Kohinoor - The story of the World's Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand

Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An intriguing story of what could be said to be the world's most enigmatic diamond.

The book starts with what could be possibly references to Kohinoor from the early 12th and 13th centuries. During this era it is not clear if the diamond referred to was Kohinoor or some other one.

Most likely from the time of Babur the diamond referred to is the Kohinoor.

The diamond has moved from India to Persia, back to India then to England. The violence always accompanies the transfer of diamond from one hand to another. Practically every owner has lost something precious. Only the duration for which they hold the diamond varies.

The British use skulduggery to take possession of it from a young Duleep Singh the grandson of Ranjit Singh, one of the bravest Sikh and Dalhousie gives it as a present to the Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria is not protected from the black karma that the diamond seems to carry along with it. Prince Albert, her consort dies young leaving a brooding Victoria.

From then on the diamond graces the various crowns or bracelets worn by the British Queen and it looks like it has lost its black karma soon after it was cut into half by Prince Albert to give it the sparkle that it carries today. It has not done as much damage after the cutting.

An interesting history to read.

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Raya: Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara by Srinivas Reddy

RAYA : Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara by Srinivas Reddy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very nice historical piece about the Vijayanagara Empire.

The book starts with the possible scenarios under which Krishnadevaraya might have come to the throne of the empire. There doesn’t seem to be enough clarity on this front, only possibilities.

It then goes on to describe the conquests of Krishnadevaraya main ones being the capture of Udayagiri, Kondapalli, Kondavidu and finally Cuttack.

It highlights the fact that although he has been hailed as an Hindu king most of his battles have been against the Hindu kings. His fights with the Sulanates of Bijapur and Golconda have been minimal and these have been towards the end of his reign.

Krishnadevaraya apparently had no royal background. He was not even a Kshatriya and to think that he became a king in an era when caste mattered a lot speaks loudly about his capability. He was not just a brave king who built an empire, but he was also a literate and intelligent king who not only encouraged arts, but also engaged in them. His Amukatamalyada a poem in Telugu about the Tamil saint Andal is considered to be literary masterpiece. He was also a very devoted person who donated generously to the temples as was the wont in that era. He apparently write the Amukatamalya apparently because God, Andhra Vishnu as he is called, came to him in his dream and asked him to compose it.

Krishnadevaraya himself was a Tulu and he seemed to be well versed in Kannada, Telugu, Sanskrit and possible Tamil too.

Throughout his reign he had been ably assisted by this minister Timmarasu whom he almost considered to be his father. Timmarasu seems to have played a big role in the success of Krishnadevaraya. He assisted the king on all fronts including war, arts and justice.

There is only a passing mention of the famous brainy jester Tenali Rama.

He seemed to have maintained a good composure through his reign and has been compassionate towards the kings that he has conquered and had been considerate towards the citizens of the empires he conquered. Towards the end of his reign he seems to have grown arrogant and the destruction of the Vijayanagara empire has been attributed to his arrogance. During this phase he also suspected Timmarasu and blinded him and later towards the end of his life regretted his actions.

A very nice book providing an unbiased perspective of one of the greatest kingdoms of the South India. Worth reading.

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Punjab by Rajmohan Gandhi

Punjab by Rajmohan Gandhi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A lengthy prosy book about the history of Punjab. Will appeal to those reading from an academic perspective.

The book starts from an era just before the Mughals and continues to the present day.

If you are interested in knowing about the history of Punjab and don't mind ploughing through verbose deary prose do read the book. If you are looking for a crisp version, don't read this one.

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The Princess in Black by Upendra Dharmadhikari

The Princess in Black! by Upendra Dharmadhikari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fiction based on the a fictional diamond that is said to have existed with Kohinoor. There is a Pakistani ISI agent who is trying to locate this diamond based on clues available in history. The Indian Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) agents recruit a historian teaching in a university to help them stay ahead of the Pakistani ISI agent.

They are joined by a girl who is studying architecture and is on a tour from an UK university.

All this while Pakistan is trying to create chaos in India by bursting bombs which keep the DIA agents on their toes. To add to their woes an ex-President of US is expected to visit the Taj with his family.

A decent book. Don't expect a very fast paced thriller and you will not be disappointed.

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