Exploring the Bookish World

Adity Kay's recent historical fiction, Emperor Vikramaditya, is a sequel to her previous book, Emperor Chandragupta.  After reading Emperor Chandragupta, I couldn't wait to read the author's second book which just released last month! As the title of the book suggests, this book tells the tale of the legendary emperor of ancient India, Chandragupta II, or Vikramaditya. The younger son of the Gupta king Samudragupta, the young prince Chandra is troubled within himself as his elder brother Ramagupta prepares to take their ageing father's place on the throne, he wrestles constantly with his brother's decisions. He finds his brother's decisions to be dangerous to the stability of the empire. And thus, begins the conflict, and struggle for power between two brothers. But when the empire is threatened by a dangerous enemy from outside, Chandra emerges as the king in his own right. Read the book to know whether an unwanted prince can save a kingdom on the brin...

History has always been one of my favourite subjects since school days. The stories of ancient times have fascinated me since childhood. The stories of ancient people, their civilizations, the great kings and queens, the battles they fought - amazed and intrigued me. Historical fiction, as a literary genre, is very interesting, intriguing and informative at the same time. This is the reason why I guess I am a sucker for historical fictions. Adity Kay's book, Emperor Chandragupta,  tells us the story of the Maurya king Chandragupta Maurya. He founded the Mauryan empire. The story traces back to the early days, in the third century BCE, when India was a land ruled by powerful dynasties, each fighting for supremacy over the other, and Alexander the Great had arrived from Greece to conquer and wanted to establish his dominion over the entire known world. Moriya, a young boy, raised by a tribe of peacock-tamers, was completely unaware of the legacy that was rightfully his. Und...

I have been reviewing books on my blog for quite some time now, and I have read and reviewed books belonging to various genres. But this book review is indeed very unique, as this is the first time I am reviewing a play.  Aurangzeb: The Darkness in His Heart is a play by Rajesh Talwar. As is evident from the title, the play is about the sixth and the last great Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb. The play traces the journey of the sixth Mughal ruler's life - from how he ascended the throne to the final days of his life. The play is divided into three parts - 'Aurangzeb, the Romantic'; 'Aurangzeb, the Monster' and 'Aurangzeb, the Fearful'. The first part narrates the tale of how the cold-hearted Aurangzeb fell in love with Hirabai, who was a slave girl. But, Hirabai dies within a year of their first meeting. This incident has a deep-seated impact on the life of Aurangzeb. He becomes more tyrannical, intolerant, and sceptical. The second part of the pla...

The Women Who Ruled India by Archana Garodia Gupta is a book which focuses on the powerful women who are an important part of Indian history. These women were brave, fierce and possessed great leadership qualities. They were great rulers of their times and continue to inspire future generations as well. Their stories of valour and diplomacy, leadership and wit make this book a very informative read. The book features the stories of twenty powerful figures from the archives, offering us a glimpse of their fascinating lives. Each one of them ruled India during different time periods. It is a matter of great pride that such brave and powerful women are a part of India's rich history. From the Bhaumakara Queens, Didda of Kashmir, Raziya Sultan to Nur Jahan, and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, the women rulers who were often overshadowed by their male counterparts in the patriarchal representation of history; their true accounts are presented in this book. The Women Who Ruled India  i...

'Immortal India' is the first non-fiction written by the author of bestseller fictions, Amish . His previous books include five bestselling fictions of The Shiva Trilogy and Ramchandra Series. All his works reflect his knowledge of Indian history and mythology as well. As the title of the book suggests, 'Immortal India'  explains the captivating amalgamation of the past and the present of the world's largest democracy. The book is essentially a collection of articles by Amish published on various newspapers, speeches that he made, debates and interviews that he participated in. The book presents before the reader a beautiful picture of the ancient Indian culture from a modern point of view. The book throws light on a wide range of subjects which affect the modern Indian society. The book is split into four sections, namely, 一 Religion & Mythology, Social Issues, History, and Musings. The chapters under 'Religion & Mythology' depicts the de...