2135th BLOG POST
3rd Book of 2025!
There are few
authors whose announcement of a new book brings you the same excitement as Tom
Cruise’s fans who wait for his Mission Impossible series. Ashwin Sanghi, one of
India’s top authors, have created the same fanbase and cult following where
every new book seems like an opportunity to read the same conceptual novel but
with a completely different storyline using the elements of ancient knowledge
and strong Indian culture. I just completed reading one of the thickest books
of my life named “The Ayodhya Alliance” which is Sanghi’s 8th book in
his Bharat Collection. This book has the same flavour as his previous books and
right from the word- GO- you can start feeling nostalgic of all his previous
works read by you.
The Ayodhya
Alliance mixes fact with fiction seamlessly which makes us question what is
real and what has been written using creative liberty. The story navigates from
7000 years ago till the present time. It also makes you travel to different
continents and countries such as India, Korea, Syria, Europe, Damascus,
Switzerland etc. Even within India, it travels to different states and historical
monuments. The way it ties all these places with the concept of Dvaitalingam
which has the power to create harmony as well as massive destruction with its
unique feature of managing the duality of everything under the umbrella is
interesting. Every time the reference of two-fish design enters the story, the
reader in you gets glued to the book.
The blend of history,
mythology and religion is common in such books but the way Ashwin further marinates
it with science, geopolitics, spirituality, anthropology, philosophy,
archaeology and many other such concepts is unbelievable. His hard and smart work
behind researching for this book is evident in every chapter. I was astonished at
times that how could he even think of a concept and then find about it in
subjects which are enough critical for us to understand it properly to blend it
in our fiction story. This is what makes Sanghi a unique author and the reason
why he is compared with popular foreign authors as well.
The book could become
heavy and boring if it would consist all the above concepts that has been covered
by Ashwin in his novel but he knows that he has to keep the readers hooked for
more than 500 pages which makes him narrate his story bringing in the human
emotions at play. The story revolves around friendship, betrayal, love,
romance, childhood issues, jealousy, relationships etc. This makes him create
few important characters who form the crux of this book such as Soju, Mithra,
Suriratna, Bhadraketu, Padmasen, Indumati, Kulasekara etc.
The
characterizations are wonderfully handled considering different personas belong
to different region and language spread over different continents and timeline.
I was completely engrossed in how the characters in different timelines are
fighting for themselves and bigger purpose at the same time. The character of
Aditya and Somi are equally important in the modern context. I just wished if
the modern antagonists were also narrated as dangerous and powerful as Talhae
who is based 2000 years ago.
Ashwin Sanghi’s
respect for Indian culture and religion is evident from the way he narrates the
characters and stories whenever it involves references from Ramayan/Mahabharat
or mentions the names of Gods and Goddesses. Even the book starts with the plot
where Ravan is on his deathbed and Ram sends his younger brother, Lakshman to
learn whatever he can from a knowledgeable being like Ravan.
Talking about the
drawbacks, I must say that the regular shift of story’s timeline with short
chapters makes it difficult for readers to read it in fast pace. It takes an
extra effort to regularly remember the storyline in each timeline and region.
There are few chapters wherein I had created notes to refer later on in the
story but I identified that there wasn’t much fallback to those subplots at all
or didn’t have that impact. Sanghi could have easily shorten the book by 80-100
pages to make it more fast-paced. I was expecting a surprising revelation in
the climax but it isn’t as thrilling as few books of Sanghi such as The Krishna
Key.
Overall, reading
this book has definitely given an unforgettable experience with its vast
research and beautiful characterization based around the story distributed in
several timelines. The mixture of multiple concepts blend into a single book keeps
you in awe of both- the creator and the creation. The title of the book- The
Ayodhya Alliance is very strategically handled in the story on how several
countries are involved in safeguarding a concept that keeps them and the world
harmonious. I give this book 4.5* out of 5. Recommended for the readers who
have read similar books before. Beginners might find the story tough to read
due to complex timeline shifts.
Thanks!
WRITING BUDDHA
