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Diamonds are forever The Mountain of Light
by Indu Sundaresan
That's where Sunderesan loses out a little. The book is not character motivated (there are far too many of them). On the contrary, one could call it object motivated. And while fascinating in the scope of its history, it simply does not make up for the paucity of development of characters. For no matter how glittery and precious a diamond may be, it cannot match up to the discovery of the twists and turns in the lives of well-etched characters. The diamond is the hero of the story and the people are subordinate to it. The narrative moves on in time frames relevant to the diamond rather than the characters, and though Sunderesan creates some good characters, but the reader does not get a chance to really get to know them. The book is to a great extent, as the blurb claims, "a sweeping story of love, adventure, conquest and betrayal", because of the lure of the priceless diamond and the effects that it has on the lives of the powerful people who covet and own it - at least for a short while. The lasting impression that remains is that the life and power of the diamond is limitless, while that of the possessors, no matter how great, is but momentary! The story begins in 1817 with king of Afghanistan, Shah Shuja, who is imprisoned with his wife Wafa begum in the gardens of Lahore by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, whose condition of freeing them is that they hand over the Koh-i-Noor. Finally, the Shah is coerced to surrender the diamond to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who gifts it to his young wife. The story then follows the story of Dalip Singh, the six-year-old prince, who, after his mighty father's death, not just loses his throne and kingdom but also the precious diamond to the British. After 10 years, the prince follows the diamond to England, where he is feted, but the diamond is not returned to him and neither are his lands. Eventually, in 1893, the journey of the diamond ends with the Queen of England. As usual, Sunderasan writes elegantly, with a serious tone. The politics of the time are discussed, the historical facts well in place. The trials of kingship, the forces of imperialism, the struggle for power, the rivalry amongst princes and the ruthlessness of leaders are documented with ease and élan. In the final analysis, the book merits being read. Especially by those who are easy with a wide-angle historic outlook. Those who prefer to follow the lives of the lives of a set of characters must remember that while landscapes and time frames keep shifting, the central character is the the mountain of light!
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Indu
Sunderasan is an absolute master in the historical fiction genre -
she's had a lot of practice perfecting it in her Taj Trilogy (The
Twentieth Wife, The Feast of Roses and Shadow Princess). This book
follows the historical path of possibly, the most-desired object in
India, the Kohinoor or the mountain of light, the 186-carat diamond's
journey from India to England is explained. In its path, the wondrous
diamond passes through various powerful and beautiful hands; some that
love it for its beauty; some that gift it away; some that covet it. It
leaves behind a trail of lives and histories of individuals and
nations. The Kohinoor, is thus the central character of the novel,
while the other characters come and go.