“It’s time to liberate, / It’s time to realize”. Well nothing could have provided a much better idea of what the focal point of the novel City of Nine Gates might be. Pankaj Rajput through this novel makes an attempt to establish the belief of his that Truth is Absolute. And he does it with great craftsmanship.
The plot revolves round a well-established atheist who has lost his friend long time back. He is somewhat forced by circumstances to find out that friend of his and aid him in achieving self-realization in the City of Nine Gates- a city engraved in utter mysticism- a city which is only known to the Gods and the wisest sages of the Advait and the Sankhya. As he makes his moves he gets good assistance from his friends. And then he leads the City on an inward enlightening journey at the end of which realizes who his lost friend is what actually the City of Nine Gates stands for and who is that beyond all regions knowing which one never comes back.
In this Vedic novel by Pankaj Rajput, we can trace the themes of various novels written by Paulo Coelho. There is very close similarity between the course of the plot of this novel by Rajput and Paulo Coelho’s By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. Coelho in that novel speaks of a spiritual journey that the female protagonist undergoes after meeting her childhood love. There is a clear analogy between the journey that the protagonist of Pankaj Rajput’s novel makes. Also the skilful incorporation of Gyan, Vishwas, Buddhi, Ichha and the other Vrittis personified as credulous characters deserve a special mention. This gives an idea of the amount of knowledge possessed by the author regarding the Upanishads and the Shlokas and the Shastras and quite obviously there is a bright reflection of this knowledge throughout the novel.
The author through this novel provides an opportunity for the modern world to know the real truth of life and there is something beyond this mundane life. It may seem that new concept of atheism in the modern materialistic world is targeted through the novel but that’s not the reality. All he has said in this novel is just what the Shastras have tried to preach over the years but in a different way in the disguise of a novel. And readers, especially the ones who have been drowned in the game of earning money, should go through this one. It will provide peace. For “ When the Gods descend to devastate, / When Kalyuga meets Apocalypse,/ Out of a Billion,/ Only one strives,/ Of those who strives,/ Only one achieves,/ What those sages realized, and you still haven’t, knowing which, one never comes back./ Rise O’ Cities!/ It’s time to liberate, / It’s time to realize.”
Book Details:-
| Author: | Pankaj Rajput | ||
| Publisher: | Notion Press | Year of Publication: | 2014 |
| ISBN-13: | 9789384049645 | ISBN-10: | 9384049646 |
| Cover: | Paperback | No. Of Pages: | 300 |
| MRP: | Rs. 280 | Buy From: | Flipkart.com Infibeam.com Amazon.in |
