Genre: Mythological fiction
The author of "The Rozabal Lines" and "Chanakya's Chant", 'Ashwin Sanghi’ is back and
this time he raises his bar even higher. Mythology, Anthropology, Drama, Suspense, Enigma and even sparing a space for Romance weaving all this together,
who could have perhaps done it better than this Indian version of “Dan
Brown”.
A historical/legendary
truth combined with a modern era fictitious plot is what this novel engulfs
within. Blazing fast, change of action from chapter to chapter, this book has two parallel storylines which kicks off
really well, one is about Krishna, a mythological being who lived around 5000
years back, the second story revolves around a man in present who
is convinced that he is the tenth Avatar of Vishnu.
Characters
1. Anil Varshney, an archaeologist, is the
rootage of the whole plot.
2. His best friend, Ravi Mohan Saini, is
impeached of his murder. Ravi Mohan Saini has to search "The Krishna
Key" in order to be exempted from the accusation.Situations get perplexed
as the chase moves on.
3. Sampat Sharma, a poor little rich boy,
comes to know about his persona as the'Tenth Avatar of VISHNU, the "KALKI
AVATAR" in this dark age'.
4. Priya Ratnani,
student of Ravi, and the side heroine of story.
5. Mataji, the suspense
character and guide of Taarak
Plot:
Five thousand years ago,
there came to earth a magical being called Krishna(8th avatar of
Vishnu), who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind.The
book depicts his life, what happened in the Mahabharata, what happens to his clan. Krishna while leaving earth assured the world that he would return in a fresh avatar in the Dark Age of Kaliyug.
In this heart-stopping
tale, the arrival of a murderer who executes his gruesome and brilliantly
thought-out schemes in the name of God is the first clue to a sinister
conspiracy to expose an ancient secret—Krishna’s priceless legacy to mankind. A poor
little boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar of Vishnu: only, he is a
serial killer. A Mataji is guiding him to kill 4 equally important person so as
to get hold of 4 stamps from Krishna’s time so that it can fit into a
base-plate which will constitute a ‘Krishna Key’ and which beheld secrets of
very high importance. But the Historian professor Ravi Mohan Saini is not an
easy task for them to catch, and then start a game of cat and mouse when every
character of the story travels from deserts in Kalibanga in Rajasthan to icy cold mountains of Kailash, from the lingas in Somnath to the submerged remains of Dwarka, here and there in the search of in a
quest to discover the cryptic location of Krishna’s most prized possession. Meanwhile the story
of Krishna is also continuing from his birth till his end.
Ashwin Sanghi brings you
yet another exhaustively researched whopper of a plot, while providing an
incredible alternative interpretation of the Vedic Age that will be relished by
conspiracy buffs and thriller-addicts alike.
This book is published by Westland, the same press which published
Shiva trilogy books (another mythological fiction). The book is 464 pages long,
divided over 108 chapters, Each
chapter is short and choppy and keeps you fully engaged, the reason for 108
chapters is revealed in the story when one understands the mystical qualities
of 108.
Favourite lines-:
“Krishna
was the eighth Avatar of Vishnu – a manifestation of a form of energy that we
shall call Vish. The exact opposite energy of Vish is Shiv. While Vish, creates
and preserves, Shiv destroys. They are the two faces of same coin.”
"What truly amazing is the fact that the
distance between the earth and the sun is exactly 108 times the sun’s diameter.
More incredible is the fact that the distance between earth and moon is 108
times the diameter of the moon. The sun’s diameter is 108 times the diameter of
the earth.”
Conclusion:
The
book is a nice read and provides the reader with a decent entertainment during
the journey through time and place, one gets transported through different
places, from deserts in Kalibanga in Rajasthan to icy cold mountains of
Kailash, from the lingas in Somnath to the submerged remains of Dwarka, the
journey is thrilling and you feel transported along as the book goes on. There are facts and
fiction mix, a bibliography has been provided at the end and you can cross check to
differentiate fact from fiction.. He has used anagrams beautifully, something
that rare among Indian writers. The way of giving values to Indian rituals like
the value of Kalash in shiv temples, the scientific role of Bel leaves and the
ancient Indian architectural intellect in establishing giant shiva lingam in
air at Somnath Temple, no Indian author has “ever done this kind of research to
link mythology and science
A mix blend of Dan Brown,
J.K. Rowling and Paulo Coelho style of writing, this book completely engorsses
you and never once do you feel bored.
IF YOU LOVE SUSPENSE & ENIGMA, THIS BOOK WILL GIVE YOU
THE PERFECT HIGH.
Overall a must read.
Ratings- 4/5.
Jai Sri Krishna!
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