Kanishka by Manoj Krishnan is a historical thriller featuring an employee of Indian Archaeological Council, Nilesh as the protagonist. The story follows him from New Delhi to Mathura, where he unearths a secret, which had been presumed lost for many centuries.
Nilesh, along with his colleague Sushmita has to travel to Mathura, to prepare a report on an abandoned excavation site. On reaching there, they are accompanied by the police all the time, because unknown to them, there is danger lurking around the corner. The particular site in which they are interested in the Bada Taal, an apparent 2000 year old pool, from the Kanishka period, was left halfway towards completion, for reasons best known to Dr. Rao, their boss, who has told them nothing about it.
Sulekha, has gone crazy since the night she touched that thing her brother had brought from the fields, and now she has lost her brother because of it.
On the other hand, Sumer Singh, from the police department, is dealing with twin responsibilities, looking after this couple of archaeologist and also digging deep into a gruesome murder.
All of them, have one thing in common, a strong smell of jasmine flowers has enthralled their nostrils and senses suddenly, when there weren’t even near any garden or florist.
Where does the smell come from? Why has it come only for them? Is it trying to tell them something? What is the danger due to which Nilesh and Sushmita are entitled to police protection? How is everything attached to the excavation site? Will they all be safe or is there a sinister force which is after their lives?
The story is narrated in a mix of second and third person, much to my delight because this way, I get a bird’s eye view. The plot, despite having potential, was not used to it’s full, dulling it with a weak turn of events and an even weaker climax. I was expecting a lot more from the climax than what was presented, because, the way to it was built up strongly. Alas, I was disappointed. When on the last page, I realized that the author has given more weightage to the scenarios preceding the actual events, and little to the main part, in comparison to the length of the book, doing injustice to the beautiful character of Manidhari, which in my opinion was the star of the show. If the tedious descriptions could have been cut short, there would have been a possibility of an equilibrium between both the primary, and secondary plots. There were a few questions that was left for the reader to assume, like why the murders? Who was following Sikander in the car when he was on the way back to Mathura? How did he know whom to kill? How did that south Delhi tycoon know what to look for and where to look for? Did he know about Manidhari and the curse? How? Why did Dr. Rao send Nilesh and Sushmita to Mathura, when he knew about the curse and what could befall them? What were his plans, if not to unearth the secret by the means of his two employees, letting them walk into a deadly trap? The answers could have been explained in the epilogue, if not before. The storytelling was gripping though, the formation of the link between the past and the present was good and captivating. The most enjoyable part of the story was the story of Manidhari, the blue eyed whore, I wish there was more of it. It would be really great if there could be a separate novel, about her and only her.
Had it not been for a few reasons mentioned above, I definitely would have like this novel more. Suggested to those who enjoy history blended with thriller and are looking for a relatively less gory and violent read.