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Sahyadris to Hindukush
The year is 1740 and the budding Maratha empire has already spread across much of western and central Hindustan .Their commander Bajirao has died an unexpected and untimely death . The onus is now on Balaji Bajirao , Shahu , Holkar , Scindia , Bhosale and others to keep their flag flying high .
At the same time , across the Hindukush mountains far to the northwest , the Pakhtuns are coalescing under their new leader - Ahmed Shah Abdali .
This novel attempts to bring alive the life and times of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century , complete with it's grimy politics and stories of defeat , betrayal , inspiration and victory .
At the same time , across the Hindukush mountains far to the northwest , the Pakhtuns are coalescing under their new leader - Ahmed Shah Abdali .
This novel attempts to bring alive the life and times of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century , complete with it's grimy politics and stories of defeat , betrayal , inspiration and victory .
- GenresHistory
187 pages, Paperback
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 24, 2013
Reviewers are not supposed to have emotions. They are supposed to be neutral in their evaluation of any book. Sometimes they are required to be brutal, to be unforgiving in their judgement of the book that they review.
I am generally neutral while reviewing any book. But it was difficult in this case!
The subject of the book was the rise of the Maratha power in the 18th Century and its reaching its peak – flying the Saffron high from the walls of the Attock fort! This was a subject very, very close to my heart and I would be very ruthless if someone messed up this book. Hardly any good English novel has been written about the Maratha history. This young author was doing something I had been longing to do, to write Maratha history in English and place it in front of the world!
And by God’s Grace, he succeeded in doing that!!
Read my Review of this book here!
http://www.rational-mind.com/2013/04/...
I am generally neutral while reviewing any book. But it was difficult in this case!
The subject of the book was the rise of the Maratha power in the 18th Century and its reaching its peak – flying the Saffron high from the walls of the Attock fort! This was a subject very, very close to my heart and I would be very ruthless if someone messed up this book. Hardly any good English novel has been written about the Maratha history. This young author was doing something I had been longing to do, to write Maratha history in English and place it in front of the world!
And by God’s Grace, he succeeded in doing that!!
Read my Review of this book here!
http://www.rational-mind.com/2013/04/...
June 18, 2013
First books are always the tough ones and in the merciless world of publishing it can take a toll on the writers, yet our author took ample amount of time out of his busy schedule working for the navy and left no stone unturned to nurture this book, bringing back to life 18th century Hindustan.
The first question any Indian would ask why history?? haven't we read in school enough already? yet ask anyone what happened to India after the death of Aurangzeb and they will rush towards British dominance; the 18th century nothing but a blur of events. Yet this century was important as we move through the pages of Sahyadris to Hindukush.
Hindustan produced many brave warriors who defended their lands from foreign forces, maratha cheiftains being some of them were crucial in building our national identity; this however was not free of its flaws as it often revolved around religion and caste, but maratha laws which dared to make a brahmin peshwa and a shepherd caste Holkar a pillar of its strength with many muslim fighters under their belt, were the reason for its success.
Our author correctly points out that 18th century India belonged to Marathas but he is no pushover, he lays out his lessons exactly the way history should be taught and read. The Mughal,Maratha and Afgan identities colliding in Hindustan and clever strategies by Peshwas and Vazirs who became more important than kings make the whole affair a cocktail of surprising facts. This is a lesser known part of history every Hindustani must know.
You will laugh at the way mughals made a mockery of themselves, be proud of maratha chiefs who showed extreme unity, learn about the artillery which has always been a problem for India, and most importantly look wide eyed at Afgan unity under Ahmed shah abdali, the progress of which proved costly for both the big powers clearing the way for the British in the long run.
The author leaves only a few parts of Hindustan untouched 70% of which came under direct and indirect maratha rule. Being a Delhiite my entire life i was surprised at the way the ancient city is described, every corner of the red fort visualized with perfection, and incidents in my city i never knew happened so much so that i found myself researching about history.
The book is a massive success for a first, it accomplishes what very few history books do, provide inspiration and hard lessons for the present and future; yet it is a pity that the publisher almost makes a mockery of it with repeated paragraphs and countless spelling mistakes, the bland cover of the book doesn't help it either.
Finishing this great piece of writing i just hope Aneesh writes many more like these. He has the power to make school history book publishers bankrupt.
The first question any Indian would ask why history?? haven't we read in school enough already? yet ask anyone what happened to India after the death of Aurangzeb and they will rush towards British dominance; the 18th century nothing but a blur of events. Yet this century was important as we move through the pages of Sahyadris to Hindukush.
Hindustan produced many brave warriors who defended their lands from foreign forces, maratha cheiftains being some of them were crucial in building our national identity; this however was not free of its flaws as it often revolved around religion and caste, but maratha laws which dared to make a brahmin peshwa and a shepherd caste Holkar a pillar of its strength with many muslim fighters under their belt, were the reason for its success.
Our author correctly points out that 18th century India belonged to Marathas but he is no pushover, he lays out his lessons exactly the way history should be taught and read. The Mughal,Maratha and Afgan identities colliding in Hindustan and clever strategies by Peshwas and Vazirs who became more important than kings make the whole affair a cocktail of surprising facts. This is a lesser known part of history every Hindustani must know.
You will laugh at the way mughals made a mockery of themselves, be proud of maratha chiefs who showed extreme unity, learn about the artillery which has always been a problem for India, and most importantly look wide eyed at Afgan unity under Ahmed shah abdali, the progress of which proved costly for both the big powers clearing the way for the British in the long run.
The author leaves only a few parts of Hindustan untouched 70% of which came under direct and indirect maratha rule. Being a Delhiite my entire life i was surprised at the way the ancient city is described, every corner of the red fort visualized with perfection, and incidents in my city i never knew happened so much so that i found myself researching about history.
The book is a massive success for a first, it accomplishes what very few history books do, provide inspiration and hard lessons for the present and future; yet it is a pity that the publisher almost makes a mockery of it with repeated paragraphs and countless spelling mistakes, the bland cover of the book doesn't help it either.
Finishing this great piece of writing i just hope Aneesh writes many more like these. He has the power to make school history book publishers bankrupt.
June 21, 2017
This is the first book by the author, and he has done a terrific job writing it!
It is not historical fiction, but a chronicling of actual events which played a crucial role in the history of India. This particular perspective is unknown to the majority of people. The part of history of India presented in this book has been (systematically removed?) absent in the curriculum of most of the states for decades now.
A reading of the current history textbooks gives an impression that the Mughal rule was consecutively followed by the British colonial rule, which is utterly false. Before the British wrested the control of the sub-continent, the Maratha confederacy was in power, over a region which comprises of 70% of today’s Bharat. The books amply clears how exactly did this come to be.
The characters are actual historical figures, so even though they are not well-developed, the story remains a ceaseless succession of compelling events. The wars, sieges and treaties are interspersed with fictionalized interactions and dialogues which are brilliantly executed.
Reading the book was an action packed, historically enlightening and (for me) pride inducing experience. Looking forward to read more books by the author.
HAR HAR MAHADEV!!!
It is not historical fiction, but a chronicling of actual events which played a crucial role in the history of India. This particular perspective is unknown to the majority of people. The part of history of India presented in this book has been (systematically removed?) absent in the curriculum of most of the states for decades now.
A reading of the current history textbooks gives an impression that the Mughal rule was consecutively followed by the British colonial rule, which is utterly false. Before the British wrested the control of the sub-continent, the Maratha confederacy was in power, over a region which comprises of 70% of today’s Bharat. The books amply clears how exactly did this come to be.
The characters are actual historical figures, so even though they are not well-developed, the story remains a ceaseless succession of compelling events. The wars, sieges and treaties are interspersed with fictionalized interactions and dialogues which are brilliantly executed.
Reading the book was an action packed, historically enlightening and (for me) pride inducing experience. Looking forward to read more books by the author.
HAR HAR MAHADEV!!!
Read
August 4, 2014Really feeds soul. Congratulation to young author.
December 12, 2020
"Atake Paar - They carried their flags beyond Attock" - this Marathi term conceals a rich history which is brought out by Aneesh Gokhale in this book. The other term that immediately comes to my mind is "Bhageeratha Prayathanam".
Set in the India of the 1700s, the book brings out a flavor of the politics and intrigue in the various kingdomsof the time, especially the Marathas and the Mughals. If you thought coalition politics, puppet leaders, backstabbing et al are of recent origins - you may want to revise your ideas. While it was interesting to zip through Peshwa Balaji Bhajirao's leadership there were portions in the book that could have been amplified (there were some leads on town planning etc that weren't tied up).
Faultlines are always used by the wicked and the really devious ones create new fault lines as narrated by multiple incidents ( like the rise of Mir Shahabuddin).
Takeaway - There is a direct learning for us in the current state of things in India - from poralees to urban naxals.
Set in the India of the 1700s, the book brings out a flavor of the politics and intrigue in the various kingdomsof the time, especially the Marathas and the Mughals. If you thought coalition politics, puppet leaders, backstabbing et al are of recent origins - you may want to revise your ideas. While it was interesting to zip through Peshwa Balaji Bhajirao's leadership there were portions in the book that could have been amplified (there were some leads on town planning etc that weren't tied up).
Faultlines are always used by the wicked and the really devious ones create new fault lines as narrated by multiple incidents ( like the rise of Mir Shahabuddin).
Takeaway - There is a direct learning for us in the current state of things in India - from poralees to urban naxals.
January 28, 2022
Casual read of Maratha history post 1740 till 1758. The narrative is little dramatised. A lot of time devoted to Mughal or non-Maratha situation. The last chapter of moving from Delhi till Attock is quick. Perhaps paintings of key Maratha warriors could have helped relate to them.
May 11, 2013
Review on my blog: http://goo.gl/pbeJV
I enjoyed the pace of the narration. The attention to detail and the effort the author has put in to refer a lot of books to give accuracy to the events and keep narration to the chronology, that was good.
However, sometimes the directness to the author's language makes it very borderline to a textbook. The inclusion of photographs and the cover page makes it seem even more so. A little proofreading would help, because there were typo errors and some punctuation stuff that I could identify.
Overall, it definitely works as a historical novel. I'd rate it 3.25 stars.
I enjoyed the pace of the narration. The attention to detail and the effort the author has put in to refer a lot of books to give accuracy to the events and keep narration to the chronology, that was good.
However, sometimes the directness to the author's language makes it very borderline to a textbook. The inclusion of photographs and the cover page makes it seem even more so. A little proofreading would help, because there were typo errors and some punctuation stuff that I could identify.
Overall, it definitely works as a historical novel. I'd rate it 3.25 stars.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews