Apr 27, 2011 04:48 PM
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(Updated Apr 27, 2011 04:49 PM)
Now, you must be wondering from where that title name came, and that is because of the fact that reveals the -ve point of this novel. There are many chanakyas today, and just the thinking of one person will not affect the politics as much as it is shown in the novel.
About the book/author - Chanakya's Chant is a 448-pg novel written by Ashwin Sanghi. Its his 2nd novel after Rozabal Line (which I'm reading now). You can get this book at flipkart.com for Rs.146. The book is published by Westland Publishers in 2010. Ashwin was born in Mumbai on 25th January, 1969, and wrote only two novels till date - thriller genre. (Source: Wikipedia.org)
About the Plot - There are two different timelines - The current timeline, where there is an intelligent political mind Pt. Gangasagar Mishra, who wants to play politics and is behind a girl Chandini and help her becoming the Indian prime-minister, by rising her from zero to state to national level, using all the tactics, and using all possible chess moves, using many person as players. Another timeline is 2300 years ago, and it is when Chanakya, the biggest politician ever existed. It tells the real story of Chanakya, who helped Chandragupta Maurya to get the throne of Magadha dynasty.
Pros - 1. Fast-paced thriller, and you may love every bit of it, try to complete it ASAP.
Simple language, good readability, simple words used, and you can relate the story with the current situation
Cheaply available, and Ashwin got some talent, as he can wove a story, which today's many Indian (so-called) authors are unable to do, just following the same love-story track. Ashwin brought a wind of change.
Cons - 1. The whole story of Chanakya is copied, and you can refer to other books, which can detailed you about the real incidents of Chanakya's time much brightly, even many dialogues are copied. In this thing, the author fails to deliver, instead of copying, he should write good dialogues of his own, although he has given credit to the source where he has taken the account.
Old timeline is much more crisp, and you'll love it more than the current one, since in the current timeline, everything's going too easy for the one chanakya i.e. Gangasagar Mishra. Whatever he plans falls in place, whoever tries to double-cross him fails, as he is so sharp that he always remain two steps ahead of them. That is quite unacceptable in today's political scenario. Today everybody is Chanakya.
A lengthy affair, which crosses 400 pages, can get the best of your patience, and you may end up leaving it in between, mainly if you're not a regular reader like me :)
My Verdict - 3/5, you can buy it, or get it from some friend, and read it once, much better than other Indian author-books available (including very-hard-language-writer Amitav Ghosh)
GRuchirG.
