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While returning home the prince’s
devoted wife, Valli, falls victim to cholera. Jayasurya, who
experiences tender feelings for the first time in his life, is
transformed beyond recognition. On becoming the king of Lanka,
the respect he shows towards women surprises everyone.
This enchanting
collage of images conjured up by a perspicacious narrative,
combines erotica, travelogue, religion, alchemy, philosophy,
theology, savagery, horror, humour, romance, psychology, farce
and fantasy in the most delectable proportions. It reminds one
of one’s Chandamama-reading days. Only, the plot’s
treatment in this parable-expanded-to-a-novel is more masterly.
Abraham
Lincoln
by Lord
Charnwood. Arora’s Book World, Ambala Cantt. Pages 436. Rs
175.
 He was born on
February 12, 1809, in a log cabin on a barren farm in the
backwoods of Kentucky. He grew up to be an idealist and a
visionary of heroic dimensions, although initially he was
"a young laboring man with hardly any schooling, naturally
and incurably uncouth`85". He, at the age of 22 in 1831,
made a rather unpromising beginning as an assistant in a New
Salem store, and was also an advocate of sorts, and indulged in
such activities as wrestling. His other ‘hobbies’ were
cockfights, strange feats of strength, mimicry and making
productive use of hammer, axe or scythe. In other words he led a
perfectly pastoral lifestyle. Not that he didn’t try his hand
at such urban activities as running a business, but he flopped.
Little wonder, since he had already earned the sobriquet of
"honest man". After trying his luck as odd-job man for
farmers, a surveyor and other such professions he became a
lawyer who preferred to teach in school, only to become a
postmaster later on.
In his second
attempt he won elections to the Illinois State Legislature. This
was one step closer to the more momentous things in store, which
would ensure for him a prominent place in history. The new
Republican Party then stood for a "simple creed",
viz., slavery must be tolerated where it existed because the
Constitution and the maintenance of the Union required it, but
it must not be allowed to extend beyond its present limits
because it was fundamentally wrong. This was in line with the
policies of the Whigs and Democrats in the North. Lincoln
himself "disliked the thought of" intermingling of
"Negro" and White races, especially marriages between
them. But he was against slavery.
Here is a book
that presents a larger-than-life American hero – warts and
all. The author offers a slice of American history for you that
depicts how Lincoln rose from absolute oblivion to become the
helmsman of an evolving nation.
Nagas: the
ancient rulers of India
by Dr. Naval
Viyogi. Originals, New Delhi. Pages: xviii + 485. Rs 350.
 History is,
indeed, a fascinating subject. It gives us some idea of what
impelled the primordial man to move from place to place, how
various societies came into being and how, over a period of
time, cultures spread and mingled with each other to give birth
to new polities. The Indian subcontinent has proved to be the
ultimate melting pot of various ethnic groups and cultures. The
Nagas form an important "ingredient" of this melting
pot’s contents. We know that Nagas are often mentioned in our
ancient literature and scriptures. Supernatural powers were
often attributed to their men, and their women were said to have
all the attributes of transcendental beauty. In more recent
times, we had King Nagpal of Kashmir who often interacted with
Emperor Akbar at Delhi.
The people of the
Naga race founded the megalithic culture and had contributed to
the raising of Buddhist stupas. The megalithic tradition
developed into the "stupa tradition". Some
historians describe the Nagas as Scythians. But the author
disputes this theory. In order to ascertain the ethnical
identity of the megalith-builders of the Buddhist stupas,
James Ferguson conducted research on the statues and bas-reliefs
at Sanchi and Amaravati. Human figures depicted on them, which
include Nagas wearing hoods of cobra on their heads as well as
drummers, charioteers and menials, have been identified as
belonging to non-Aryan ethnic groups. Possibly, these belong to
people of a blended Alpine-Dravidian race. Viyogi sifts through
the anthropological data to trace the roots of Nagas, who appear
to have spread from Kabul to North Bengal. Be that as it may,
Nagas do fascinate the reader with their mythological-historical
background.
If you are
interested in delving into the why’s and how’s of the Naga
history and mythology, this book is for you.
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Jayasurya,
heir-apparent to the throne of Lanka, is young, strong and handsome.
But what worries his father, King Simha, is the youth’s lack of
sensitivity. Jayasurya feels that his wives are there to please and
serve him. Their agonies and deaths leave him cold. In fact, he
considers them eminently replaceable. Bored with the refined
upbringing of his numerous consorts, Jasyasurya is attracted to the
crude charms of a gypsy girl. Sage Agastya advises that he should be
sent on a pilgrimage to Kashi to cure him of his cruel egotism. The
prologue tells us that there are three types of pilgrimages, viz.,
gold, silver and lead. An excursion to Kailasa-Giri is deemed to be
a gold pilgrimage while a trip to Kashi is silver, hence the novel’s
title.
