….that’s what The Secret Of The Nagas (TSOTN) is, to borrow Amish’s favorite word. The 2nd book of the Shiva Trilogy by debutante author Amish, TSOTN seems to be pitted, by destiny or design, directly against Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke, the 2nd book of the Ibis Trilogy. And if you read TSOTN, you’ll see the Hows and the Whys.
The Immortals of Meluha (TIOM) had helped whip up good appetite for lovers of Indian Mythology. TSOTN takes the story full steam ahead, picking up from where TIOM left us. But compared to TIOM, its kinda racy and full of plots. Shiva with his ever expanding entourage begins on his quest of the Nagas by choosing to travel places via the river route. The entire book recounts the "voyage" to different parts of the north eastern India including Kashi, Ayodhya, Magadha, Vaishali, Sunderbans, etc. There’s a lot of customization of storyline done, some palatable others barely digestible. The reader will come across the Vasudevs (Brahmin priests) who use Temple spires to communicate to their brethren by radio waves. They’ll run into the mammoth iron gates guarding the river entrance to the Branga territory. Or the method of conducting a ship by managing water levels and using animal charged "batteries", an idea that seems to suggest the author has spent a great deal of his time studying the Panama Canal. The Etymology behind Assi Ghat and Branga (read Bengal) or the story behind the all encompassing virtue of Kashi, makes for interesting read.
On to the tone of the book. There are a few things TSOTN does better than TIOM. These include running parallel plots and opportune shifting of narrative to sustain reader interest. Whether its the Birth of Kartik or the secret of the Brangas in Kashi or the mystery of the Kashi Eastern Palace or even the "coming-on-board" of Ganesh/Kali, almost every chapter has a secret or two to spill. But somehow it doesn’t all add up to any substantial impact, any central theme.
TSOTN can boast of quite a few elements of philosophy in its theme. And most of it of contemporary relevance too. There’s a lot of debate on the Masculine Feminine aspect of Life. No, not the male/female but the Yin/Yang kinda theory exemplified by the Suryavanshi/Chandravanshi way of life. The necessity of balancing things out, more particularly the fungible nature of Good and Evil is dealt with in good detail using dialogues between Shiva and the various Vasudev priests. The concept of Vikarma (low birth/untouchability), juxtaposed with that of "Past Life", is also shown in all its banality.
But attempts at Humour continue to be lame. "You really know how to sweep a woman back onto her feet, don’t you ?" and the intro of Bappiraj, the King of Branga (who keeps himself loaded with Gold) are a couple of the very few occasions the author manages to give as laughs. I won’t be surprised if Bappida chooses to sue. Again if a few readers found the language in TIOM "objectionable", TSOTN will continue to disappoint. Words like ’Dog’ and ’B*stard’ are freely used by the Lord.
A word about the language as it seems to be the aspect most labored upon. TSOTN isn’t half as lucid as TIOM, primarily on account of more characters, more sub-plots. But its equally on account of the vocabulary. It isn’t as if the language in verbose. Its just that the way words appear, they look abrupt and more of a "find and replace with difficult synonyms" exercise. Using words like "pirouette" (usage normally limited to dancing) to describe combat or repeat use of words like Gargantuan without proper context to support, take away from the fun of racing through a good plot.
Cant blame Amish too much. The way literary world is shaping up these days, its almost like you have a silent war on. Vikram Chandra claims "I write 1000 pagers in font size 7". Amitav Ghosh replies " So what I write 700 pagers in font 8 but get 2 million pounds as advance." Amish has to keep up with the Joneses "Hey guys I just wrote a 400 pager in font 10 but managed to get good reviews. Check it out." :-P
The upshot is a fast paced, engrossing book that is pulled down a notch by deliberate attempts at showcasing literary prowess, something the author would have done well to avoid. But the seeds of "Oath of The Vayuputras", the 3rd and last book of the trilogy, are sown well in advance. And if the first two books are any indication it should make for an interest read too.