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The Princes: A Novel
India, 1938. The life of Abhayraj, the heir of Maharaj Hiroji, the ruler of the princely state of Begwad, is not unlike that of many young princes caught between two worlds-indeed, two eras. On the one hand are the traditions of the feudal, close-knit community ruled by his father that he is bound to follow, and on the other the pressures of independence as British dominion over begins to wane.
Seeking a path of his own, Abhay joins the Indian army and fights in the Burma campaign during World War II. On his return, however, he is forced into a conventional marriage, and after his father's dramatic death becomes the Maharaja, to rule for just forty-nine days before he is compelled to merge his state with free India in 1948.
Hailed as an unusual historical saga at the time of its release, The Princes was first published in New York in 1963 and was selected by the Literary Guild of America as a novel of the month that year. Available now in a beautiful new edition, it offers an enthralling, intimate glimpse into life in India's princely states through the story of a royal family caught in a struggle for survival, in a nation embracing democracy for the very first time.
Seeking a path of his own, Abhay joins the Indian army and fights in the Burma campaign during World War II. On his return, however, he is forced into a conventional marriage, and after his father's dramatic death becomes the Maharaja, to rule for just forty-nine days before he is compelled to merge his state with free India in 1948.
Hailed as an unusual historical saga at the time of its release, The Princes was first published in New York in 1963 and was selected by the Literary Guild of America as a novel of the month that year. Available now in a beautiful new edition, it offers an enthralling, intimate glimpse into life in India's princely states through the story of a royal family caught in a struggle for survival, in a nation embracing democracy for the very first time.
496 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1963
About the author
Manohar Malgonkar
33 books56 followersManohar Malgonkar was an Indian author in the English language of both fiction and nonfiction.
Malgonkar was born in a royal family, and educated at Bombay University. He was an officer in the Maratha Light Infantry, a big game hunter, a civil servant, a mine owner and a farmer, and he also stood for parliament. Most of that activity was during the build up to Indian independence and its aftermath, often the settings for his works. The socio-historical milieu of those times form the backdrop of his novels, which are usually of action and adventure. He also wrote non-fiction, including biography and history.
Malgonkar lived in a remote bungalow, at some distance from the town of Belgaum, Karnataka. His only child Sunita (educated at the famous Lawrence School Sanawar) died at a young age.
Malgonkar was born in a royal family, and educated at Bombay University. He was an officer in the Maratha Light Infantry, a big game hunter, a civil servant, a mine owner and a farmer, and he also stood for parliament. Most of that activity was during the build up to Indian independence and its aftermath, often the settings for his works. The socio-historical milieu of those times form the backdrop of his novels, which are usually of action and adventure. He also wrote non-fiction, including biography and history.
Malgonkar lived in a remote bungalow, at some distance from the town of Belgaum, Karnataka. His only child Sunita (educated at the famous Lawrence School Sanawar) died at a young age.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 4, 2023
Manohar Malgonkar is an author who's come into my purview in the past one year or so, and this is my first book by this author.
Though an Indian author writing in English, and a Contemporary of R K Narayan , I hadn't heard of him until recently.
This book deals with the plight of the hundreds of Indian princes , during and post the Indian freedom struggle
This was an eye opener ans the first time ever I even contemplated matters from their perspective.
Told from the point of view of Abhayraj, the prince of a small place called Bedar, somewhere in the Bhil territory of North India , I was taken through the turbulent years of the early and mid 20th century .
I lived his life , I came to know something about how princes and their consorts acted and lived . I also had a glimpse of another aspect of British and Indian relationship . This may be fiction, but it almost seemed the truth...such is the power of this author.
I went through the highs , lows , emotional and moral turmoil of the prince and the end of the book found me a bit low spirited
I was wondering how Malgonkar painted such a distinct picture. Then i came to know that he was the grandson of the dewan of a former princely state of Dewas, near Belgaum.
Will surely read more books by this author.
Though an Indian author writing in English, and a Contemporary of R K Narayan , I hadn't heard of him until recently.
This book deals with the plight of the hundreds of Indian princes , during and post the Indian freedom struggle
This was an eye opener ans the first time ever I even contemplated matters from their perspective.
Told from the point of view of Abhayraj, the prince of a small place called Bedar, somewhere in the Bhil territory of North India , I was taken through the turbulent years of the early and mid 20th century .
I lived his life , I came to know something about how princes and their consorts acted and lived . I also had a glimpse of another aspect of British and Indian relationship . This may be fiction, but it almost seemed the truth...such is the power of this author.
I went through the highs , lows , emotional and moral turmoil of the prince and the end of the book found me a bit low spirited
I was wondering how Malgonkar painted such a distinct picture. Then i came to know that he was the grandson of the dewan of a former princely state of Dewas, near Belgaum.
Will surely read more books by this author.
August 15, 2017
This novel falls in the category of history fiction set in India prior to its independance and the abolishment of the maharadja/prince system. The story follows the father and only son, maharaja of a small province in pre-independance of India, their struggle to maintain their centuries'old powers, privileges, traditions and ways of life intact through the changing times India is living during the first half of the 20th century.
After reading "A princess remembers", the memoirs of the last Maharani of Jaipur, I didn't learn much new in this novel. While the memoirs focuses more about after end of Maharajas, this novel focuses on before the end. It describes the easy and expensive lifestyle of the maharaja, the father, entertaining himself with women and chasing tigers unaware of the numerous changes the World and India are going through. The author wrote the story through the angle of clash of generations between the father and the son with first conflicting ideas about everything, but who converge toward each other when their end and era are coming fast to an end. The novel is very well written with all characters well detailed to understand them and their incapactiy to adapt to changes surrounding them.
This novel is good to read for those who don't know how a system with hundreds of princes maintained alive during centuries came to an abrupt end within a few years in India. It is also a good lesson to be learned about adapting to changes all the time or fear being left behind and/or disappearing at all.
After reading "A princess remembers", the memoirs of the last Maharani of Jaipur, I didn't learn much new in this novel. While the memoirs focuses more about after end of Maharajas, this novel focuses on before the end. It describes the easy and expensive lifestyle of the maharaja, the father, entertaining himself with women and chasing tigers unaware of the numerous changes the World and India are going through. The author wrote the story through the angle of clash of generations between the father and the son with first conflicting ideas about everything, but who converge toward each other when their end and era are coming fast to an end. The novel is very well written with all characters well detailed to understand them and their incapactiy to adapt to changes surrounding them.
This novel is good to read for those who don't know how a system with hundreds of princes maintained alive during centuries came to an abrupt end within a few years in India. It is also a good lesson to be learned about adapting to changes all the time or fear being left behind and/or disappearing at all.
November 12, 2016
After my last blog post on Gabo, I realised that I had not paid any homage to my favourite Indian authors that I admired longer, who I swore by and who certainly left their impress on me as a person. Two of them, Mulk Raj Anand and R.K. Narayan, pioneered Indian writing in English – the so-called Indo-Anglian writing – a hundred years back. Each in his own way started a “genre”, while the third, Khushwant Singh the Irrepressible Sardarji, was unputdownable till the end.
However, I decided that I would start with the fourth, the officer and the gentleman. Belonging to a princely family of the Maharashtra region, Manohar Malgonkar was commissioned into the Maratha Light Infantry just before the World War II and saw action in Burma. The experiences of these early career days found ample reflection in his first novel, the “Distant Drum”. Incidentally this was also my first Malgonkar novel. I still remember the book – a red clothbound Indian edition with already yellowing pages, borrowed from the library of the Andhra University. It opened my eyes to the wonder that was (and still is, to a large extent) the Indian Army.
“Distant Drum” chronicles important early years in the life of the protagonist, a career officer named Kiran Garud. Malgonkar takes us with him to Burma and shows us the horrors of the Eastern Front first hand; involves us in an indiscretion that leads to the suicide of a brother officer, an Englishman; shows us the dramatic change in the attitudes of people, from politicians to the officer class themselves, with the coming of Independence; introduces the new class of “Indianised” officers then joining the Army, who, in many ways, were the very antithesis of the existing Anglicised officer class; and more than hints at the coming rot in both the country and the Army.
Over everything else, “Distant Drum” is a magnificent recounting of the izzat and elan of life in one of the greatest modern armies of the world at an important time in its history. Its most memorable and poignant scene is the meeting in no man’s land (for a drink !) between Kiran and a Pakistani officer (Salim?). Commissioned into the same regiment before Partition, they were now officially enemies.
Malgonkar displays his full faculties in ample measure in this first novel. It was indeed a riveting read for a starry eyed boy from a small mofussil town aspiring to become an engineer.
My next Malgonkar was “A Bend in the Ganges”. The name derives from a quote from the Ramayana. It was a pale green clothbound British edition, Chatto & Windus, much thicker than “Distant Drum”. The story also had a much broader scope. “Distant Drum” must have been well received in the West for Malgonkar to get a Western publisher for “A Bend”, a rare enough honour for an Indian author in those days. “A Bend” chronicles life and aspirations of youth during the freedom struggle and ends with the Independence. The idealistic protagonist is imprisoned in the Cellular Jail in Andamans for his role in a terrorist act against the British government. He escapes during the Japanese occupation of Andamans, lives under an alibi in the South for some time, and returns to his native Punjab only to witnesses the horror of the Partition. The slow breakdown of trust and age-old relations between the two communities is masterfully, unforgettably related.
My next was “Princes”. It was a red cloth-bound, probably also Chatto & Windus. “Princes” is a masterly chronicle of the lives of the feudal upper crust of the country during the pre-war years, bringing to life their mores and preoccupations. Curiously, it parallels Mulk Raj Anand’s “Private Life of an Indian Prince” – there are so many similarities! Not sure which one got written first. I don’t remember the story too well (I expressly did not re-read any of the books reviewed here, as I wanted to write this homage based on my original impressions), but the two incidents I mention below should give the reader a measure of the book.
In the first, the teenage protagonist, a prince, goes through an initiation ceremony that involves plucking out and eating the eye of a deer cooked whole at a state banquet. Even though horrified at the prospect, he manages this without incident – to the great relief of his family, for whom, a failure on his part would have resulted in a serious loss of face. In the second, the prince, now a young man, buys a hat he fancies on the Mall at Simla, but can not get himself to carry it; he is not used to doing any manual work. So he hires a coolie for carrying the hat for him!
I was fated to read my fourth (and so far, the last) Malgonkar only much later, in 1986. By then much had changed in my life. I had become a householder with a modest salary, and both the time and money for books were short. I no longer had access to the great library of my alma mater. I picked up an Indian paperback edition of “Bandicoot Run” at a railway bookstall only because it was the cheapest book on display, the author was familiar, and it promised to be a “spy thriller”. It did not disappoint. It actually starts where the earlier novels end. “Bandicoot Run” is really many things to many people, besides being a thriller of sorts; it is a sympathetic recounting of how the Englishmen who broke class taboos and stayed back in India after Independence fared; similarly of Anglo Indians as a community; of the preoccupations, the mismanagement and the squalor of 1960’s India; and lastly, the deadly cat-and-mouse game between Indian and Pakistani armies.
True to form, it also has interesting tit-bits of Army life, such as a few hilarious instances of hikmat-mali (Army term for minor misdemeanours), which might have really happened. But most importantly, it is an account of the rot in the Army, recounted through several thinly disguised incidents. Kiran Garud returns in this novel as a General. His career is sought to be destroyed by the unscrupulous General Behl who gets his just desserts at the end.
The most interesting character in “Bandicoot Run” is the protagonist himself. It is the most autobiographical of Malgonkar’s novels. The non-career officer who commands a file morgue during his last days in the army, who is a bit of a shikari with a distaste for misleading even a stranger, the Captain Saab who prides himself in retiring young and becoming a country squire quietly endears himself to the reader.
I was unaware of Malgonkar’s passing till recently, till a chance search brought up his obituary. I felt saddened. I also felt sad that his daughter, an only child, whose arrival and early schooling are so quietly celebrated in “Bandicoot Run”, should precede him.
The obituary and the Wikipedia entry have a few personal details. However, I am surprised by the long list of books, most of which I was unaware of.
Malgonkar was a great writer whose worth and contribution have never been sufficiently recognised and acknowledged. He wrote with great sincerity, passion, and mastery. Nobody else could bring to life the India of mid-20th century the way he did. Like a true gentleman, he quietly made his contribution and stepped aside. What a contrast to the self-advertising and marketing gimmicks of many of today’s writers!
One last word before I close this homage. All my favourite Indo-Anglians have lived long, well into their 90’s !
Mulk Raj Anand Born 1905 Died 2004
Khushwant Singh Born 1915 Died 2014
R. K. Narayan Born 1906 Died 2001
Manohar Malgonkar Born 1913 Died 2010
However, I decided that I would start with the fourth, the officer and the gentleman. Belonging to a princely family of the Maharashtra region, Manohar Malgonkar was commissioned into the Maratha Light Infantry just before the World War II and saw action in Burma. The experiences of these early career days found ample reflection in his first novel, the “Distant Drum”. Incidentally this was also my first Malgonkar novel. I still remember the book – a red clothbound Indian edition with already yellowing pages, borrowed from the library of the Andhra University. It opened my eyes to the wonder that was (and still is, to a large extent) the Indian Army.
“Distant Drum” chronicles important early years in the life of the protagonist, a career officer named Kiran Garud. Malgonkar takes us with him to Burma and shows us the horrors of the Eastern Front first hand; involves us in an indiscretion that leads to the suicide of a brother officer, an Englishman; shows us the dramatic change in the attitudes of people, from politicians to the officer class themselves, with the coming of Independence; introduces the new class of “Indianised” officers then joining the Army, who, in many ways, were the very antithesis of the existing Anglicised officer class; and more than hints at the coming rot in both the country and the Army.
Over everything else, “Distant Drum” is a magnificent recounting of the izzat and elan of life in one of the greatest modern armies of the world at an important time in its history. Its most memorable and poignant scene is the meeting in no man’s land (for a drink !) between Kiran and a Pakistani officer (Salim?). Commissioned into the same regiment before Partition, they were now officially enemies.
Malgonkar displays his full faculties in ample measure in this first novel. It was indeed a riveting read for a starry eyed boy from a small mofussil town aspiring to become an engineer.
My next Malgonkar was “A Bend in the Ganges”. The name derives from a quote from the Ramayana. It was a pale green clothbound British edition, Chatto & Windus, much thicker than “Distant Drum”. The story also had a much broader scope. “Distant Drum” must have been well received in the West for Malgonkar to get a Western publisher for “A Bend”, a rare enough honour for an Indian author in those days. “A Bend” chronicles life and aspirations of youth during the freedom struggle and ends with the Independence. The idealistic protagonist is imprisoned in the Cellular Jail in Andamans for his role in a terrorist act against the British government. He escapes during the Japanese occupation of Andamans, lives under an alibi in the South for some time, and returns to his native Punjab only to witnesses the horror of the Partition. The slow breakdown of trust and age-old relations between the two communities is masterfully, unforgettably related.
My next was “Princes”. It was a red cloth-bound, probably also Chatto & Windus. “Princes” is a masterly chronicle of the lives of the feudal upper crust of the country during the pre-war years, bringing to life their mores and preoccupations. Curiously, it parallels Mulk Raj Anand’s “Private Life of an Indian Prince” – there are so many similarities! Not sure which one got written first. I don’t remember the story too well (I expressly did not re-read any of the books reviewed here, as I wanted to write this homage based on my original impressions), but the two incidents I mention below should give the reader a measure of the book.
In the first, the teenage protagonist, a prince, goes through an initiation ceremony that involves plucking out and eating the eye of a deer cooked whole at a state banquet. Even though horrified at the prospect, he manages this without incident – to the great relief of his family, for whom, a failure on his part would have resulted in a serious loss of face. In the second, the prince, now a young man, buys a hat he fancies on the Mall at Simla, but can not get himself to carry it; he is not used to doing any manual work. So he hires a coolie for carrying the hat for him!
I was fated to read my fourth (and so far, the last) Malgonkar only much later, in 1986. By then much had changed in my life. I had become a householder with a modest salary, and both the time and money for books were short. I no longer had access to the great library of my alma mater. I picked up an Indian paperback edition of “Bandicoot Run” at a railway bookstall only because it was the cheapest book on display, the author was familiar, and it promised to be a “spy thriller”. It did not disappoint. It actually starts where the earlier novels end. “Bandicoot Run” is really many things to many people, besides being a thriller of sorts; it is a sympathetic recounting of how the Englishmen who broke class taboos and stayed back in India after Independence fared; similarly of Anglo Indians as a community; of the preoccupations, the mismanagement and the squalor of 1960’s India; and lastly, the deadly cat-and-mouse game between Indian and Pakistani armies.
True to form, it also has interesting tit-bits of Army life, such as a few hilarious instances of hikmat-mali (Army term for minor misdemeanours), which might have really happened. But most importantly, it is an account of the rot in the Army, recounted through several thinly disguised incidents. Kiran Garud returns in this novel as a General. His career is sought to be destroyed by the unscrupulous General Behl who gets his just desserts at the end.
The most interesting character in “Bandicoot Run” is the protagonist himself. It is the most autobiographical of Malgonkar’s novels. The non-career officer who commands a file morgue during his last days in the army, who is a bit of a shikari with a distaste for misleading even a stranger, the Captain Saab who prides himself in retiring young and becoming a country squire quietly endears himself to the reader.
I was unaware of Malgonkar’s passing till recently, till a chance search brought up his obituary. I felt saddened. I also felt sad that his daughter, an only child, whose arrival and early schooling are so quietly celebrated in “Bandicoot Run”, should precede him.
The obituary and the Wikipedia entry have a few personal details. However, I am surprised by the long list of books, most of which I was unaware of.
Malgonkar was a great writer whose worth and contribution have never been sufficiently recognised and acknowledged. He wrote with great sincerity, passion, and mastery. Nobody else could bring to life the India of mid-20th century the way he did. Like a true gentleman, he quietly made his contribution and stepped aside. What a contrast to the self-advertising and marketing gimmicks of many of today’s writers!
One last word before I close this homage. All my favourite Indo-Anglians have lived long, well into their 90’s !
Mulk Raj Anand Born 1905 Died 2004
Khushwant Singh Born 1915 Died 2014
R. K. Narayan Born 1906 Died 2001
Manohar Malgonkar Born 1913 Died 2010
August 31, 2023
The Princes - Manohar Malgonkar (MM)
Rating 4.25/5
MM has used up all of his life experiences to craft a saga which is wonderful and easy to read. 'The Princes' traces the life of an (erstwhile) imaginary Royal Prince starting from his childhood till his adulthood, in terms of the decades - it can be safely concluded to be from 1920's till the time we got independence.
The lives of Royals has been written quite ruthlessly, their preferences, lifestyle, concubines, the big game, their luxury - many interwoven stories have been created and accommodated in the book, just to ensure the reader realizes how the royals once lived.
Over here, the Royals once were highwaymen who looted travelers of their money, jewels and belongings to amass fortunes.
MM also portrays the Royals siding with the British much against the Indian freedom fighters who, were their own countrymen seeking independence. Reader gets to know how the royals used their monetary power to ensure their reign over their kingdom continues to prevail for many more years, to be on good terms with the British by organizing the big game hunts.
The true essence of the book lies in the fact that it is not monotonous in terms of the approach, MM has introduced two opposite characters, the ruler who is pro British and is constantly seeking ways to retain his power and hold over his subjects, while his son, the successor prince is liberal, logical and tries to go with the flow while being ready to accept the transfer of the power to Indian people.
MM gets to experiment, explore and explain both the views, the progression which could happen when country gets freedom while also showing how the power hungry people turned themselves into rulers (politicians).
The shortcomings for me were the political scenario depiction and hand over of power which was a bit drag plus, the depth of the characters which I suppose, if had been any better, the book would have doubled in size.
Cheers!
Rating 4.25/5
MM has used up all of his life experiences to craft a saga which is wonderful and easy to read. 'The Princes' traces the life of an (erstwhile) imaginary Royal Prince starting from his childhood till his adulthood, in terms of the decades - it can be safely concluded to be from 1920's till the time we got independence.
The lives of Royals has been written quite ruthlessly, their preferences, lifestyle, concubines, the big game, their luxury - many interwoven stories have been created and accommodated in the book, just to ensure the reader realizes how the royals once lived.
Over here, the Royals once were highwaymen who looted travelers of their money, jewels and belongings to amass fortunes.
MM also portrays the Royals siding with the British much against the Indian freedom fighters who, were their own countrymen seeking independence. Reader gets to know how the royals used their monetary power to ensure their reign over their kingdom continues to prevail for many more years, to be on good terms with the British by organizing the big game hunts.
The true essence of the book lies in the fact that it is not monotonous in terms of the approach, MM has introduced two opposite characters, the ruler who is pro British and is constantly seeking ways to retain his power and hold over his subjects, while his son, the successor prince is liberal, logical and tries to go with the flow while being ready to accept the transfer of the power to Indian people.
MM gets to experiment, explore and explain both the views, the progression which could happen when country gets freedom while also showing how the power hungry people turned themselves into rulers (politicians).
The shortcomings for me were the political scenario depiction and hand over of power which was a bit drag plus, the depth of the characters which I suppose, if had been any better, the book would have doubled in size.
Cheers!
January 24, 2024
The last days of the Maharajas
Before Independence, India was divided into two parts—the area ruled directly by the British and the area ruled by a collection of 565 maharajas, nizams, nawabs, and men of other princely titles. These latter places, known as princely states, covered 40% of the territory, which also included Pakistan and Bangladesh at that time. The princes, as they might be called, could not deal with foreign powers or fight among themselves, but otherwise, except in the most egregious cases, the British left them alone. Very few of these rulers held democratic or socially-minded views, rather they lived in great luxury and pomp despite the extreme poverty of their subjects. As the freedom movement grew in the 20th century, people began to question the right of the princes to have such a lifestyle and to lord it over the masses of people in their states. Most of the princes resisted any change and opposed the Congress Party and the views of Gandhi, Nehru and the other nationalist leaders. They were doomed. By 1950, they had lost their power, but continued receiving stipends from the central government in New Delhi until in 1971, Indira Gandhi abolished those as well.
Manohar Malgonkar, the grandson of a Dewan, or chief minister, of a small state in central India, saw much of the princely lifestyle as a youth, then went on to serve in the British Indian army where he became very familiar with the lifestyle of officers, both British and Indian. This book is one of several novels that he wrote during his 97 year-long life. It is a fast-moving story told by the son of the Maharaja of a fictitious state in central India, a story that depicts the lifestyle and thought patterns of the princely class in accurate detail, thanks to the author’s own life experience. Servants galore, horses, arranged marriages and mistresses, lavish weddings, duck shooting, tiger hunts, private schools with British teachers, hereditary concern about caste and class, palaces, ancient forts with secret rooms full of treasure…everything that you might associate with princely India is there amidst the life story of Abhayraj, the Maharaja’s son. As the British prepare to leave India and the freedom movement grows stronger, what will be the future of the princely lifestyle and the princes themselves? Malgonkar sticks very close to the facts, to the events as they actually happened. The book is an attempt to show his view of that period of Indian history through the eyes of Abhayraj and his father the Maharaja, the only characters who come alive. The rest are stock figures drawn to illustrate different positions of those times. The story moves along at a good pace, there are the usual scenes of sex, violence, school days, military action, trickery and family discord, but of psychological depth, nothing. It is a potboiler portraying an unusual time in a competent manner, a book that will keep your attention, but which you may forget soon after finishing. Perhaps I can say that it is excellent as an “inside portrayal” of the last days of princely India, but not so much as a novel.
January 24, 2024
Before Independence, India was divided into two parts—the area ruled directly by the British and the area ruled by a collection of 565 maharajas, nizams, nawabs, and men of other princely titles. These latter places, known as princely states, covered 40% of the territory, which also included Pakistan and Bangladesh at that time. The princes, as they might be called, could not deal with foreign powers or fight among themselves, but otherwise, except in the most egregious cases, the British left them alone. Very few of these rulers held democratic or socially-minded views, rather they lived in great luxury and pomp despite the extreme poverty of their subjects. As the freedom movement grew in the 20th century, people began to question the right of the princes to have such a lifestyle and to lord it over the masses of people in their states. Most of the princes resisted any change and opposed the Congress Party and the views of Gandhi, Nehru and the other nationalist leaders. They were doomed. By 1950, they had lost their power, but continued receiving stipends from the central government in New Delhi until in 1971, Indira Gandhi abolished those as well.
Manohar Malgonkar, the grandson of a Dewan, or chief minister, of a small state in central India, saw much of the princely lifestyle as a youth, then went on to serve in the British Indian army where he became very familiar with the lifestyle of officers, both British and Indian. This book is one of several novels that he wrote during his 97 year-long life. It is a fast-moving story told by the son of the Maharaja of a fictitious state in central India, a story that depicts the lifestyle and thought patterns of the princely class in accurate detail, thanks to the author’s own life experience. Servants galore, horses, arranged marriages and mistresses, lavish weddings, duck shooting, tiger hunts, private schools with British teachers, hereditary concern about caste and class, palaces, ancient forts with secret rooms full of treasure…everything that you might associate with princely India is there amidst the life story of Abhayraj, the Maharaja’s son. As the British prepare to leave India and the freedom movement grows stronger, what will be the future of the princely lifestyle and the princes themselves? Malgonkar sticks very close to the facts, to the events as they actually happened. The book is an attempt to show his view of that period of Indian history through the eyes of Abhayraj and his father the Maharaja, the only characters who come alive. The rest are stock figures drawn to illustrate different positions of those times. The story moves along at a good pace, there are the usual scenes of sex, violence, school days, military action, trickery and family discord, but of psychological depth, nothing. It is a potboiler portraying an unusual time in a competent manner, a book that will keep your attention, but which you may forget soon after finishing. Perhaps I can say that it is excellent as an “inside portrayal” of the last days of princely India, but not so much as a novel.
January 24, 2024
March 2, 2023
💭Imagine being able to pen down a perfect blend of what goes inside your mind and as well as on the outside. How many of you can Imagine !? A bunch of people would say yes and the rest wouldn't. I've got your back the "Rest and Left people", now this Bookset comes into play.
👀 After reading a handful of various Fiction works, I can say that these ones are the right fit for you if you want to read some real classic India Fiction works, the ones that you can relate with.
📣There aren't many works present that justifies the need of portraying the Indian culture and heritage into their works apart from non fiction. Though being written decades ago these works of Manohar Malgonakar have the essence of both Indian culture and heritage, that's very rare to sight for even nowadays.
📣He has been a writer, a columnist, a army officer, a civil servant and a miner. One can precisely see that the inspiration he took from these roles into portraying the events and people around them into his works. The mentioned books, capture different stories around the same timelines, with various aspects.
📌The best thing I've liked about these works is the emotional and philosophical portrayal of the character towards the situations and events in their life. These are moderate sized books.
📌If you find yourself related to what's mentioned above and wish to read something different yet relatable to the Indian culture then this might be the right choice for you.
👀 After reading a handful of various Fiction works, I can say that these ones are the right fit for you if you want to read some real classic India Fiction works, the ones that you can relate with.
📣There aren't many works present that justifies the need of portraying the Indian culture and heritage into their works apart from non fiction. Though being written decades ago these works of Manohar Malgonakar have the essence of both Indian culture and heritage, that's very rare to sight for even nowadays.
📣He has been a writer, a columnist, a army officer, a civil servant and a miner. One can precisely see that the inspiration he took from these roles into portraying the events and people around them into his works. The mentioned books, capture different stories around the same timelines, with various aspects.
📌The best thing I've liked about these works is the emotional and philosophical portrayal of the character towards the situations and events in their life. These are moderate sized books.
📌If you find yourself related to what's mentioned above and wish to read something different yet relatable to the Indian culture then this might be the right choice for you.
July 7, 2024
My first encounter with this author was with the A Bend in the Ganges. A novel set in the era of the Independence movement. The Princes is also set in the same era but looks at the era through the eyes of royalty.
The prince of Bedar, a small fictional kingdom explores his life through the Independence Era where there is a clash between the old and the new. Abhayraj or Abbey struggles with his own thoughts and the complex life he leads where everything is gradually changing, even as his father pretends to not see it. A gripping tale written by a master, the novel makes for a compelling read.
I don't usually read Indian stories in English, however Malgonkar is an exception. His skill makes the reader forget that the characters would not speak English and help with the suspension of disbelief. More than that, he makes complex and compelling characters which are a treat to read.
Malgonkar hasn't written a lot of novels but I look forward to reading the next one.
The prince of Bedar, a small fictional kingdom explores his life through the Independence Era where there is a clash between the old and the new. Abhayraj or Abbey struggles with his own thoughts and the complex life he leads where everything is gradually changing, even as his father pretends to not see it. A gripping tale written by a master, the novel makes for a compelling read.
I don't usually read Indian stories in English, however Malgonkar is an exception. His skill makes the reader forget that the characters would not speak English and help with the suspension of disbelief. More than that, he makes complex and compelling characters which are a treat to read.
Malgonkar hasn't written a lot of novels but I look forward to reading the next one.
June 16, 2023
This book is an interesting portrait of the demise of the princely states. It was first published in the sixties, but has recieved a new lease of life because of a renewed interest in the works of Malgonkar.
The novel is set in a fictional kingdom, Begwad. Its ruler is struggling with the tidal waves of change sweeping through India in the nineteen thirties and forties. It is the young prince of Begwad who is the narrator and protagonist.
There is no dull moment in this novel. The writing is crisp and the plot moves reasonably fast. No wonder Dev Anand considered turning this one into a movie.
This well crafted novel would tell you why Malgonkar deserves a prominent place in any list of good Indian writers.
The novel is set in a fictional kingdom, Begwad. Its ruler is struggling with the tidal waves of change sweeping through India in the nineteen thirties and forties. It is the young prince of Begwad who is the narrator and protagonist.
There is no dull moment in this novel. The writing is crisp and the plot moves reasonably fast. No wonder Dev Anand considered turning this one into a movie.
This well crafted novel would tell you why Malgonkar deserves a prominent place in any list of good Indian writers.
October 5, 2020
A good book
October 20, 2011
Great book. I loved the intricacies of the plot and the character of the father.
January 14, 2013
"The Princes" was perhaps Manohar Malgonkar's best book. The characters were so well sketched that I remember them so distinctly decades after I first read the book.
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