[review] The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi

Ashwin Sanghi has done a lovely job of making archaeologist hero! The Krishna key is a marvelous combination of ancient India and modern Indian Subject Matter experts (SMEs) painting a rich pallor to the country and its technical prowess; via the thriller-genre. The thriller is woven along with factual info about the ancient India and has figments of Gita. A lot of little stories that we may have read in the Gita is sporadically sprinkled along the length of the book.

Ancient Dwarga, the city which Krishna has purportedly built over seven times, requested their citizens to carry a seal as a passport. Anil Varshney gets in hand four of these seals. Not willing to put the safety of the four seals in peril, he decides to split them with his spit-promise-type-friends, the four men in whom he has a LOT of faith. The four seals and a baseplate to rest the four seals consists of what is known as the Krishna Key; they open the doors to 5000+ year old preserved secret.

Krishna is the 8^th avatar of God Vishnu. It is claimed in the Gita that in the realms of Kaliyuga, Krishna will don his Kalki avatar, the 10^th one, to bring the evil on earth to an apocalyptic end.  The villain believes he is that avatar. He thwarts the bearers of the seal and their hunt, as the protagonists move toward solving the puzzle to the Krishna key.

*spoiler alert begins*

As Anil parts his seal away with his four friends he is killed in a peculiar fashion, Ravi Mohan Saini who had spent the day before with Anil therefore becomes the prime suspect. He evades the police - Rathika and Rathore – and moves on the run, along with his student Priya. He should accomplish two tasks one – get the seals secured from the rest of the three men and two – solve the Krishna Key and vanquish the puzzle. The question of life and death along with execution of the task in hand is portrayed well. Another refreshing twist occurs when the villain in hand is really not the villain but are a pseudo villains – puppets who strings are controlled by the don who fought his way up the dirty ladder! It makes you ask a new series of why all over again. Is the puppet controlled by the string or string by the puppet is another think you would be pondering about.

*spoiler alert ends*

We are on an information avalanche that answers a lot of questions which might have been on our minds. The book discusses various myths that are associated with Hinduism and has progressed to say that they are not myths but they are historical facts. The book astounds readers with information like :

• The Harappa Mohenjodaro/Indus valley civilization was a secondary effect that happened after the Saraswathi civilization that flourished along the Saraswathi rives in 3000 odd BC. The period when Krishna lived.
• It also discusses how Mount Kailash was also known as mount Meru – which was coopted in the Sumerian Civilization. Thus implying what went on in India as the Saraswathi civilization was the mother. This information just burns the reader with anxiety, here the author throws more information asking – is Mt. Kailash an artificial architecture feat? It shows that Mt Kailash was not only a holy place for Hindus but also Jains, Bons, Buddhists.
•  How Megasthenes a Greek ambassador in Chandra Gupta Maurya court speaks about Krishna as Hercules in his address. How the Abraham discussed in both Christian and Islamic religion is nothing but a twist of Bhrama and make the reader go wow!
• We know that India was resplendent with a lot of richness which was plundered by Mohammed Gajini. The Somnath temple was one of the affected structures - here the Lingam is said to be levitating, the scientific explanations supporting levitation is mind blowing!

To know how all these information are entwined into the thriller. To know who eats whom in the dog eat dog world. To read about the hunt for the Key which might reveal the weapon Bhramastra or Syamantaka or perhaps even Krishnas DNA - reach out to your online bookstore rightaway and shed 250 bucks; worth the money considering the fact the book is not just one, but a lot of mini-books complied into one!

The only minor hiccup can be that in one or two places, there was disgruntled narrative and we would have expected a firm edition. For me, the romance was matter of factly, and not really vital as it offered nothing to the story. Leaving which the book is one satiating read. Which I would definitely recommend! And whats wrong with being Dan Brownish if the end result is good!

If you are the “I love information overdose” types you will love the book to BITS and more!

So there, what are you waiting for – get your copy of The Krishna key right away!

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[Book review] The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

Better late than never at appreciating India’s cultural diversity on my blog, here I begin…

Having known a few lovely Bengali girls at work/Training; Having loved a few beautiful Bengali actresses - Sharmila Tagore, Sushmita, Bipasha; Having adored the Bengali mammoths Uttam, Feludas and Satyajit Ray. I think the book satisfied my interest on the North East India.

Amitav Ghosh’s “The Hungry Tide” is a the story of Kanai Dutt, a translator turned Entrepreneur and the American cetologist with Indian origin, Piyali Roy; in the forays Sundarbans’ delta. The story evolves as the strangers meet in the Indian railgaadi travelling towards Lusibari and later their roads diverge – his to Lusibari to check on a package which is late uncle had left for him before his death – and hers to where she plans to immerse herself in the study of river Dolphins.

Beginning her journey with a government boat driver who beguiles her and tips her in crocodile infested water, her rescue comes in the form of a native illiterate fisherman – Fokir, who helps her (dramatically?) out of the murky water. She then decides to embark on her research with him, she faces language barrier as either one speaks a different tongue. Although they have a language barrier between them, Piya and Fokir are powerfully drawn to each other, sharing an uncanny instinct for the ways of the sea.

The lengths to which a marine biologist/ cetologist would traverse is portrayed beautifully. The search for Orcaella brevirostris or the Indian river Dolphin, is incredulous but leaves the reader with a LOT of indigestible technical information. Also invariably hues of the Tide country, its behavior during high and low tide – its niche involving crocodiles, murk and royal Bengal tigers are impressively etched. So that is a LOT of information for you to muster! Amidst the information hammock I found this folklore/myth very interesting -

Dakkhin Rai makes a pact with Dhona the honey collector in his Dhonas’ dreams – He agrees to give seven fleets full of honey and wax in turn for Dukhe, a poor shepherded boy. When the fleet reaches Kendokhali cha Dhona fills seven of his vessels with honey and wax after which he asks Dukhe to go and collect firewood, which Dukhe does inspite of knowing he will be left back by the company. The fleet promptly leaves without Dukhe as planned. Dakkhin Rai makes an appearance before Dukhe in the form of a tiger. Dukhe is terrified, he remembers his mother telling me to call for Bon bibi when in peril, he calls for Bon bibi – she along with her brother Shah Jangali defeat Dakkhin Rai and render Dukhe in safe hands.

Kanai comes unwittingly helpful as a translator between Piyali and Fokir, as expected. He is an egoistic know-it-all who flirts and irks the audience more than your average stereotyped-Indian-entrepreneur. He leaves to his hometown to inspect a piece of inheritance his uncle, Nirmal, left for him where he retrospects on the Morichjhanpi massacre incident of 1978-79. This incident where the Marxist Communist party is said to have evicted numerous Bengali refugees, is subdued and largely left for the audience to make up. However, the incidents left a large impact on me. Powdered with quotes from Rilke, those portions are pleasing to read.

The other secondary characters – Nilima, Kusum, Moyna, Tutul are strings of the same piece of fabric, hence don’t stand out like a sore thumb. Though there is lack in character of Piya’s parent and they remain a hallucinated image to you. As you move closer to the end, the muted emotions of Fokir kill the audience from making a relation to him. How and where the trifurcated roads of Piyali, Fokir and Kanai ends is the essence of the book all in all.

You like emotions as opposed to clingontheseat thrillers, there! Then go for it!

Rating 4 of 5

P/s I have discussed NO aspects of the story line, just in case you read it, I don’t want this review to be a spoiler. BUT, how effective is a review with just the outline of the story? First review, please suggest me options to improve! Thanks!!