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Book Review – The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi
The Krishna Key
Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Publisher: Westland
ISBN: 978-93-81626-68-9
Cover Price: Rs. 250/-
Pp: 470 pages
Genre: Fiction Thriller
About the Author, Ashwin Sanghi
This is the third book by Ashwin Sanghi, the author who published his first book, “The Rozabal Line” under the pseudonym of ‘Shawn Haigins’, (incidentally an anagram of his name) and his second book under his own name, “Chanakya’s Chant” being a political fiction thriller based on the historical figure drawing parallels in his inimitable style that has become his hallmark in Indian literature. I have read and reviewed his second book. My Book Review of "Chanakya’s Chant" can be read here.
About the Book
“The Krishna Key” is a racy fictional account of a group of Indian academic scholars into varied fields such as history, archaeology, atomic research and deep sea exploration, who get associated into an alliance on account of a plan envisaged by, Anil Varshney, the one who apparently knew it all and wished to safeguard a secret uncovered by his explorative efforts from the clutches of vested interests. But in this world in pursuit of quick riches and rare artefacts, Anil Varshneya is found dead – bled to death due to a stab wound in his left foot caused by a surgical scalpel. The killer cares enough to leave behind a Sanskrit Shloka painted with the blood of the deceased and a mark stamped on his forehead – what would be a signature style for a series of killings of his trusted associates.
Ravi Mohan Saini finds himself in all these places leaving his biological imprints like fingerprints and stuff at the scene of the crime and becomes a prime suspect in the eyes of the police. Ravi now dodges the police, apparently with the help of his doctoral student, Priya and her father’s connections in the legal and police establishments only to walk into another scene of crime! What are these killers seeking and what do the mysterious seals given by Anil Varshney to each of his four friends lead to? Ravi has to his aid several clues in the form of shlokas and messages - all encoded by weird word play by the first-killed victim Anil which he now attempts to crack. But each of the clues point to several possibilities!
Several conversations amongst the characters, about the possibilities of the secret key proving the existence of nuclear weapons in times of Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the enactment of the Mahabharata enthrall the reader all along. The mysterious and magnificent Kailash – whether manmade or just a natural wonder, the existence of Dwarka, the city built by Krishna off the coast of Gujarat being proved by archaeological explorations all play a part in the intriguing mystery at hand. The plot is quite complex with smugglers and crooked police officials pitching in the search for something that could potentially mean riches to be made!
But does the trail really lead to the riches as the money-obsessed world today knows it? Or do the clues lead to a better understanding of values and the philosophies as preached by Krishna when he narrated the Bhagwad Gita to Arjuna? Do read this book to enjoy the mysteries, the potential possibilities as they present themselves and take the reader through monumental and historical exploration into the stories of the past. Stories that seem so real as one reads them. One ends up wondering which part of the book is really the fiction and which the fact? Incidentally, Krishna tells the story of his life on earth in a parallel tale running 108 chapters as the modern tale of pursuit of the ‘secret’ behind The Krishna Key unfolds before the reader.
The author has woven an intricately complex story into an un-put-down-able thriller that binds the reader unto the end. The narrative has been enriched with symbolisms, imagery and references from ancient Vedas, historical texts of other religions and cultures across the globe, research findings of experts - all in an effort to analyze the possibilities before narrowing down on the probable answers. The various sources of the material researched and referred to in the book has been duly acknowledged in a listing provided at the end of the book. Ashwin Sanghvi, with this book proves to be a worthy contender to be considered as the Indian equivalent of Dan Brown!
All in all, “The Krishna Key” is a must read – and certainly the best by this author so far!
Rating 5/5
Blogger’s Post-Script: The book was provided free by Blogadda under its Book Review Program seeking this review post. This blogger is pleased at the new crop of books based on Indian Mythology written in a “sugar-coated” modern form of story telling by authors such as Ashwin Sanghi, Amish Tripathi and Devdutt Pattanaik and hopes that the trend is here , not just to stay, but to build into a crescendo!
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!
