"Adi shakti namo namah, sarab shakti namo namah
prithum bhagwatee namo namah,
kundalini mata shakti,
mata shakti namo namah"
The aforementioned shloka is the base of the political thriller by Ashwin Sanghi and it's his second book after the equally successful "The Rozabal Line". The plot is simple, the protagonist wants his protege to be crowned as the premiere of the Indian Democratic Republic and he derives his inspiration from the world renowned master strategist "Chanakya".
There are two stories running in parallel. One, of the protagonist Gangasagar Mishra and his protege Chandni Gupta and the other is of Chanakya and his protege Chandragupta. The story line in particular is nothing new and mostly revolves round Gangasagar and his tactics to make sure that his protege reaches the epitome of politics. What's interesting is the way Gangasagar implies the strategies which Chanakya used more than 2000 years ago to ensure his protege becomes the Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of India. He uses all the four mantras "Sam, Dam, Dandh, Bhedh" i.e. reasoning, money, punishment and division. Chanakya mentions to win over any opposition the four principles will always work and should be followed in the same order. First, one should try to reason with opposition and convince them about his/her ideas, if it agrees nothing like that. If opposition do not agree then apply the second principle "Dam" which means to buy them out. If that does not works use the third "Dandh" i.e. punishment, make oppostion fear one's authority and get the work done. If none of the first three prinicples work, use the fourth "Bhedh". "Bhedh" can have two meanings and both of them are equally good. "Bhedh", creating differences between the opposition will lead to a divide in the power of the opposition and thus can easily be won over. "Bhedh", using the hidden facts/secrets of opposition to bring it down.
Gangasagar, to acheive his goal of making Chandni the rising star on Indian political arena uses all possible mechanisms. He gets down to lowest level of politics and commits things which a normal readers conscience might not approve. He even murders(twice) the lover of his protege just to make sure that she is not diverted from her duties towards the nation. But then if its not dirty, its not politics.
Even though, the story line is not new yet the way it is presented keeps the reader engaged. Pace of the story does not allows the reader to put down the book. The way Ashwin Sanghi has narrated the two stories going back and forth from one to another, defining Chanakya's methods in one and their implementation by Gangasagar in the other is quite mesmerizing. Writer's vivid imagination to add fiction to history is also captivating.
All in all a book worth reading.
I was present in the book launch ceremony of Chanakya's Chants. it was a good event completed with discussions and Q&A. They even had the famous Suneet Tandon to read a few passages from the book. But even with his great oratory skills Mr Tandon could not sell the book to me. It sounded cliched - with politics being a dirty business and using Chanakya, of course and his tactics. it felt like the author used Chanakya's name in the title and story just to generate curiosity. I listened to my gut feeling and didn't buy the book.
ReplyDeleteNow after reading your post I have to re-evaluate my decision.
Also, Mr. Sanghi doesn't attract me as an author. he has a clear commercial purpose about writing the book. In his first two books he used historic figures in his novels and in the third, Krishna Key, which came out after the Immortals of meluha by Amish, he went even further and included mythology. But, is there anything new in his book?
Again, I am saying all this based on my feelings. I have not read his books. He may have a great command over the language and narration but his stories, as it seems doesn't tell anything new.
If a book really sets the standards in terms of theme, plot and surprises, then I buy it. otherwise I go by strong recommendation by my friends.
I am glad you enjoyed the book and wrote this small interesting blog post about it. it really made me think and comment at length.
Would be waiting to read more book reviews here.
Thanks Vikalp,
ReplyDeleteAs said nothing new in the story line, its a full masala book where the author has used all sorts of techniques to keep the story moving and engrossing as in any commercial bollywood flick. If you like bollywood flicks (as I do) where the hero rises against all odds without failing even once then you might like the book.
:)