Immortals of Meluha is an attempt by Amish Tripathi to present the non supernatural part of Shiva that is worthy to be respected if not worshiped. The author tries to present Shiva in as simplistic, human way as possible and throws light on the belief that Mahadev resides within each one of us and if we decide to fight for the justice, victory is sure over the evil.
The book is a work of fiction and hence readers must know in advance to come across some part that might oppose the mythological belief. The work should be treated purely for the entertainment quotient. Some facts and figures encountered might be tweaked.
It is clean of any dirty talk or obscenity that is rare nowadays to find in literature as well as cinema.
The story keeps building from the very first page of the book till the very last keeping you tenter hooked. With every turn of the page a new thing is discovered and thrill gets closer to its pinnacle.
Plot
SPOILER STARTS!
After being troubled by local tribal wars in his hometown, Shiva agrees Meluha’s proposal to relocate with his tribe in mansarover to Meluha. Initially skeptical about the generousity of the Suryavanshi’s of Meluha, humble Shiva feels shocked to know the real reason behind this good gesture. A man of wild nature since birth, is marvelled by the organisation and city planning of the Meluhans. It comes as a surprise that he starts comparing to a paradise. Their perfectly devised culture laid down by Lord Ram makes Shiva ponder as to why they were searching him so desperately since centuries. Soon Daksha, the Suryavanshi Emperor provide him with the knowledge of their concern - Chandravanshis. Repeated terrorist attacks by them compels Shiva to lead a war against them which they eventually win. Suryavanshis think that Chandravanshi’s want Somras, a drink that prolongs human life, the reason of immortality of Meluhans and thus they diplomatically conspire with Nagas to destroy Suryavanshi.
SPOILER ENDS!
Characterisation
Amish has done a commendable job in building the characters of the book and each character’s description and action is flawless.
Description
The way Amish has described the culture, tradition and city planning of Meluhans, it deserves a standing ovation! Minute details have been covered without letting one get bored. In fact, Amish succeeded in creating another world for the reader wherein he can imagine every nook and corner of the place, the costume and the living of that time. Love that blossoms between Sati and Shiva is something to read the book for. The parts of book describing the idea behind the innovation of Trishul and an attempt to descibe the ingredients and effects of Somras were fascinating. War description is engulfing. Amish did not even spare the beautiful description of dance sequences.
STATUTORY WARNING: One may lose contact with reality and interest in the real world once started reading Immortals of Meluha. The journey back to real world would be tough and when the reader would think he is just a little far away from attaining his nirvana, he would realise that he has reached the end of the book. And by then it would be too late for the reader to understand that he is completely trapped and the only way to escape it is to read the next continuation book in the series: THE SECRET OF THE NAGAS.
Final Verdict:
Right from the very first page of the book, one gets hooked to the story and enters another world. The Book goes through a lot of twists and turns and there is hardly any moment that the reader would feel boredom.It is a must read for a fiction reader, especially that loves books on War GOOD v/s EVIL. Book is an easy read.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!