The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi!!!

            There are some books that need no introduction. They are just already declared EPIC and no one needs a review to purchase and read them. These books are just meant for discussion as no one tries to pull it down as its almost everyone's favorite. And an amazing scenario happens when its by an author who's the First Timer. A debutante getting such success and acclaim assures that even if the book will not be an EPIC kind of a tale, it will at least end up being an averagely written book. After Chetan Bhagat, people kept on talking about who's the next. Many authors came, turned Bestsellers but no one bought the kind of revolution that Chetan Bhagat bought with his first book following other 5. And finally, 2 years back, we witnessed another Revolution through the first book of SHIVA TRILOGY written by AMISH TRIPATHI. Being a debut book of his, it got into Bestsellers in its first week itself. The mystery is yet to be solved that who told Indian audience that this first timer has written a tale that will touch hearts. :-) But whatever, Kudos to you Mr. Amish.

              Synopsis: Shiva, one of the chief Hindu deities, is portrayed in an entirely different light in Amish Tripathi's debut novel, The Immortals of Meluha. The first book of The Shiva Trilogy, The Immortals of Meluha charts Shiva's journey from the mountains with his Tibetan tribesmen to the kingdom of Meluha, which is occupied by the Suryavanshis, a race of people who are descendants of Lord Ram and live along the banks of the River Saraswati.

      When an episode involving the preserving drug somras leaves his throat blue, Shiva is hailed as the 'Mahadev' according to an ancient prophecy, the man who'll lead the Suryavanshis to victory against the Chandravanshis. Caught in the middle of a tense conflict, Shiva must now make some quick decisions to save Meluha from the wrath of the evil Chandravanshis and their twisted and disfigured assassins, The Nagas.

        Will Shiva be able to rise to the occasion and save the clan of the Suryavanshis?

        Why does the Princess Sati shy away from speaking to him every single time?

        Who are the Nagas, and why are they assisting the Chandravanshis?

        Set in 1990 B.C., the book takes readers on an imaginative and exciting journey through Amish's world. 

           Amish Tripathi does have the flick of writing. He knows how to build a story using the mythological characters and how to merge two stories together. It is not that he has just tried it for the sake of doing something that is uncommon in the writing industry. Few months ago, I read Ashwin Sanghi's The Krishna Key. This book has the same smell. The way Amish Tripathi has brought- Mythology, philosophy, history and Geography together is what most writers can only dream of. He made his protagonist so huge that its hard to believe that its a fiction story. You want to believe each and every sentence of the book.

           All the characters in the book are beautifully described. Not one of the major characters can be said to be left incomplete or un-happening. Everyone has their role pretty good in the story. Shiva is someone whom I have become so fond of that I am happy this book has come as a Trilogy that I will get to read more about him in The Secret of The Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras. Parvateshwar and Nandi are my favorite characters after the Shiva. Then imagining Sati is another good part about the book. It's always lovely to imagine love interest of the protagonist while reading a book. :-) Then, Daksha is wonderfully described. Anandmayi is one character I am still unsure about. I didn't enjoy her part in the pre-climax. It could have been skipped.

          The first action scenarios in the initial pages of the book is wonderful to start with. Then the way he migrates to Meluha. Later the Somras part and its explanation is interesting. Then the entrance of Sati and description of Shiva's dance and then their marriage, later on, is a treat. Once when people start calling Shiva their God and savoir, and the way Shiva react to them by smiling to himself, are laughable moments in the book. Even you get an urge to see the blue-colored neck of this Neelkanth. Then Parvateshwar's hatred for him is beautifully portrayed. I liked all the contradictions that were shown between the two. Later on, just before the war when Shiva tells everyone that there's a Mahadev in all and asks them to exclaim,"Har Har Mahadev", it is another good-to-imagine part. 

        These are very few parts about which I have talked otherwise I would say that the book is a good One time read. Actually, it can be read many a times but I ask all to read it at least one. Missing this one would be a mistake. And as Karan Johar has already purchased the rights of this book and Hrithik is been said to play Shiva, I must really say that do read it before the movie comes. Because this book is too grand to even imagine. I don't know how can someone build a set that can look as huge as what is being defined in the book. I don't want to speak any negative points about the book because I didn't feel irritated while reading any part. I just didn't want the Climax to be incomplete in such a way even though it is to be continued later in the 2nd book. I was enjoying the tale of warriors, their laws, values, morale, evilness etc. I want all of you to read the Trilogy in a sequence by giving yourself time of 7-10 days. :-) The SHIVA TRILOGY 1 is 400 pages of POWER.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU