Delhi Durbar

Raisina #2

by Krishan Pratap Singh

‘I was taught to take everything I could by any means possible without feeling any sense of remorse, and that coloured the way I saw the world, a world where the strong stomp on everyone below them and doing good is for the naïve. I had been accidentally groomed to meet the requirements of the economic miracle that hit India in the early nineties, where the needs of the individual finally began to be addressed and seen as important, even necessary. Capitalism started seeping into our very marrow and socialistic gangrene seeped away, having only found a place in history as a well-intentioned failure. Nehru’s dream was finally dead and I think I helped deliver its death knell...’

In the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi – as politicians, power-brokers, media moguls, and bureaucrats go peaceably about their business of amassing unlimited personal wealth, occasionally getting ensnared in their own webs of scandal and sleaze – the President of India, an ex-army chief, throws everyone into shock by defying his rubber-stamp status and threatening to establish military rule. Only Jasjit Sidhu, his sometime son-in-law, erstwhile corporate banker and money launderer, and newly returned to India as personal financial adviser to Prime Minister Paresh Yadav, can bring him to heel. Brilliantly plotted and bitingly written, Delhi Durbar is an astute and gripping political novel, in which the outrageous twists and turns of the empowered corrupt and their fiercely self-serving agendas makes for a political thriller of a uniquely Indian flavour.

Genres: Fiction, Politics, Indian Literature, India

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Dr Kashmira Gohil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a political fiction, brilliantly crafted with much flavour and fervour by this new, young author on the block, K. P. Singh. Played out in the heart of Lutyens Delhi, the protagonist, Jasjit Singh, a banker from Dubai, finds himself in the centerstorm of politics, that of money, power and corruption, when trying to fill in the shoes of his deceased father, an advisor to PM. He inadvertently get swept in to the war current of power and politics between two powerful adversaries, the PM and the president, a previous war veteran whose daughter Neena he has married to. The story keeps taking sudden intresting turns as it does sometimes after voting results, before all's well that ends well. I normally don't like to read political -anything but this young author has made this story in to such a gripping tale with the choicest of words and combinations of sentences that each page feels like a savoury treat to read and enjoy. I certainly look forward to read his other work. 4 stars for this one👏👏

[Vishal Kale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast paced page turner filled with hair-pin twists and turns along every mile of the long road, the book is one-of-a-kind, for reasons that I shall connect up with in the review of Young Turks, which is the first part of the series. Readers are advised to read the books in order only, as only then will they make sense of the characters and the power of each character. The first person account serves to take you deep into the quagmire of dirty politics and corruption, and hear it from the horses mouth. It is this approach that makes it unique. Taken together with the first book, whose plot plays almost side-by-side with this book, it makes for a deeply engaging read and gives the reader of fascinating insight into the corridors of power. I shall delve into a detailed analysis in the review of Young Turks, which is deeply connected to this book...

[Siddharth Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overhyped!

[Tamanna Sahni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book details the give and take between family and career, country and greed, politics and finance. I think the author does a good job in showing how many moving parts there are in Indian politics, but I was a bit confused for a good deal of the book. His prose is slightly overdrawn, and as someone who doesn’t know everything about Indian politics, the book sometimes got a little hard to follow.

[Gopal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insight on how Indian politics and politicians operate. The nexus between bureaucrats, politicians, fixers and power brokers is exposed for all to see.

The books looks at the festering sore of Indian politics, the largest democracy in the world which has established mass corruption as an honest to God profession.

The saga on Indian politics, the way the fixers can get anything done for a price, be it making the PM's son the President of BCCI or arranging for ex-army Chief current VP of India to take over as President and then try to instigate a coup.

This is a story of what Indian politics is and what more can it become.

[Anil Swarup · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is built around author's fantasy of a potential coup in India. The plot appears unrealistic though the characters bear semblance to some politicians. Some of the mechanisations and the interactions also appear close to reality. However, in the absence of a credible plot the book fails to keep the reader glued.

[Anil Dhingra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping political thriller about India, based on the power broking and governance in Delhi.
Though a fiction, the author has thrown in real events, real people and also based his characters on some real life people.
Jasjit Sidhu is a banker turned wheeler dealer who is forced to take the role of his father who dies in a helicopter crash while on assignment on behalf of the prime minister of India.
Jasjit is married to Neena, the daughter of the vice President general Dayal. He has also invested I'll gotten wealth of the prime minister Yadav, head of a coalition government.
Yadav and Dayal have a rivalry and their feud brings jasjit into the middle of affairs.
The author has written the book well describing corruption at the high levels, the games politicians play and the murky affairs of fixers operating in the corridors of power.
A good book to read about the Delhi durbar.

[Rohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The politics is as always well done. Most political fiction books set in India usually go out of their way to avoid real life references. This book pulls no punches.

I liked that the book doesn't only rely on the singular motivations of the characters but builds a world with them. The Characters and the world feels lived in and honestly I related far more to this book which discusses the muddy realities of India than any other book.

The one shortcoming is the lack of author's note, informing the reader that this book is essentially a midquel taking place somewhere around the midpoint of the author's debut book's timeline. Which definitely surprised me but with a new POV and different characters the book manages to insert enough novelty and unpredictability.

I do plan on buying the next book, though the search for one is not going to be easy.

[Greeshma · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second part was not really a neat segue as I'd anticipated. Lots do happen but the timelines felt vague, and didn't help matters that it was set in some senses before Azim Khan's rise to the PM's seat. Lots of ambiguity in real life is wont to happen but in a book it really feels threaded forcefully. Jasjit Sidhu tried to be an intriguing character but it's General Dayal and PM Yadav whose vices come to the fore fiercely. Power had more to show in this book than the conduit so to speak.

[Bert van der Vaart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A generally enjoyable "Delhi insider" low-key thriller about the son of a "Mr. Fixer" to the high and mighty in Indian politics, who moves from helping an incumbent prime minister safely squirrel away the kickbacks and bribes that supposedly (and pretty believably) make Indian politics what it is unfortunately mostly about. I say mostly because the venality of the Congress politician meets with the ambition of a top Indian Army general--who was refused his cut on a Russian defense deal--and his aid. Think "7 Days in May" against a backdrop of political leaks, bought press, and the manipulation of caste resentment across the Dalit or untouchables in India. Noting at the outset that the "altruistic dreams" of India's forefathers were "trampled upon by the naked self-interest and greed of the few" shortly after Independence, the protagonist moves together with a principled Indian Muslim politician (an idealist at least against the background of the other politicians) and the fictional grandson of Nehru--no angel but we are meant to believe at core a real patriot-- to frustrate the military coup that was close to being realized and bring down the super corrupt prime minister and his son. Having lived in Delhi for a little more than one year, there are many all too believable aspects to the story, which seem to hang together nicely. There is even a little hope at the end, to the effect that India manages to progress despite the greed and selfishness of her politicians, and that even greedy HBS educated sons of Indian "fixers" can still work for the good of all, sort of and after having made enough money to be able to afford to doing so. If one is looking for an an enjoyable background to Indian politics, which seems to describe the default context thereto, one could do worse than to read this book. If one is NOT interested in Indian politics, then there are surely better books to read than this one.

[Aurobindo Nayak · Rating 4 out of 5]

KP Singh has ventured his book into the deep waters of politics which is a big No-NO for most authors. This book essentially deals with Power and the corruption that is associated with it. It exposes the fundamental working of Indian politics and shows the truth behind the workings of the worlds largest democracy.

The main propagandist is portrayed as a brilliant, suave, sleek and wily fellow who knows how to talk and how to exert pressure in subtle forms to get the job done. He is in love with the daughter of the president (Ex-Army Chief) . He comes to know of a coup which the president is planning and the only way to stop it is to break his own set of rules. The stakes are high and time is running out. Read the entire novel to enjoy a fast paced action thriller of Indian Politics.

[Anandh Sundar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indian politics never contains a dull moment. Yet(for obvious reasons), writers fear to cover it in depth. KP Singh has ventured into an area which is taboo-the possibility of a military coup to overthrow corrupt politicians. The President of India, an ex army chief, throws everyone into shock by defying his rubberstamp status and threatening to establish military rule. Only Jasjit Sidhu, his sometime soninlaw, erstwhile corporate banker and money launderer, and newly returned to India as personal financial adviser to Prime Minister Paresh Yadav, can bring him to heel.

For its realism on Indian politics and life, this book deserves a read

[Anie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delhi Durbar shows the corrupt environment of Politics and politicians. The relationship between politicians, bureaucrats and power brokers are disclosed. The corruption in politics and its working in the largest democracy of the world is displayed. It shows how power and corruption are associated with each other.

[Dhanashree · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book full of proper Bollywood Rajneeti masala of love, hate, relationships, money and greed combined with high power and internal conflict! Worth the read! The author has kept you hooked for the maximum time and has managed to show the pawns and kings of politics in a dramatic way!

[Shannon Zirkle-prabhakar]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12764205

[Anuradha Goyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed review https://www.anuradhagoyal.com/delhi-d...