I had read ‘Krishnavatar’ by K.M. Munshi long back, had fun reading those books. It was one of the first mythological fiction series in India, published way back in 1962, much before the Meluhas of the world. I always wanted to read his historical fiction ‘Patan’ trilogy, but could never get around it. Recently, I chanced upon the English translation of ‘Patan-ni Prabhuta’ – ‘The Glory of Patan’ (first of the three) and decided to have a go at it. Though I wanted to read it in Gujarati, I realized my reading speed in Gujarati has dropped since school and this was the next best thing.
Good thing I picked it up, because it was an engrossing weekend read. Set against the backdrop of Ghori attacking Somnath, in the reign of Chaulukyas – when the erstwhile king Karnadev dies, and Jaydev (future Siddharaj Jaysinh) is too young to take the throne – ministers and mother alike – plot against each other to take power. The book is like an elaborate chess piece, where every character has an ulterior agenda and they act upon it (duh!), where small petty skirmishes and insults snowball into a giant escalation teetering on regime change. It’s pretty difficult to guess what would happen next even though you have a fair idea on how the history pans out, and that makes it a thrilling joyride.
I realized one thing, while reading the book – that Gujarat was not one, big unified place. I always knew it at the back of my head, but to read about the infighting of the different mandaleshwars (fiefdoms) within Gujarat for dominance was quite interesting. Karnavati (or now Ahmedabad) was depicted as a recently created, upstart city that was fighting for prominence while Kutch was making inroads into Chaulukya’s territory. All that was to change when Siddharaj Jaysinh came to power and that’s the larger point of K.M. Munshi’s book as well – the ‘Asmita’ (Pride) of Gujarat, that there was a concept of a unified Gujarat under the reign of Jaysinh when he brought together different parts of the western India under one rule. K.M. Munshi wanted to infuse Gujaratis with this ‘Idea of Gujarat’ that they can all be proud of. There is an idealistic flavor to the book where cousins don’t covet the throne and ministers are driven by a larger purpose of uniting a people – that ‘asmita’ is clearly visible.
He also tries to achieve that by otherizing Malwa (in Madhya Pradesh) – which is treated as the enemy/alien/different against whom the public of Patan can be rallied (a lesser crime as neighbors do tend to be bitter towards each other, and this might have a grain of truth to it) and Jains, who are treated as religious ideologues keen on expansion similar to Muslim rulers (a larger crime). While only a little bit of ‘Asmita’ might have rubbed off on me, this book definitely made me wonder that India’s diversity is truly rich as not only the culture of different states is diverse but within states also – there is remarkable diversity from one region to other.
I also noticed similarities between this book and Kalki’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ (Volume 1). Both tell the story of different reigns – Chaulukyas & Cholas and the turmoil observed in the respective kingdoms when their kings are ill and bed-ridden (Karnadev in ‘Patan-ni Prabhuta’ & Sundara Chola in ‘Ponniyin Selvan’), and the resulting struggle till more popular kings take the throne (Siddharaj Jaysinh in Patan & Raja Raja Chola in Thanjavur). Both also have a central female character who is depicted as wicked and ambitious (‘Minal Devi’ in ‘Patan-ni Prabhuta’ & Nandini in ‘Ponniyin Selvan’). While Nandini is a fictional character, Minal Devi was the regent queen and mother of Siddharaj Jaysinh, who was known for her benevolent nature (she was pivotal in abolishing the pilgrimage tax to Somnath). Both the books type-casted female ambition as wrong and maleficent, and used them as primary plot points against whom all the righteous characters bristle and spew. Maybe an interesting plot device in earlier times, but definitely not today. In terms of plot structure & writing, I found ‘Patan-ni Prabhuta’ to be a better book.
I like books that make me ponder. This one definitely did.
Alienman 