My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Blood, lust and deceit – Chanakya’s Chant overwhelms the reader with the shrewd manipulations of the political world. A pacy and well researched plot, it makes you marvel at the mind of history’s most revered teacher – Chanakya - a kingmaker, a shrewd politician and the father of ‘Arthashastra’.
Ashwin Sanghi has worked intelligently in choosing this topic and weaving a story around it. His detailed research and usage of quotes from famous people, movies and books have added the necessary punch in the dialogues through the plot.
The premise of the story is how politics and human nature has remained unaffected by years of evolution and how the rules to rule people, that were established by Chanakya 2300 years ago, are still applicable. Sanghi builds a chronology of events in the life of Chanakya – murder of his father by a ruthless king of Magadha, his vow to avenge his murder, and his thirst for producing a king who would unite the entire Bharat as one kingdom. This plot is mapped with the life of his fictional character Pandit Gangasagar Mishra who determines to gain enough power enabling him to decide who the Prime Minister of India would be. While Chanakya mentors Chandragupta, Gangasagar prepares Chandani, while Chanakya convinces Ambhi’s commander-in-chief to train Chandragupta, Gangasagar asks Ikram bhai to adopt Chandini, while Chanakya makes people believe Chandragupta was a ruler chosen by God, Gangasagar gets Chandani shot harmlessly to make Indians believe that she was the daughter of the country. A mesh of strategy of the mind, body and soul – the story uncovers the raw side of every human emotion.
For the author – The writing style is similar to the likes of Sidney Sheldon that makes it racy and akin to a movie. Toward the end it gets a little drag. While reading it does seem that Sanghi is biased towards his female characters to be fair skinned, with auburn hair and green eyes (description of Vishaka – the vishkanya or even Chandini - the future leader). The usage of famous quotes adds punch to his story as mentioned earlier but takes away a bit of credibility from his writing skills. Personally, having read ‘Jwalamukhi Ke Phool’, Chanakya’s Chant looks like a poor cousin.
Ashwin Sanghi has worked intelligently in choosing this topic and weaving a story around it. His detailed research and usage of quotes from famous people, movies and books have added the necessary punch in the dialogues through the plot.
The premise of the story is how politics and human nature has remained unaffected by years of evolution and how the rules to rule people, that were established by Chanakya 2300 years ago, are still applicable. Sanghi builds a chronology of events in the life of Chanakya – murder of his father by a ruthless king of Magadha, his vow to avenge his murder, and his thirst for producing a king who would unite the entire Bharat as one kingdom. This plot is mapped with the life of his fictional character Pandit Gangasagar Mishra who determines to gain enough power enabling him to decide who the Prime Minister of India would be. While Chanakya mentors Chandragupta, Gangasagar prepares Chandani, while Chanakya convinces Ambhi’s commander-in-chief to train Chandragupta, Gangasagar asks Ikram bhai to adopt Chandini, while Chanakya makes people believe Chandragupta was a ruler chosen by God, Gangasagar gets Chandani shot harmlessly to make Indians believe that she was the daughter of the country. A mesh of strategy of the mind, body and soul – the story uncovers the raw side of every human emotion.
For the author – The writing style is similar to the likes of Sidney Sheldon that makes it racy and akin to a movie. Toward the end it gets a little drag. While reading it does seem that Sanghi is biased towards his female characters to be fair skinned, with auburn hair and green eyes (description of Vishaka – the vishkanya or even Chandini - the future leader). The usage of famous quotes adds punch to his story as mentioned earlier but takes away a bit of credibility from his writing skills. Personally, having read ‘Jwalamukhi Ke Phool’, Chanakya’s Chant looks like a poor cousin.
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