Journey To The Throne by Vani Mahesh
Print: 288 pages
Language: English
Age Group: 13+ Years
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author Intro:
Vani Mahesh is an avid reader and she believes that all that reading combined with her unusually keen interest in other people’s lives led her to write. The novel Meet Me in the Middle happened in her mind years ago though she got around to writing it only now. Vani loves humor and she hopes she can make her readers laugh through her unlikely protagonist, Anu.
Vani is best known for writing mythology. She is the author of Creation Tales – stories from Brahma Purana, Saptarsh – The Seven Supreme Sages, and Shiva Purana. Vani feels thrilled to spot her books in bookstores and she also instantly falls in love with those who have read her books.
Vani began her career just like any Bangalorean – a software engineer in Silicon Valley. Since she was always jealous of a librarian’s proximity to books, she quit her job to start EasyLib.com, the first online library in India. She ran it for over a decade before getting bitten by the writing bug.
Book Intro:
One kingdom. Two brothers. A single throne.
Set in the early fourth century, this is the story of two princes of the powerful ancient Indian kingdom of the Guptas…Princes Rama and Chandra are the sons of Emperor Samudragupta. Often called the Napolean of India, Samudragupta was both an invincible warrior and a faultless ruler – chivalrous, disciplined, and moralistic.
While Prince Chandra is the ideal prince, hardworking and able, Prince Rama is the proverbial prodigal son who leans towards a life of luxury. Chandra is trapped in a web of deceit by his jealous elder brother and has to fight several life-and-death battles for the throne. It is a journey fraught with deceit, intrigue, and untold drama. A universal story of sibling rivalry and a ringside view of the underside of royal life – the risks, the uncertainty, and the adversity.
My Thoughts:
Samudragupta, the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, is regarded as among the greatest rulers of the dynasty Undoubtedly that era was called as “Swarna Yugam: Golden Period” which proves how our country was led by one of the most extraordinary emperors of all time from these rulers.
“Journey to the throne” is a handpicked event from the play “Devichandraguptam”. We all know from our well know socio-history knowledge about Samudragupta and his son Chandragupta, however the lesser-known or fascinating facts about Ramagupta – the elder son of Samudragupta. Vani Mahesh introduces Ramagupta, as a sibling of Chandragupta, and disturbed the relationship rift between those to become the successor of his father, so the title “Journey to the throne”.Ramagupta brings his own pile of bad habits like arrogance, laziness, and too much greed, while his sibling Chandragupta brings good characteristics such as being “People Friendly”, Brave, leadership, and empathetic.
The story proceeds to answer the basic question
Who will be the next ruler of Gupta’s kingdom as the successor of Samudragupta?
Though this is a Mythic Fiction, all credit goes to the author who didn’t adulterate the essence of the main plot, however, in a few places I found a drag or slow narration. Nevertheless, the way the author portrayed all the fictional characters in the book is commendable. I could sense the authors’ research and analysis that went into the storyline. The episodes of Samudragupta – Dattadevi, Chandra – Pranava, Chandra – Dhruva, and many characters involved in the book are carefully drafted, Not to miss my favorite character “Kritavarma” who played a major role throughout.
Special mention to the author for maintaining the sanctity of all the female leads in the plot and their notable impact on the storyline.
No doubt, this book is the best fit for movie adaptation for a movie. The author did full justice to all the characters and their impact through the roles they play in this “Journey to the throne”. With a tinge of vengeance, family rivalry, emotional friction, and a traumatized plot is definitely a one-time read.
Accolades:
The writing style took me to my childhood nostalgia and rekindled good old memories of my Grandmother’s Storytelling. This book is especially recommended for early teenagers, teenagers, and historical fiction enthusiasts and is worth having as one of your bedtime novels both for self-reading and narrating to your loved one.
Special Mention:
Not to miss mentioning the beautiful cover page design. Adorable cover picture and illustrations gave the readers a hint of the book’s essence. Thanks to the author for bringing up these genre books for young adults, teens, and adults to make them perceive our successful but forgotten Indian Kings and their reigns. Lastly thanks to Harper Collins Publication house for cementing the gap between the mythic enthusiastic readers and their knowledge thirst via bringing up these stories published.
Regards
Kiran K Adharapuram
