Wednesday 1 February 2017

BOOK REVIEW: THE KRISHNA KEY BY ASHWIN SANGHI



                                           

                                  
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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