"Legend of Suheldev: The King who saved India” by Amish Tripathi - Reviewed by TM Rajat Ray

 

I have always been a fan of mythological and historical novels, where the writer, with a mixture of historical facts and mythical characters, brings an era to life – and author Amish Tripathi is a past master at this game. That is why when I saw that he has published a new book – “Legend of Suheldev: The King who saved India” – I did not hesitate before downloading it to Kindle for an immediate read. Nor was I disappointed.

About the author:

Amish Tripathi specialises in converting mythology to real life stories. His earlier books, which are all about making mythological stories real, include the Shiva trilogy, viz The Immortals of Meluha, Secret of the Nagas and Oath of the Vayuputras, and the Rama trilogy, viz Scion of Ikshvaku, Sita: Warrior of Mithila and Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta.

About this book:

This 325-page story is distinctly different from Amish’s earlier books on two counts. Firstly, this is not mythology based but history based, Suheldev being a real king. Secondly, the way this book has been written is different. For the first time, Amish has used a bevy of writers from the Immortal Writers’ Centre to ghost-write the major parts, although the plot and the final touches are his.

Story:

The story unfolds in the 11^th century, with Mahmud of Ghazni, the feared Turk king, poised to attack the Somnath Jyotirlinga temple in Gujarat. The first tense pages end with a grisly massacre of Indian warriors and temple monks, with no quarters given.

It is said that with the pillage of the Somnath temple, Gazni broke the soul of India. Till then battlegrounds were places of courtesy, with rules of engagement and mercy towards the vanquished and non-combatants. But Gazni was ruthless. He burnt village after village and broke all temples that came in his path. Even the Muslims of India were affronted by his behaviour.

India was a land of kingdoms and fiefdoms with no unity amongst them. Gazni found them easy prey and either defeated them or forced them to pay tax and stay neutral. Thus the advancing army of Gazni also consisted of Hindu kings, who lent support in exchange for immunity and plunder.

In this scenario, rose Suheldev, and that too by chance. It so happened that his elder brother Malladev was slain when Gazni attacked the Somnath temple. Suheldev, who till then was a happy-go-lucky prince, vowed vengeance. He set about systematically seeking support from other kings, reaching out even to the Cholas of the south. He moved away from organised warfare and drew up guerrilla tactics that attacked the Gazni armies from the sides and harried and weakened them. Suheldev plunged into his mission even harder after the death of his father Mangaldhwaja, the king of Shravasti (UP), and though anointed king, he hardly spent time at the capital, preferring the jungles by day and villages by night, looking for allies and openings.

The counterpoint to Suheldev was Salar Masud, the commander of the Turkish army, a wily strategist, with tremendous ground information about the Indian armies. The mindplay between Suheldev and Salar Masud forms an important component of the plot.

The Turkish army withdraws on Gazni’s death but, as predicted by Suheldev, they are back soon with an even bigger army, led by Salar Masud. They meet at the well-known Battle of Bahraich and it is a seesaw of warfare till the Chola army suddenly arrives as the saviour angel. The Turks are routed from India, never to return again.

What I liked:

I particularly loved learning about a relatively unknown patriot Suheldev, and I really appreciated Amish’s effort at bringing him up in front of our eyes. The nationalist in me loved the final victory of Indian forces against the much superior Turkish armies.

I liked the action-packed beginning with the ransacking of the Somnath temple as it lay the foundation for more exciting things to come.

I loved the depiction of the times with the ruthless Turks and the fawning kings hoping to avoid conflict by playing games of survival.

I liked the various sub-themes that ran parallelly, bringing forth Hindu-Muslim unity cemented by nationalism, and also a glimpse into the prevalent caste system that Suheldev tries to gently untangle. His fiancée Toshani is in fact a warrior woman from a lower class who takes his side in battle. 

There are many semi-historical characters with their own stories who add colour to the total picture.

Finally, I liked the racy style of Amish that kept the narrative moving at a fast pace.

What did not work for me:

I found the writing style slightly superficial, probably because it was not 100% Amish. Events were a bit disconnected and the characterisation shallow. This was because all motives were not dealt in depth, eg why Suheldev became a guerrilla fighter, why Salar Masud had a personal grudge against Suheldev, and so on.

There was a mystery in the story which was very casually solved, in an easy-way-out manner. This was perhaps the biggest weakness in the plot.

There was a romantic interest in the story (after all, where there is a prince, there has to be one), between Suheldev and Toshani, but I felt that Toshani was contributing strongly to the story till their love developed, after which she became practically a Bond girl. Her character could have been used better.

Recommendation:

Those who enjoy mythological and historical characters made into real life (like I do) will like this book.

If for nothing else, one should read this book as a mark of respect towards heroes like Suheldev who fought their patriotic battles in relative anonymity.