The Secret of the Nagas is the second installment in the Shiva Trilogy which Amish has conceptualized and brought out. For the benefit of the readers who have not read the Immortals of Meluha and to maintain continuity from my earlier review of the first part, I present below a brief synopsis of the first installment. In’Immortals of Meluha’, Shiva, the leader of the Guna tribe agrees to migrate to Meluha. Meluha is the perfect kingdom, is well organized, efficient, orderly and with well fed and happy citizens. The Meluhans are Suryavanshis and they have a score to settle with the Chandravanshis. Shiva, as the legend goes, is the Neelkanth who will rescue the Suryavanshis. Shiva leads the Suryavanshis into battle with the chandravanshis. His journey - both philosophical and physical, the mind games that he encounters, the people whom he meets, the spiritual conundrums that he faces form the rest of the story.
Now comes the second installment. The nagas make a brief appearance in the first book, The nagas are touted as persons who deformed and babies that are stillborn. The nagas are helping the Chandravanshis and the Brangas. The nagas are colluding with the Brangas - the reason is revealed in the book. Shiva beleives that the Nagas are responsible for the death of Brahaspati - whom he embraces as a brother when he visits Meluha. SHiva has a score to settle with the Nagas and he decides to do so at any cost. Sati in the meantime discovers a few secrets that was hidden from her by her father. The Chandravanshis have been conquered and have yielded to the Suryavanshis and have also accepted SHiva as the true Neelkanth who will wipe out evil and save the community. The Brangas are introduced and projected as rich people who are afflicted by a plague that yields only to the medicines that the Nagas can prepare. The discoveries that Shiva unfolds at each and every step of his war against the Nagas forms the rest of the storyline. Suffice it that there are some twists, if predictable, in the story and that the story lags at times like the description of the ligers.
The first book had a jarring note and meandered at places. True to the same pattern, the second book has a few places where the language just jars and Shiva(modeled on the lines of the great lord) swears and speaks rough. The story is well conceptualised. The setting and the background which the author has imagined and created borders on the ethereal and presents a lucid and clear picture based on actual geography and the historical maps of the region. The characters are well and clearly formed and the central characters are provided with a crisp role. Shiva’s spiritual dilemmas are given a new dimension and he learns and appears to take a broader view. The philosophical aspect and the author’s underlying beliefs are brought out well - in fact better than in the earlier book. The author has made some changes from his earlier work and has presented a book where the language is much improved over its predecessor. The plot maintains its pace and the narrative is simple and straight.
On the flip side, a swearing Shiva could have done sworn lesser; some of the descriptions of animals such as ligers seem a lame attempt to emulate western stories. The masala remains in some places and exaggerated descriptions of ceremonies and the entourage seems to slow down the pace of the novel. The novel as a whole is worth a read.
My verdict: With good coneptualisation, clear thinking, straight writing and a lucid style this book is a good one time read. Some of the scenes and Shiva’s spirtiual dilemma seem to convey a good underlying message though most of the story is apt to be forgotten unlike some classics that remain etched in the mind for ages. This book, like its predecessor, meanders away from the well trodden but pathetically inadequate stories of boy-meets-girl-falls in love type of stories. Go for both the books - worth a one-time leisurely read.
My rating: 3.5/5