Dark tales for tumultuous times - and so they are. Interesting insights into palace intrigues of olden days when kings were an insecure and ruthless lot (and quite roguish). When you have the crown on your head its always about survival and fairness, justice and any such judgment in that direction must be viewed from the point of greater good. The stories are interesting, filled with characters we recognise, with a dark side to them.
Like 'The Stonemasons of Suchindram' who cheat the king who commissioned them to work on a temple - and face dire consequences - their desire to be weighed in gold dust drowns them. A young prince escapes a murder attempt to burn him in his palace leaves with a scarred leg - and comes back to annihilate his opposition. Chanakya accidentally poisons the queen and kills her to save the baby - Bindusara - and then dies in penitence. Ashoka ruthlessly killing his brother to gain the throne.
A ruthless Ashoka, known as Chandashoka, hires an executioner to wreak havoc on his behalf - and in the end the same executioner tries to kill him. In 'Gunadhya and the Book of Blood' a king wants to become a learned man in a short time - triggering a war between two learned teachers who differ on how long it takes to transfer knowledge. The one who loses the bet gives up speaking all human languages and learns pishacha language and writes volumes about it. A princess who marries a lion, escapes his prison, only for her son to kill his father.
Another prince whose atrocities force the king to banish him to Lanka where he sets up a new kingdom with the help of a yakkini. 'Didda and the Crown of Kashmir' - the story of an old matriarch who chooses her heir well - not someone who is prone to quick judgment and emotion but someone who is calm and patient and wins with ease. Twin brothers who fall out when one twin begets a son and the other banishes him - in retaliation he starves himself to kill the king, his twin, knowing that what happens to him will happen to the other.
S V Iyer's (Sandhya to me) first attempt at fiction is a worthy one. Her use of language is impeccable. I enjoyed the economy of words, using just the right word to explain things. I also was impressed with how she captured the nuances of how royalty speaks, never straight or simple, always couched in flattery or double meaning, which is well brought out in dialogue. Its never easy to capture that as it has to be perfectly nuanced and one must understand human nature and the situation well to convey it right. Nor is it easy to research such stories from the past and write them in a simple, accessible way. Each one of the stories have that quality where they stick to you - characters, twists, a dark stain, a visual. To me that's the hall mark of a good story and a good story teller. And Sandhya is one.
And I must not forget to mention some fine art work by Anjana Sridharan.
Sandhya was my editor for two of my books with Jaico - '50 Not Out' and 'This way is easier Dad'. I enjoyed dealing with her as a professional and she is now a friend I stay in touch with. She has this easy way of dealing with you and making it all seem simple. I will always cherish the time I spent with her during the making of the two books. I never had time to meet her apart from work - she is always busy (unlike me) - so when she sent me a message about this book I was thrilled for her. I got the book and quickly read it and it was well worth it.
Here's wishing you and R&R the best of things to come Sandhya! And for those who are looking for a good story, get your copy of 'Rogues and Rajahs' - you will discover facets of human nature you never knew, some history and about the dark side of power.
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