The Relic – journey and story of an Intelligence Bureau officer who dares to risk his life in un-veiling a mystery that revolves around the Royal family of Travancore and his bloodline.
Authors: Ashwin Karthik & Madhava Sharma
Publisher : Maple Press
Pages: 170
Format : Paper back
kindleandkompass rating : 4/5
Vijay, an officer working for the Intelligence Bureau of India is assigned to investigate the mishandling of the funds of the Anatha Padhbanama Swamy Temple at Trivandrum. He prioritizes this project when his step-father is fighting for his life. Vijay travels to Trivandrum, his birth place and to un-fold the truth about miss-handling the temple funds. He encounters a mysterious pot in the secret vault of the temple and that takes him through a tough journey from Trivandrum to Banaras, Kedarnat and to the mystic Himalayas.He is determined to find the importance of the pot and it’s secret that holds the link to his ancestors.Does he succeed ? That’s the rest of the story.
The choice of Anantha Padhbanaba Swamy temple and the recent news around the temple vaults for a work of fiction is brilliant.The first half of the story has its scenes in Trivandrum,while the rest of the story moves around Banaras, Haridwar and the Himalayan mountains.History scholars and professors, aghoris of the Banaras, sages and ascetics become a part of Vijay’s journey and lend a helping hand in his quest for the truth. Myth, mystery and fiction,all blended beautifully.
The book gives a deep insight about the yogic powers,traditions in the Hindu culture and astronomy. The main characters in the book are well developed and they seem to have a purpose in life and are determined about it. There is no female character involved in the story. The story doesn’t demand one and we appreciate the authors for not stuffing one just for the sake of! While the plot moves fast keeping you engaged, the spelling errors and punctuation mistakes are bothering. The book could have gone for another round of proof reading.
The words uttered by an ascetic to Vijay “The purpose of one’s life is to only perform duties and not to expect fruits” comes as a lesson not just to him , but to everyone of us.Kudos to the authors on their debut attempt, which is insightful.
Overall, a short read, nevertheless interesting!
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P.S: This book was sent to us by “The Book Planet PR” for a honest review.
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