NARRATION IS CAPTURING

BOOK: THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA

AUTHOR: AMISH TRIPATHI

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH 

COUNTRY: INDIA 

GENRE: FICTION 

PUBLISH DATE: FEBRUARY, 2010

PUBLICATION: WESTLAND PRESS

The Immortals of Meluha is the first novel of the Shiva trilogy series by Amish Tripathi. The story is set in the land of Meluha and starts with the arrival of the Shiva. The Meluhans believe that Shiva is their fabled saviour Neelkanth. Shiva decides to help the Meluhans in their war against the Chandravanshis, who had joined forces with a cursed Nagas; however, during his journey and the fight that ensues, Shiva learns how his choices actually reflect who he aspires to be and how they lead to dire consequences.

Meluha is a near perfect empire, created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest kings that ever lived. However, the once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe crisis as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis who have joined forces with the Nagas, a cursed race with physical deformities. The present king of Meluha, Daksha, sends his emissaries to North India in Tibet, to invite the tribes that live there to Meluha. One of those invited are the Gunas, whose chief Shiva is a brave warrior and protector. Shiva accepts the proposal and moves to Meluha with his tribe. They reach the city of Srinagar and are received there by Ayurvati, the Chief of Medicine of the Meluhans. Shiva and his tribe are impressed with the Meluhan way of life. On their first night of stay at Srinagar, the Gunas wake up amid high fever and sweating. The Meluhans, under Ayurvati's orders, carry on the healing process. However, Ayurvati finds out that Shiva is the only one devoid of these symptoms and that his throat has turned blue. The Meluhans announce Shiva as the Neelkanth, their fabled saviour.

Shiva is then taken to Devagiri, the capital city of Meluha, where he meets King Daksha. While staying there, Shiva and his comrades, Nandi and Veerbhadra, encounter a beautiful and mysterious woman, who has a look of penance on her face. They later come to know that she is Princess Sati, the daughter of Daksha and is a Vikarma, an untouchable in this life due to sins committed in her previous births. Shiva tries to court her, but she rejects his advances. Ultimately Shiva wins her heart and they decide to get married, even though the Vikarma rule prohibits them from doing so. Enraged by the so-called obsolete law, Shiva declares himself as the Neelkanth and swears to dissolve the Vikarma law. Daksha allows Sati to get married to Shiva, amid much joy and happiness.

During his stay in Devagiri, Shiva comes to know of the treacherous wars that the Chandravanshis are carrying on the Meluhans. He also meets Brahaspati, the Chief Inventor of the Meluhans. Brahaspati invites Shiva and the royal family on an expedition to Mount Mandar, where the legendary Somras is manufactured using the waters of the Saraswati river. Shiva learns that the potion which made his throat turn blue was actually undiluted Somras, which can be lethal when taken in its pure form. However, Shiva was unaffected, which was the first sign that he was the Neelkanth. He also learns that Somras was the reason why the Meluhans lived for so many years. Brahaspati and Shiva develop a close friendship and the royal family returns to Devagiri. One morning, the whole of Meluha wakes up to loud noises coming from Mount Mandar. Shiva and his troops reach the hill to find out that a large part of Mandar has been blasted off and many of the inventors killed. There is no sign of Brahaspati, but Shiva finds the insignia of the Nagas, confirming their involvement in the treacherous wars of the Chandravanshis.

Enraged by this, Shiva declares war on the Chandravanshis. With consultation from the Devagiri Chief Minister Kanakhala and the Head of Meluhan Army, Parvateshwar, Shiva advances towards Swadweep, the land of the Chandravanshis. A fierce battle is fought between the Meluhans and the Swadweepans in which the Meluhans prevail. The Chandravanshi king is captured but becomes enraged upon seeing the Neelkanth. The Chandravanshi princess Anandmayi explains that they too had a similar legend that the Neelkanth will come forward to save their land by launching an assault against the "evil" Suryavanshis. Hearing this, Shiva is dumbfounded and utterly distressed. With Sati he visits the famous Ram temple of Ayodhya, the capital of Swadweep. There he meets a priest from whom he comes to know about his karma, fate and his choices in life, which would guide him in future. As Shiva comes out of the temple, he notices Sati standing out of the temple waiting for him and a Naga standing near a tree. The book ends with Shiva charging to save Sati.

CONCLUSION

The book follows the exploits of a Tibetan native called Shiva, whose tribe is led to a glorious land called Meluha, which is the most technologically and socially advanced kingdom of the time. His destiny leads him onto a path to rid the land of evil; particularly, to stop the terrorist attacks carried out by the neighbouring kingdoms. . It starts off slowly, building the characters and the creating a picture of a highly advanced society. Then, from the time Shiva starts to embrace his destiny , the book becomes a real page-turner. Along the way, we learn more about his skills, his weaknesses, his leadership abilities, and his honour. Shiva also discovers himself, and goes about changing the very face of the country. However, the world is not as straightforward as he believes, and he comes to realize this only towards the end of the book. 

Honestly, I love the concept of the book. The writer, Amish holds till the end and builds the curiosity. I am not the religious person but I love the way the writer has written the religious mythology. Although, the book has been averagely written, there are some beautiful lines like:

“Jealousy. They hate our superior ways. It efficient family system is an eyesore to them. The fact that we take care of everyone in our country makes them unhappy because they cannot take care of themselves. They lead sorry lives. And rather than improving themselves, they want to pull us down to their level.”  

“Light fall on an object. And when it reflects back from that object to your eyes, you see that objects.”

“White light is nothing but the confluence of seven different colours. That is why the rainbow is made up of seven colours since it is formed when raindrops disperse sunlight.”

“White sunlight falls on that leaf. The leaf’s physical properties are such that it absorbs the colours violet, indigo, blue, yellow, orange and red. It doesn’t absorb the colour green, which is then reflected back to my eyes. Hence I see the leaf as green.”

Although, there are some beautiful lines, some readers might feel bore as it is a religious book. To tell the truth, I do agree that while reading, I felt boring in some chapters. Sometimes, readers might think it is like Ekta Kapoor’s serials. Although, some chapters are boring, I loved the concept and recommend the book to read. The narration is captivating. The unfold in layers revealing new mysteries and adding to reader’s shock every now and then. It is must read, especially for the meteoric rise of a common man, on sheer courage and will power. So, I could rate 4/5.