History is enchanting. And, when it reflects the “untold” insight of some secret affairs of the emperors that was subjected to be within the echoing pillars of the palace – it is even more soul piercing. The royal secrets are always to peep into in. More so, when it deals with a king you heard but known less and the time span revolves around 610 AD to 634 AD. The mighty Pulakeshin II. The mighty Black Emperor. Rashmi Singh’s novel takes us to unleash the forgotten reign – the wars – the treacheries – the lust – the passion – the untold royal secrets.
The plot is woven around the Chalukya Parameshwara – precisely his wars and wild passion for the enigmatic beautiful Arundhati. It cautiously sliced up a part from the less-known Indian history and presents before us a saga of dramatic metaphor in the 7th century AD.
Unleashing a royal secret has always been a penchant for readers. And, when it involves one dark passionate cunning emperor and a resplendent beauty – it becomes curious. And, when the blarb suggests a sinful love story – it gets irresistible. And, precisely, the plot on the background of some real war – along with a racy narrative is unputdownable. The subtle eroticism and voyeurism that dims throughout creates an aroma – heavy and addictive.
The book has a fast pace – goes completely with the style the writer intended to proceed with. From the beginning to the end – it never loses it. And, that makes the story fast and racy. The readers will be glued to it till the very end. The short-sized chapters – the procedural way of story-telling all goes in that logic only. It never bores you. It entertains you.
The history – as a subject is fascinating. Indian history is even more magical. It comes with a heavy burden of mystic lores and untold secrets. The shocks and revelations have to be dramatic. And, the novel marginally misses that. The untold myths and the secret voyeurisms never stiffen the reader up with shock and disdain. The unleashing here was rather a procedural approach – much like the pages of history book with a bit more salt and pepper. Nevertheless, it was interesting – but never had it been uncanny what an untold secret should be. It was the treatment of the subject – that may not have gone well with the plot completely.
But the book is a nice read. With two successful titles in her kitty, the writer knew how to grip the readers throughout and she never went wrong. The character building – the persona creation – the image representation – all went astoundingly well. She deserves kudos to present before us a story of a king – one hardly knows about. And, the plot wins it all with a superlatively engaging narrative. And, if historical fiction becomes the next in-thing after mythological-fiction –fever gets over – the writer is sure to be considered one of the fore-goers in this genre.
About Rashmi Singh: Rashmi Singh is the famous and successful author of internationally acclaimed books like Love’s Journey, Taming the Restless Mind, Back to School@ 30 and The Fallen Love. She is an active blogger and a
columnist too.
Book Details:
Title: The Untold Story Of Arundhati And The Black Emperor
Author: Rashimi Singh
Publisher: Pigeon Books
ISBN-13: 9789382025665
ISBN-10: 9382025669
Publishing Year: 2013
Pages: 280
MRP: Rs. 140
Summary: The book is a nice read.
