Book Reviews – Rani Padmavati & Prithviraj Chauhan by Anuja Chandramouli

I love to read. It takes me to a world that is unlike the one which I inhabit. And for this reason, I love reading historical fiction. I have been awestruck on trips to the museum or to the grand old palaces scattered all over India and have wondered about the people who walked those floors. There are notes aplenty about who they were and what they did, but those are just facts, tailored to suit the textbooks that we study from. But historical fiction is a genre that needs to be based on facts yet draw a picture vivid enough to tantalise the reader.

I have grouped two books into this one review – Rani Padmavati: The Burning Queen, and Prithviraj Chauhan: The Emperor of Hearts. Both are Anuja Chandramouli’s latest works. First, let’s get to Prithviraj. I loved this book. Everything about it was great and it made for a fantastic read. Who hasn’t heard about Prithviraj Chauhan or his feats? This book shows us the man he was. Of the boy, who became the King loved by all. And more than all this it showed us that there were women who wielded power and manipulated history like they did their veils.

Prithviraj Chauhan by Anuja Chandramouli

A well-researched book, it shows us just the perfect amount of warfare, romance and politics. None of it was too much or too little, just the perfect amount for the reader to relish. The magic, of course, comes in the writing. Wonderful and joyously depicting happiness, discontent, jealousy, camaraderie and what not. Every feeling that one read about was experienced and that was what made this book a good read for me.

I first finished Prithviraj and then went on to read Padmavati. Initially, I was a little sceptical because of the entire ruckus around the movie. But, again a book is a much better option for me than a movie. Padmavati needs no introduction in this part of the world, though I would urge you to read this book just to understand what the fuss is about. As for the book, it was satisfactory. I say satisfactory because I read it after Prithviraj . Where I loved Prithviraj , Padmavati I liked.

Rani Padmavati by Anuja Chandramouli

I was under the spell cast by one book, Prithviraj , filled with drama of all kinds – romance, politics, treachery, war and then took up Padmavati. This one did not have as much drama in other aspects as it did with romance. Padmavati initially comes across as an intelligent well-informed child, and then becomes this subdued version of her former self. Where Prithviraj had Karpuradevi and Kanchanadevi as strong female characters who wore power as a second skin, Padmavati lacked such strong depictions (irrespective of gender). There was plenty of romance between Padmavati and Ratan, and the rest was not enough to actually justify the malice or politics. This perhaps makes Padmavati more of a historical romance. Only Alauddin Khalji seemed to remain a seemingly strong character with his greed unchanged. If it was not for Anuja Chandramouli’s writing I would have put it in the ‘DNF’ pile. The author manages to create yet another wonderful piece of fiction with her words.

I recommend reading both Padmavati and Prithviraj if you are a fan of history and would suggest reading Padmavati first or perhaps giving some time between these two books. Even if not, read the books for the joy that was Anuja Chandramouli’s writing.

Thanks to the author for providing the review copies.

You can get your copies here – Amazon (Padmavati, Prithviraj), Flipkart (Padmavati).