Book Review : Private India.

Private India is a joint work of two eminent novelists,Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson.Ashwin Sanghi has penned bestsellers ...namely...the Rozabel Line,Chanakya's Chant & The Krishna Key.I have read The Krishna Key & it was really good.James Patterson is famous for  books like the internationally selling Private series,Women's Murder Club,Detective Michael Bennett novels among so many !

This novel "Private India " is an edge of the seat thriller.The cover shows the Gateway of India,The Taj Hotel & the Worli Bandra sea link.There is a man the run towards the Worli sea link .The publishers are Arrow Books.The print is easy on the eye.Paper is off white colour.The book is of 470 pages & yet it can be completed fast, as chapters are short & that eggs the reader to read a little more each time.The book starts with a Prologue which describes the bombs which stunned Mumbai when they blasted in local trains in 2006.Next is Part I, which has 37 chapters.This is followed by Part II of 40 chapters .Then the finale unfolds in Part III consisting of 29 chapters.This is followed by Epilogue .After the Epilogue ,there is  an extract about how it all started.That left me wanting more !

This mystery is set  in Mumbai .Santosh Wagh is head of Private India ,an excellent investigative agency.A doctor is found murdered in a starred hotel room.She is from Thailand. She has been gagged with a bright yellow scarf.Next murder is of a journalist .There is  that yellow scarf again on the crime scene. Is there any connection & if so what is it ? Or maybe, someone is trying tricks .Then the bodies start piling up.All victims are women.Is it serial killing ? Santosh is unable to decipher anything.Then his hacker goes missing.He is arrested & tortured.Is he the murderer ? Santosh,s,ex collegaue, from the police  keeps blowing hot & cold .Santosh & his team have an office with state of art technolgy.And yet,their investigation is ending up nowhere.There is one guru, who has his hands or rather fingers in numerous shady deals.There is  a don, who has been able to evade the law so very often.There is a terrorist threat looming over the maximum city.Are the murders & the terror threat connected ? In the midst of all this,Santosh Wagh's boss arrives in India. Santosh is unaware about his boss's mission.What is it ? His boss's Indian girlfriend is one of the victims.The police obviously suspect the boyfriend. Santosh is sure, that the police are wrong.Yet ,why is his boss being secretive ?Why only women are being murdered ?Is the perpetrator trying to tell something through the clues that are left near the victims.The victims seem unconnected.Or is there any link ? Santosh is bogged down by the murders.Will he & his team be able to outwit the killer & prevent more bloodshed ? And what happens to the terror attack ?

The thriller keeps us engaged in the narration.Santosh is  addicted to the bottle & his ex colleague to tobacco.Do they give it up, for good ? This story is about the stress ,the guilt of working long hours in the law & order department in Mumbai.The city draws out the maximum stress amongst  the residents.That leads to addictions which take a toll, on the health.Santosh Wagh come  across as a workaholic ,a typical urban trait which leads to guilt of neglecting family which in turn, breaks many marriages.

All in all ,a book, which is a sure winner !

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Book review : The Krishna Key

The Krishna Key is a thriller  by Ashwin Sanghi who has authored the bestselling Rozabel Line as also the award winning Chanakya's chant.It is of 475 pages.It is by Westland books.It has many black & white illustrations in keeping with the character of the book.


The tale is about a boy, who is indoctrinated from his school age to believe, that he is the Kalki avatar & hence, must eliminate all who are up to mischief.This is done by a mother figure, who in turn has been manipulated by a don.It is also the story of five friends who are working on various quests in India.There are other characters like the lady Inspector Radhika -sniffer Singh , Priya who is the doctoral student of a Professor,Rathore,Radhika's assistant,Garg-Radhika's boss ,Sir Khan,etal.Basically ,it is the story of India from times immemorial ! Bodies start falling from the very start  & the tale has many surprises as also shocks  to keep one engrossed.

The author has done lots of painstaking research to come up with this tale, which combines geography,history,numerology,astrology,linguistics, genetics,nuclear science,etal.This book dwells on the mythical Saraswati river which once flowed in present day Rajasthan.It also connects the dots amongst the various Harappan civilization sites,the migration of Indians from there & how Indians have remained custodians of their culture & legacy.It spins an interesting view about how Shiv & Vish are one & the  same, apart from  a rearrangement of   letters.It makes one  wonder, if Kailash parbat is  man made or natural. It surprises, by informing that Indians knew many things about nuclear energy ,radiation & means to protect against radiation.In short,Vedas have much to reveal about what the West is discovering in science & technology today !

It dwells heavily on Krishna's account of the Mahabharata- in fact, this  runs simultaneously along with the thriller & makes the book all the more readable.The Dwarka ruins,the Somnath,temple  & its architecture & sculpture speak  volumes, if only we could stop & decipher.The past & present are  juxtaposed brilliantly to give us a mystery.The Mughals,the Rajputs,theYadavas, the Kshatriyas et al are all brought together to show how all are connected with each other & with India's ancient wisdom which was so rich ! It continues to guide us today.Ashwin Sanghi seems to be  been inspired by Dan Brown of The Da Vinci code fame in penning this novel.


The Sanskrit shlokas & the black & white illustrations are  added attractions of the book.They are a necessity & make the book worthwhile.


The story made me so proud of my cultural heritage as an Indian.At times,the facts get so overwhelming that one seems to be gasping for breath ! Were our forefathers so intelligent ? Then, why have we remained  so backward today ? We seem to be content,   living on our past glories.We must reclaim our glory seems to be the author's message for his readers.For, as he reminds  us ,more than once ," ....the philosopher is more important than the stone ."

There was a dearth of Indians writing thrillers .For this  reason also ,  I would recommend this book.

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