सोना और खून

by आचार्य चतुरसेन, Acharya Chatursen

old history in a story format,which represent middle and other classses people what they were doning.

200 pages

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

आचार्य चतुरसेन शास्त्री का जन्म 26 अगस्त, 1891 को चांदोख ज़िला बुलन्दशहर, उत्तर प्रदेश में हुआ था। ऐतिहासिक उपन्यासकार के रूप में इनकी प्रतिष्ठा है। चतुरसेन शास्त्री की यह विशेषता है कि उन्होंने उपन्यासों के अलावा और भी बहुत कुछ लिखा है, कहानियाँ लिखी हैं, जिनकी संख्या प्राय: साढ़े चार सौ है। गद्य-काव्य, धर्म, राजनीति, इतिहास, समाजशास्त्र के साथ-साथ स्वास्थ्य एवं चिकित्सा पर भी उन्होंने अधिकारपूर्वक लिखा है।

इनकी प्रकाशित रचनाओं की संख्या 186 है, जो अपने ही में एक कीर्तिमान है। आचार्य चतुरसेन मुख्यत: अपने उपन्यासों के लिए चर्चित रहे हैं। इनके प्रमुख उपन्यासों के नाम हैं-

वैशाली की नगरवधू
वयं रक्षाम
सोमनाथ
मन्दिर की नर्तकी
रक्त की प्यास
सोना और ख़ून (चार भागों में)
आलमगीर
सह्यद्रि की चट्टानें
अमर सिंह
हृदय की परख

Reviews

[Sonali Ekka · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sona Aur Khoon” means “Blood and Gold”, but the author alludes to Wealth and War. Acharya Chatursen Shastri was famous for his accurate & detailed works in historical fiction and non – fiction. Sona Aur Khoon was intended to be a series in 10 parts, of historical depiction of mankind’s quest for wealth and power all over the world. Due to his untimely demise, he was able to complete only 4 of them. He bgan with India in the 1st book, which describes the end of the Mughal & Maratha empires in India, the rise of the East India Company & the resulting influence on Indian society, economy & administration, the effects of which continue even after independence.

The book begins with the time after the 2nd Anglo – Maratha War when Daulat Scindia signed the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon with the British & several regions to them. Yashwantrao Holkar remained a single powerful enemy of the British, who incessantly but unsuccessfully strived to unite the Indian kings to fight against the British. The book continues after Holkar’s demise & the eventual collapse of all the major Indian kingdoms which could have offered any significant resistance to the British. The EIC rises into power to rule India through deceit, corruption, destruction of traditional Indian industries and ruin of kings, chiefs, landowners and other wealthy as well as regular citizens, forcing them into poverty, robbery and other crimes, thereby breeding a lawless society where they could justify their use of force and violence in the name of administration and maintaining law and order. It explains how farmers and artisan slipped into utter poverty, land ownership got skewed, why the police became corrupt and courts became ineffective right from the beginning.

But what makes this book unique, is the intricacy with which the writer narrates the situation through a story instead of a mere essay. The stories give the perspectives of the kings, the citizens and the British. They bring to life the lifestyle of India back then: the places, the architecture, the way people dressed, ate and lived.

It’s a treat to read any work of Chatursen because of his command over the language. If he used pure Hindi in Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu to match the story, he has used vernacular Hindi to make this book accessible to a wider audience. He has used different dialects of Hindi according to the context of the book, including a rich mix of Urdu when it’s about Muslim characters, and broken Hindi with a smattering of English when writing the dialogues of the British. Besides the mix of dialects, the use of sarcasm (vyangya) also adds to the richness of this book.

I’d highly recommend this book to those who would like to understand the impact of the EIC on the Indian society, in an easier way through fiction.

[Prerak Punyani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very few write historical novels like Acharya Chatursen. he is an accomplished writer with hold on story and character. The way he has detailed how Indian rule ended in mid of 19th century and East India took over is readable and we get to know how centuries old institutions in India were just destroyed by British in few decades as the British took over. And then how they began changing mindset of middle class and how they created whole corrupt institutions that didn't work for local people but benefited them. How power is gained and then through divide and rule policy they controlled big population of people by few officials. History should be read to understand the mistakes we have made in past and that we don't make in future.

[Harshvardhan Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book discusses at length the intricacies of how East India Company consolidated its rule over India. Starting from Clive's victory in Battle of Plassey to the three Anglo-Maratha wars to Ranjeet Singh, and ultimately the First War of Independence in 1857, it's a very detailed account of modern Indian history. The most underrated book of all times.