as narrated by the dead girl in her diaries. There are also few references to the legwork done by the investigator during the interim one year. However, the narration does not slack anytime.

All the clues are there for the reader to indulge in own detection, since you know that one of those present in the room is the culprit. The end, when it comes, is still unexpected for the reader.

The book is a fast-paced crime thriller. I am looking forward to more investigative work by the detective in town.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of Behind Closed Doors (2023), The Gymnast (2022), and The Life and Times of a Common Man (2019).

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Book Reviews by a Pioneer: The Parijat Tree and other stories by Sameer Nagarajan

A few years back I tried dark chocolates as the healthier alternative to the usual chocolates. I did not like them. I also tried Guiness Stout, the dark beer. I did not like it either. Then I read The Parijat Tree and other stories by Sameer Nagarajan. I loved it.

The book is a collection of 10 short stories by the writer. Each story starts with a routine life for the protagonist(s). As the story progresses, a least expected dark twist creeps up to you. After the first story, I was looking forward to a dark ending in each of the stories; it was still unanticipated when it came.

A collection of short stories with deliciously dark endings.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of Behind Closed Doors (2023), The Gymnast (2022), and The Life and Times of a Common Man.

Contact sanjaychandra59@gmail.com for Book Reviews, The Author Show, Guest Blogs, and Creative Writing Workshop.

Book Reviews by a Pioneer: The Eclipsed Sun by Ramita Sengupta

This is a story set against the backdrop of the Indian war for independence. The war was fought on several fronts – non-violent as well as violent. It will be extremely difficult to say what got us freedom – it was a culmination of the efforts of all. Suraj, the lead protagonist, coming from an affluent family in east India is one such hero.

But the story starts in 2000. We are introduced to Prithvi who is in jail as a corrupt customs officer. He is a top intelligence officer, who is working undercover to trap a corrupt politician. And right in the beginning, we realise that he takes after his great-granduncle Suraj, who would go to any extremes for the successful execution of the plan. This sets the tone for what is to come in the following pages. And the story does not disappoint.

We travel back to Bengal of the pre-independence period. Suraj is born into a conventional family. But Suraj is unconventional. He is a complex character. He loves his parents but is unable to show his love. He is introduced to revolutionaries early in his life, and his focus changes. He is an active member of this war for independence. He takes risks that others will not take. His life is a deception – for the goal of freedom.

The Eclipsed Sun is a work of fiction, but references to many well-known revolutionaries with whom Suraj came in contact and who influenced him make this an extremely relatable story.

The story gets a little drawn out sometimes, but overall, I loved the storytelling. There was not a dull moment. The other characters in the life of Suraj are also well-written. They are strong characters by themselves as they support the story of Suraj. I am looking forward to a sequel narrating Prithvi’s story.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of Behind Closed Doors (2023), The Gymnast (2022), and The Life and Times of a Common Man.

Contact sanjaychandra59@gmail.com for Book Reviews, The Author Show, Guest Blogs, and Creative Writing Workshop.

Book Reviews by a Pioneer: Mis(s) Adventures of a Salesgirl by Aashisha Chakraborty

All of us, or at least most of us, have secrets in our lives – either those that we did not divulge or those that were kept from us – almost always to not break relationships.

Enakshi, a 25 year old young woman, the lead protagonist of this book, also has one such secret kept from her, though hinted at by her close ones. She could not guess, not could I, till the truth hit us, almost towards the end of the book. Surprisingly, it did not break Enakshi, nor her relationships – they became stronger, with an empathy difficult to see in current times.

In between, we have the 25-year-old Enakshi completing her business management, and going to Chennai for her internship. If hell would have a name, it would be this city for the lady. She is required to study the market by a strict boss, who refuses to acknowledge her. She is clueless of the local language, faces unknown biases – gender, no toilets for women in the field, sexist innuendos, a stalker, etc etc.

I loved the way that the author tackled sensitive issues, never faltering. There was not a dull moment. The other characters were also well etched, even as they supported the story of Enakshi.

That is the beauty of the storytelling of the young author.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast, and The Life and Times of a Common Man.

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Book Reviews by a Pioneer: The Reluctant Doctor by Balesh Jindal

I shifted to Delhi towards the end of 1997. I had often travelled to Gurgaon on a highway, which at that time was nothing much to boast about. I have seen the metamorphosis of this road to an expressway. But, I had not thought much about the localities that I would pass through, which are as dense as any urban jungle, and which I now associate as an integral part of the capital city of India.

It is in these localities, which were nothing more than villages with vast expanses of agricultural lands in the mid-eighties, that the author of the book found herself running a rural clinic, fresh out of medical college. She had dreams of moving out of the country. But her father had other ideas for her, and he gently nudged her into a journey, now spanning almost 40 years.

And what a journey it has been. It is not just the years, it is the transformation that has taken place from a rural setting to urban – people who turned rich overnight selling their farmlands in the name of development. The ills that would plague a youth which did not know the way to keep a level head burdened by the riches – drugs, unwanted pregnancies, fights, and much more.

And this lady, our author has seen it all. The book is about changes in our society – some good, some bad – as Balesh has seen. The book is contemporary as it is relevant even for the youth of today. Real life anecdotes and incidents make the book an interesting read.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast, and The Life and Times of a Common Man.

Contact sanjaychandra59@gmail.com for Book Reviews, The Author Show, Guest Blog, and Creative Writing Workshop.

Book Reviews by a Pioneer: Seashore at Twilight by Yudhajit

This is the story of Vivek and Lucy and their love for each other. Vivek is missing for two years, feared dead in a flight that could not land in Bhutan due to poor weather conditions and the plane is presumed to have crashed. Lucy is trying to pick up pieces of her shattered life as she is asked to travel to Sri Lanka for work, where she meets a look-alike of Vivek, who does not recognise her.

The above broadly describes the storyline, which should lead to a predictable happy ending, as Vivek makes an entry in the story somewhere in the middle of the book. It is the twists and turns in the story that make it interesting.

The language is simple and easy to read. My complaint is about editorial inputs – grammar and vocabulary. A fast read, which will appeal to movie buffs.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast and The Life and Times of a Common Man.

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Book Reviews by a Pioneer: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Circumstances can bring out the worst or the best in us. We may endlessly argue about the bad in a person, but there is also good, which may manifest in adversities.

This Pulitzer award winner novel is about the best that a human being can be. Marie Laure’s father builds a model of their Paris neighbourhood for her to navigate the real streets when she goes blind at the age of six. German occupation of France forces them to flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast to live with a grand-uncle, with a national treasure in his custody. He builds another model of the new neighbourhood for his daughter.

In a parallel track, Werner, an orphan in Germany, is enchanted by a radio. He goes on to master the skills to repair radios, and joins the Germany of Hitler, as a tracker of radio signals by the resistance. Travelling through different countries with the German army, he lands in Saint-Malo.

Here, the paths of the two orphans merge. Here, they display the strength of character, that raises them beyond the ordinary.

This is a heart touching story that makes you believe in the good in you in the difficult times that we are living in.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast and The Life and Times of a Common Man.

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Book Reviews by a Pioneer: Saat by Abhimanyu Jamwal

This is a collection of seven short stories. As you read one story after another, you move in a fantasy land of myriad emotions – ambition, passion, jealousy, love, anger, and many others.
And then it hits you, it is not a land of fantasies, the author is writing about our society, our lives.

A pigeon woos a hen with a solution to the Kashmir problem, a jilted lover would go to any length for revenge, an orator instigates his followers through poems, a writer gets her opening inspiration through blood and gore, a woman becomes a killing machine in her hallucinations in a Delhi of future – instigated by a charismatic leader, sibling bonding and envy, time travel for two minutes to realise your dreams.

The blurb of the book says it all – there is a thin line between reality and fantasy.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast, and The Life and Times of a Common Man.

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Book Reviews by a Pioneer: Vadh by Satadal Lahiri and Sonam Malik

A distraught Arjun blames Lord Krishna for Abhimanyu’s death in the battle at Kurukshetra. The Lord tells him that the death was the result of Arjuna’s ambition for his son to be remembered as a great warrior when the youngster was not even fully trained, and had many attributes other than of a warrior, where he could have excelled… and lived. The God goes on to explain that such deaths would continue if parents insist on their ambitions to be projected on their wards.

This opening chapter is a prologue to the short stories that follow which are set in the current times. Death is only a metaphor – even the death of an ambition or a passion is an end. One can relate to each of the stories as the characters are either within us or around us. Except the last story, which was more of a psychological thriller, but interesting.

The book requires a bit of editorial inputs.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast, and The Life and Times of a Common Man.

Contact sanjaychandra59@gmail.com for Book Reviews, Author Show, Guest Blog, and Creative Writing Workshop.