THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA

Overview:

The story was set in 1900 BC, at Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. Shiva is the head of the Guna tribe; they face threats from their neighboring tribe and had to fight to save their lives and lives of their people. During such a fight Shiva hears the words of a foreigner who asks them to come to their land named Meluha which is the powerful city in the entire world. He also says that his king offers a place for immigrants and that they will be given lands and allowed to farm the lands. Shiva accepts this offer and the entire tribe goes with that foreigner named Nandi. How a tribal leader is believed to be the savior of the Most Powerful Civilization is the rest of the story.

Brief Review:

Shiva hears the voice of a foreigner and he asks their tribe to come and settle in Meluha. Shiva is worried about the continuous fighting in his place between the other tribe people and the loss of many lives. As the leader of the Gunas tribe, he accepts this offer to settle in Meluha to save lives and avoid further fighting. The foreigner's name is Nandi and he travels with Shiva and his best friend Bhadra. On reaching Meluha Shiva is stunned by the beauty of the city and their technological aspects on how they have built the entire city. Ayurvati the chief of Medicine of Meluha welcomes them and allots place to live. They are administered with some kind of medicine and at night everyone from the tribe falls sick except for Shiva. Ayurvati is shocked to see Shiva’s throat which had turned Blue. Shiva is taken to meet the Emperor of Meluha. There he meets Parvateshwar - Head of Meluhan armed forces and Kanakhala - The prime minister of Meluha.

The near-perfect empire of Meluha was created by Lord Ram, one of the greatest Hindu kings who ever lived. All the people of Meluha followed his rules as Dharma.

The emperor explains the crisis at Meluha due to the drying of river Saraswati and continuous attacks on temples and people by Chandravanshi’s. The emperor also tells that the Chandravanshi’s have joined with the Nagas, a cursed race with physical deformities. He pleads Shiva to lead their people in the war and help them win it. Shiva is first confused that how come a developed civilization like Meluha would want the help of a tribal leader.

Shiva runs into Sati, daughter of Daksha. She is a vikarma - an untouchable person due to the sins committed in their previous birth. He feels a strange connection with her and falls in love with her. He knows that she takes dancing lessons in the garden and while seeing her; Shiva dances and teaches her few lessons. Sati also falls in love with Shiva though initially, she suppressed her feelings as she was already married, gave birth to a dead baby and that is how she was a vikarma. But Shiva was strong in his decision and married Sati with the emperor’s blessing though many were against the idea at first. They were all convinced knowing how much Shiva loved and respected her.

The legend of Neelkanth, the Meluhans believes that he is their savior and this secret is revealed to the citizens of Meluha. Shiva travels to Mount Mandar where the legendary somras are manufactured, the secret of the long life of Meluhans. He meets Brahaspathi - Chief Meluhan Scientist. He reveals the secret about Somras and how it works in delaying the aging process and why his throat turned blue. Shiva encounters Nagas and fights them to save the princess Sati.

Shiva also learns about Vishnu’s, Lord Rudra is the last Vishnu. The emperor asks Shiva to lead and help them win the war. What happens next? Is Shiva accepting to help them or not is the rest of the story.

Recommendations:

This is a fantastic book written by the author. The author takes a special path for himself and writes this story from the point of view; that normal people due to their karmas become Gods and worshipped. The plot is so well explained and the descriptions of the temples and buildings, people, and their clothing are penned down splendidly that it seems to readers like they are watching a movie. I like the fact that the author did not bore the readers by saying that Gods had superpowers, that they can fly and heal anything. He has written the entire book in such a practical way that the reader can enjoy it throughout. It is definitely a page-turner book and the readers will be completely engaged throughout the read. Put away all your knowledge of God and read this book for what it truly is and I am sure you will not regret it. I will recommend this book to everyone even to beginners as this book has been written in easy language and can be easily understood. I would give a 4.8/5 for this book.

Author - Amish Tripathi

Paperback: 415 pages

Publisher: Westland

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9789380658742