The characters were flat and not at all well developed. The writing was poor and the editor needed to do a better job. He has introduced concepts of terrorism, the caste system and the position of women in society in this first book in a planned trilogy.īut that was all I liked about the book. I liked the discussion on what is evil and the fact that what is considered evil or wrong by some people may not be seen in the same way by others. The author has done a good job of integrating all the details known to us about the Indus Valley Civilization and has also given his own explanations for various concepts. A different take on Shiva the destroyer, a god revered by millions of Hindus all over the world, one of the Trimurti (three main Gods, the others being Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver ), known as Natraj - the lord of dance and one of the most passionate men in Hindu mythology. Finally I found it in a tiny little shop, the proprietor telling me that the one I bought was one of the last copies he had left. That is really surprising for a first time Indian author. I went to quite a few book shops and found that it was sold out in most places. I read the first chapter online and liked it well enough that I decided to buy it. Curious I tried reading up more about it and saw that noted columnists like Anil Dharkar and Sandipan Deb had given it great reviews. I first heard about this book from a friend who had said that the book was a good read. Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero? And does he want to be that hero at all? Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil? The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge. To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracised and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills! They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis. This once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha a near perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived. In what modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation. Immortality is attributed to those who practice the human values and high ideals in life due to their super egoistic psychological constitution.1900 BC. Shiva’s heroic deeds reward him immortality in the world of mortals. Hero not the ‘creature of time’: Hero-worship indestructible”1(191). Hero-worship is “the basis of religion, Loyalty and Religion. Hero-worship is “heartfelt prostrate admiration, submission, burning, boundless, for a noblest godlike form of a man”1 (5). The hero embarks on a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries, who try to defeat him in his journey, gathers allies along his journey, and returns home significantly …show more content… His journey from ordinary Shiva to Mahadev, the God of gods is the result of his sublime thoughts and heroic deeds. “An epic hero is larger than life, a figure from a history or legend, usually favored by or even partially descended from deities, but aligned more closely with mortal figures in popular portrayals”4. Shiva, an untiring robust young man in the personal appearance of an ascetic has a stature of an epic hero. The present paper takes into account only the first one, The Immortal of Meluha. Shiva’s heroic deeds expand three volumes of the Shiva Trilogy. For Shiva, his tribe comes first if he deserves a good destiny beyond the high mountains. Godliness including childlike innocence, unraveled sacrificing spirit to save children, women and downtrodden is natural to him. He is a blend of wit and bravery an unmatched swordsman with cutting edges of intelligence and honest behavior. Shiva, the hero, the protagonist of the novel is “A man who rose to become godlike because of his karma”2(xv). “Worship of a hero is transcendent admiration of a great man”1(14).Īmish’s fictional faculty makes our legendry divinity alive in the pages of The Immortals of Meluha.