Shiva Trilogy by Amish

Talking about a trilogy is easy; there’s just so much to talk about . I’d like to start at the beginning; the language. While the language & the dialogues are definitely better than Chetan Bhagat; they are also needlessly dumbed down. It’s almost like the girls who act dumb to get the big, smart man.

Having gotten that out of the way; let me admit – I LOVED the books.  Yes it dragged it parts and yes the author Amish tries too hard to explain the stories but it all adds up to a rollicking read. (I’m so glad I found a book I can say that about!)

The first book is called The Immortals of Meluha. We start with the premise that all Indian gods were actually mortal & that it was mythology that made them Gods. Amish then goes on to amazingly tie-in the stories everyone knows about Shiva with a fictional storyline.

Shiva is the leader of a tribe of Gunas from the area near Lake Mansarovar. To save his tribe from the various everyday struggles they face, Shiva accepts an offer to join the advanced civilization of Meluha. They have beautifully planned cities, great governance & have developed the formula for the ‘Somras’ – a drink that grants longevity. Drinking it causes Shiva’s neck to turn blue; bringing to life an old legend of how the Neelkanth (the blue-throated lord) would save the world from evil.

Playing their part in making him realize his importance to Indian society is a list of characters that is a veritable who’s who of Indian mythology. From love interest Sati, to Nandi, Brihaspati & even Daksha; all these characters are well drawn & explained with great depth.

In the background, we also get an insight to the architecture, science & systems that were around in ancient India. The world Amish draws for us is so cool that it reminded me of steam-punk!

The three distinct empires are also well described; the methodical, systematic & rule-bound Suryavanshi Meluhans, the self-willed, headstrong, creative & individualistic Chandravanshi Swadweepans & the Naga Dandaka. The Nagas are the cursed race, looked down upon by both Suryavanshis & Chandravanshis due to the bodily deformities they suffer.

Shiva is still trying to adapt to his new life when he has to lead a war after an attack that appears to have orchestrated by the Chandravanshis & the Nagas. Displaying great military know-how & tactics, Shiva wins but manages to change everything he thought was true.

Entering the world of the second book, The Secret of the Nagas, is a necessary evil after the cliff hanger the first book leaves you on. The story of the deformed Nagas is so very well explained that on its culmination, I had goose bumps.  

This book also introduces the fearsome Parshuram & Shiva’s son with Sati, Kartik; both names that featured in many of my Amar Chitra Katha books. There are two more characters central to the book but all I’ll tell you about them is that just their stories alone are worth the price of the book. The actual secret of the Nagas however, leads to a pretty predictable ending.

The trilogy ends with The Oath of The Vayuputras; a book that aims to tie up all loose ends. Shiva faces his toughest decisions, faces really unpalatable truths & finally leads the readers to a conclusion that is not only dramatic but also unnecessary.

With the world around him asking for more from him, Shiva tries to do everything & be everywhere. But that tactic brings big trouble to those he holds dearest. Now if you know your mythology, you know where this is going… but I bet you won’t be able to stop yourself from watching everything go down in flames.

TL;DR version: The Shiva trilogy by Amish may not be well written or have a great ending; but the research & thought gone behind executing this trilogy deserves all the love it has gotten for the author. It’s a fun masala mix with a great backdrop of mythology.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia – Mohsin Hamid

After masterpieces like The Reluctant Fundamentalist (which is on its way to movie theatres soon); Mohsin Hamid brings another amazing piece of fiction our way. HTGFRIRA is a gritty & real look at small-town India/Pakistan/any similar country & how the multitudes there are fighting just to survive.

First of all, the best part of this book is that it is written as a self-help book. The way Mr Hamid plays with words is an inspiration to any of us with a love for language. He starts off every chapter with titles like “Don’t fall in love” or “Avoid Idealists” and then goes on to explain it in such a witty & engaging way that you cannot but want to know more.

Hamid doesn’t ever name his protagonist but keeps using the pronoun ‘You’ to describe the name character in the book – in one shot involving the reader & making the book completely representative of the everyman.

The book starts with detailing the nuances of a just-above-the-poverty-line family in a small town who get to relocate to a bigger town nearby. The older son has to start working; the daughter gets married but ‘you’ (the second son get to have an education; that’s where you start off your journey.

From almost losing his life as a kid to his road through school & college; this self-motivated & extremely self-aware young boy is completely focused on being able to build a financially secure life for himself. His mother’s death due to insufficient care only exacerbates this resolve.

But then he falls in love inspite of the chapter marked “Don’t Fall in Love”; this character of the ‘pretty girl’ is a beautiful & welcome respite from the constant ambition of the book. This is not to say that the girl isn’t ambitious, she has her own career path, going from being a d-list starlet to becoming an eclectic furniture boutique owner. While the hero has to forget about his romance; he manages to hang on to the last vestiges of his love & is haunted by these memories. It is almost like his personal cross to bear.

How the main character navigates through love, loss, shady businesses, unhelpful political & bureaucratic hurdles is a story worth reading; the examples given are reminiscent of experiences that I have either experienced personally or seen happening. I love how, for example, the protagonist starts off a mineral water business by putting boiled water in tampered bottles. At one point, when he is given a choice of bringing down costs by not boiling the water, he refuses to do it because he doesn’t want to compromise on quality. Because, of course, there are some lines that should not be crossed.

This hilarious & often uncomfortable style of writing is a great introduction to the Indian sub-continent & the way it works. It reminds me of Q&A before it became the godawful Slumdog Millionaire especially the nuanced dialogue. It is a welcome departure from books either bashing that part of the world or weirdly deifying it.

However, it is the last few chapters that truly ties together all of these messages & stories culminating in a weirdly satisfying yet not truly happy ending. I may be guilty of heaping way too much praise on this book but experiencing this author playing with words is truly a pleasure.

The tl;dr version: Read this book to get an amazing insight into the new & improved Indian sub-continent. This rags-to-riches story is written in a really cool self-help style that is both funny & brilliantly written.