Raj: A Novel

by Gita Mehta

Born to the Royal House of Balmer, Jaya Singh experiences the influences of Western culture as a selfless wife, strong leader, and courageous individual in a national struggle .

Jaya Singh is the intelligent, beautiful, and compassionate daughter of the Maharajah and Maharani of Balmer. Raised in the thousand-year-old tradition of purdah, a strict regime of seclusion, silence, and submission, Jaya is ill-prepared to assume the role of Regent Maharani of Sirpur upon the death of her decadent, Westernized husband. But Jaya bravely fulfills her duty and soon finds herself thrust into the center of a roiling political battle in which the future of the kingdom is at stake...and her own future as well.

480 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2019

About the author

Gita Mehta (born in 1943) is an Indian writer and was born in Delhi in a well-known Odia family. She is the daughter of Biju Patnaik, an Indian independence activist and a Chief Minister in post-independence Odisha, then known as Orissa. Her younger brother Naveen Patnaik has been the Chief Minister of Odisha since 2000. She completed her education in India and at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

She has produced and/or directed 14 television documentaries for UK, European and US networks. During the years 1970-1971 she was a television war correspondent for the US television network NBC. Her film compilation of the Bangladesh revolution, Dateline Bangladesh, was shown in cinema theatres both in India and abroad.

[...]

Her books have been translated into 21 languages and been on the bestseller lists in Europe, the US and India. The subject of both her fiction and non-fiction is exclusively focused on India: its culture and history, and the Western perception of it. Her works reflect the insight gained through her journalistic and political background.

Gita Mehta divides her time between New York, London and New Delhi.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Rizwana Rajgara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. If you like reading about historical characters, especially of a royal family, then you will be happy to have this in your hand. The story is based in pre-independence India, revolving around the maharajas, ranis, the formidable British who were dominant in the princely kingdoms and the political turmoil of the times. Gita Mehta has put in a lot of detail about the daily lives of a palace and all its colorful characters. You don't get to read the minute detail with which the British controlled the lives of millions of Indians in a history textbook. I wonder how many of the previous Indian royal families still have reverence among the public today. I should do some research on that. The central character- the princess of Balmer is brought up to withhold all of the century old traditions that her family has followed for generations. But as time goes by, she sees for herself how hard it is to be strong to your convictions.