The Great Indian Novel

Recently read the book "The great Indian novel" by Shashi Tharoor and was blown away by it.
I had wanted to read this book for a long long time but this had got postponed every time for a different reason.
But ultimately the wait was worth it and I was rewarded with a reading that is a brief course on the pre independence and the immediate post independence era of our country - and of course a refresher of those stories from our great epic of the Mahabharata, woven into the fabric of the theme, which stands out not just in its uniqueness, but also by the authors command over the language, intricacies of the political history of the country and the scriptures.

Tharoor's dynamism stands out in his writing too and his satire pours eloquent in this exquisite piece of work. It is remarkable the way in which he has managed to superimpose the political history of the country (happening at a time that was when the country was coming off age, this has to be not just the history, but the evolution of the country according to the vision of the thought leaders of the time) on top of one of the richest mythical epic of the Hindu culture.

Of course, a book of the proportion of this cannot chart the course of events as it happened exactly and we do see instances where the author has taken the artistic privilege to introduce his own small plots to explain significant events in the course of the birth of the nation, which otherwise could not have been explained by a mere comparison to the epic. But this too, he does with aplomb.
The author might have meant the title of the book to be based on another epic, but true it its title, this book is, what its title proclaims – a great Indian novel.

It goes without saying that I have become an ardent fan of Mr. Tharoor, the writer.
I was already an ardent fan of Mr. Tharoor, the suave diplomat, the political commentator with his roots in my native state !!

Link to TGIN on Amazon - TGIN