The Secret of the Nagas
--- Amish Tripathi
I rarely look forward to sequels, be it films or books. But, The Secret of the Nagas (Book TWO of the Shiva Trilogy) is an exception. When I reluctantly picked up The Immortals of Meluha (Book ONE) from a colleague, little did I know that I was about to discover a brilliant story teller in Amish Tripathi. It is not an exaggeration to say that I forgot many times whether I was reading a book or watching a movie. An ardent fan of Indian Mythology in me (of course, when it is limited to admiring the masterminds behind such never ending, well intertwined stories) might also be one reason behind this appreciation. I hardly read 2-3 books per month and am not of the sort who finishes books in a couple of sittings (definitely not after buying this smart-phone, which pricks me to pick it up and check those all-important Facebook/Google+ updates, every few minutes). This book is an exception there too.
My only complaint about the Book ONE was, that's not very eventful, as the author had to spend a good part of the book in setting up the stage, that is India in 1900 BC with Suryavamshis (the conservatives following Lord Ram's principles in letter and spirit) and Chandravamshis (liberals) ruling the northern part of India, and south of the Vindhyas left to Nagas, the cursed and dreaded ones, each of them with their own value systems, life styles, apprehensions and perspectives about others. The only thing that is common among them is the belief in the legend of Neelkanth, the savior. Now, as the stage is set, Book TWO gave a perfect platform for the performance.
Hero of the story, The Lord Neelkanth, discovers at the end of the first episode, how wrong could one's perspectives get, when one doesn't attempt to get into the shoes of the other party. But, that knowledge comes with a cost, a full fledged war between two kingdoms. Neelkanth continues his exploration of India and search for finding the ultimate evil, that he believes is the root cause of all the disturbance. Neelkanth gets wiser and wiser during this exploration, as every new discovery blows away his prejudice. Every step he takes to get a closer look at the evil only reveals that it is the prejudice that made him see that as evil. And, he goes on and on to find the ultimate one.
Author introduced a few more characters in this part, all from Indian Mythology, while keeping their original nature from Mythology and tweaking them here and there to fit in his grand story. There are enough twists and turns and suspense of a typical thriller, unlike the first book. It is good to notice that the author delivered a better book in second part, though he must be under pressure, after the success of the first book. I am eagerly waiting for Book III: The Oath of the Vayuputras.
