Despite the whole assortment of fascinating stories about gods and goddesses and their never ending battle with evil that are told and retold from time immemorial, there isn’t much serious attempt at fiction based on Indian mythology by Indian authors. Amish Tripathi’s debut novel ‘The Immortals of Meluha’ is a bold attempt at filling this void, with a story based on Shiva, revered to be among the holy trinity along with Vishnu and Brahma. This IIMC graduate has scored high with a book which is considered to be the first commercial success of 2010.
Shiva in ‘Immortals of Meluha’ is a Tibetan tribal chief whose tribe is invited to Meluha by its king Daksha. From the life at place where every day was a matter of survival, Meluha is an all too perfect empire for Shiva and his tribe with the well planned city, governed and administered to perfection. Meluha is the city which follows the rules set up by Lord Ram, the Suryavamshi ruler. They call themselves the Suryavamshis and everyone is honest, happy, industrious, and immortal. On his first day, however, Shiva has the surprise of surprises when his throat turns blue upon drinking the ‘Somras.’ Everyone starts believing him to be the legendary ‘Neelkant.’
Shiva is bought before Daksha who briefs him about the legend of Neelkant who they believe will save them from the evil Chandravamshis and how he believes Shiva is the one. Shiva is unsure about his destiny and his capabilities but great warrior and a natural leader with a vision, he soon earns respect from everyone. Meanwhile he befriends Daksha’s daughter Sati, who is a Vikarma – untouchable – and wishes to marry her although this is against the Vikarma law, which he doesn’t believes in. Shiva also develops a great friendship between Brahaspati, the chief scientist of Meluha and earns the respect of Parvateshvar, the commander-in-chief of the army.
The killing of Brahaspati blaze up Shiva and he sets out for revenge. With elaborate planning, they launch a massive attack on Chandravamshis who are defeated and the ruler is captured. Upon seeing Shiva, the Chandravamshi ruler is astonished. It is then Shiva learns of the legend of ‘Neelkant’ among Chandravamshis who they believe will save them from the evil Suryavamshis. Shiva is disturbed and doubts if he has done the right thing in fighting with the Chandravamshis. It is at this juncture which the first book ends, setting the premise for the next book, ‘The secret of the Nagas’
The book although racy, slows down towards the middle. Though interesting, lacks the profoundness that one expects from a book based on the highly philosophical Indian mythology. And it misses the whole lot of stories of Shiva that we have grown up. There are no sub-plots or twists which usually one expects in an action/thriller genre in this post-‘Da Vinci Code’ era.We feel undernourished and wanting for more. At places, the buildup doesn’t always substantiate what follows. Shiva’s nightmare which is referred to often, which gives him sleepless nights, to forget which he keeps using the marijuana, when actually explained is neither heart wrenching nor horrific. The dialogues are a bit filmy at places which I guess is intentional when books are expected to be made to movies. The occasional discussions on spirituality or philosophy of social living are not sufficient in a book on which the protagonist is a god. The book fails there. But nevertheless, Immortals of Meluha is an interesting read for people who love action/adventure-thrillers and is interested in Indian Mythology.
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