SHIVA TRILOGY PART 2

THE SECRETS OF NAGAS

Satyam Shivam Sundaram

The fast paced thriller experience of Shiva trilogy discontinued at 'Immortals of Meluha' refresh itself with the adrenalin rushing experience of 'The secrets of Nagas'.After the hearty welcome received by Immortals of meluha, Amit must surely have been in the pressure to match up with the standard of the first book .And he had successfully laid a new standard to the "Indian lords of rings".

The moment you start reading, you will feel the adrenalin rush. The refreshing story line continues with the fast paced action thriller which leaves the readers at the verge of heart attack. He anticipates the readers to keep guessing and at one moment makes the readers think that finally we reached the centre of the maze. But don't underestimate the skill of the writer because he will suddenly change the flow and will lay his cards carefully without giving out what is in store for us. As the story continues prediction become impossible. It will make you turn the pages impatiently to know what secret will reveal.

Introduction of characters like Ganesh and Kali will show the torn aments endured by the under privileged people in the society. In every society that proclaims it to be more civilized than others must have done the biggest injustice to its people knowingly or unknowingly? There will be a section that has to suffer for others deeds .A peaceful life that we all lead may be because of the sufferings and sacrifices of others. If each person keeps this simple truth in mind then we can awake the lost values in this world. It will make each individual think twice that we are not the superiors but we are the benefiters of other peoples sacrifice.

If people believe that sins of the past life can impact this life, won’t they at least try to lead a better life this time around? Even those believes that doesn't seems to have a validity is found to be more meaningful when it comes from vasudevs.Believes are sometimes made for leading a moral life. The perspective in which we accept those makes the difference.

The clues that the author gives us is much similar to that of Dan Browns stories. But comparing them will be an injustice to these gifted writers. Both keeps up an identity that stands out.

The reader will feel like as if he is in a game where he is being played as a pawn...here you can't understand your enemy leave it, you wont even identify who it is.The puzzle become more complex as the clues given by vasudev pandits puts you in a whirlpool, but their questions can surely change the whole game only if you decrypt them correctly.

Prince of Ayodya, Bagirath is a person who had to suffer the sabotage from others but he had the strength to stand upon his feet and that what makes him my favourite. He always had the knowledge about his strengths and weakness which is an essential trait of a great personality. He might have lived under restrictions but his inner fire never estinguished.His life portrayed the strength of his inner spirit and self esteem. If you have the strength to believe in yourself even after all the stones are thrown at you,then believe that god will not tolerate your falls. There are many people who suffer such circumstances and bow down to the bullying but Bagirath was a man of his mind and that's what made Shiva take him as his companion for his puzzle reading.

Walking away from the usual path of a hero, devoid of any punch dialogues, its Shiva's humour that brings a small smile on the reader. It shows his care free nature and childishness. His words have the power to change the ambience, the seriousness changes into a light hearted melody.

‘Now don’t get so dramatic! I am not about to ask you to commit suicide right after having worked strenuously to save your life.’

‘You are elder to me. You cannot deny me the right to seek your blessings. So please do so quickly. My back is hurting from bending so long'

Who cannot smile to these innocent questions?

Ugrasen, the Prince of Magadha. Is the true example of the selfish leaders who exploit others for their own good?.When power becomes their weakness, they won’t mind to stoop too low.

We also witness the contrast between the masculine and feminine way of life .Truth, Duty and Honour being the code of masculine ; Passion, Beauty and Freedom is reflected in feminine way of life.through the views anandmayi and parvteshwar the charactrisitcs of these two sides are reflected .Anandmayi and parvateshwar are the representatives of these two life styles. Their contrast is very clear but at the same time they are inseperable.The union of masculine and feminine life balances the nature.This simple well-known concept is showcased through their love story.

Shiva never stepped back in accepting his mistakes. He just simplifies it "If I have made a mistake, I must apologise”. This makes it clear that Shiva was not born with silver spoon in mouth but his qualities made him identify the mahadev in him. We could also get a little glimpse of his childhood spent with his uncle delivering an oath of vayuputra, which seems to be a link to the third book in the series.

At first the lord of people and his mausi were found to be really mysterious. But the adventure of sati leads to major events that are eye opener to various untold stories. There was only one moment in the story when Sati was tongued tied,that too before a  naga.It was the incident that made her think about the verity of her Meluhian culture. The proud that she felt for being a meluhian was tarnished and the rebel in her broke out.With the successive events unfolding, she just realises the cruelty she had to face from her own father. The obsession of the Meluhian King for his daughter made him against his own daughter.

The agony of major uma of bangra for the late arrival of neelkand made him realise how long people of India have waited for him.After those incidents we witness a shiva who decides to take up the responsibilities of the people regardless of his identity of being a Mahadev.  He decides to fight as Shiva and doesnt bother to seek the  answer for his identity.

There is a circumstance which clearly indicates the need to modify the rules with the changes in circumstances.

"Rules made thousands of years back, in a different land, by people who don’t know us or our circumstances, will govern every aspect of our life?’ this scream of a victim cannot be let unheard. A rule that is suitable at a time may not be suitable for other. With time, change is essential and that’s important for the strengthening of a community.

The lessons from branga, a kingdom rich with gold but struggling to simply stay alive echoes the real value of life and slaps the money oriented life style of the present generation.

We can see Parasuram as the bandit who retells his story in a modern perspective.While the story line remains same,there's just some slight fluctuations in the context.Parashuram's story trace the honour killing that exists in our community.When the people in the clan believe a woman in their community has insulted the honour of her family, the clan has the right to kill that woman and everyone else with her to avenge their loss of face.

Amish have really got the talent to incorporate the mundane life in a traditional story line.He encapsulates the traditional story to materialize with the current context.

When the hooded figures expose the ugly truth of the  Meluhians, we can see the rejoining of a mother  son duo .The misunderstandings,the relevations ,the family bonds and  many more emotions flush through the chapters.

Shiva's thirst to avenge the death of his beloved friend had lead him to the world of mysteries which seems to tighten around leaving no loopholes.The story ends with a  major twist leaving the readers at another tangling position,but with the promise to continue with The Oath of Vayuputras.

Every turn you take is a direction to the new perspective. What you see directly will only be a partial truth. The search of truth will change the perspective of the viewer.Understanding the hidden meaning is the challenge that this book offers.This is not just  a story that you read and pass but it has the power to make you think .

The direction of this journey is unpredictable just like the calm cooling  breeze. There is coolness in it which will not tire the traveller but it will also try to ignite a carving, to relinquish ourselves in it.

Through 'The secrets on Nagas' Amish is trying to hold the loosened threads together to make the web that he has created in 'The immortals of Meluha'.It was really a thrilling experience just like Dan browns .Sometimes we may feel the trap deepening with each step we takes.It leaves the thirsty readers and expect more from 'The oath of Vayuputras'.