Books and ME.

My Experience with Death at the Durbar

Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing fine and are reading enough. Nothing fights ignorance the best than reading. I have been sharing some of my experiences with books close to me and it had a satisfying experience after reading the book.

So, continuing with the tradition, this week I would write about the book which is a part of the series. The series is called 'The Maharaja series' and the name of the book is 'Death at the Durbar.' This is the second book in the series written by the famed graphic novelist Mr Arjun Raj Gaind.

'Death at the Durbar' is the latest adventure in the life of Maharaja Sikander Singh as Delhi is getting ready to host its first Durbar in December 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V. This is a special occasion as all the big and small rulers and nawabs have gathered for the event. But the mystery and thrill would be disappointed if there is no excitement during this magnanimous event.

Yes, there is a murder. A murder of a nautch girl in the tent of King George V. But who killed her? This is a perfect setup for the Maharaja to use his wits and solve this case before the Durbar begins. The Viceroy is in no mood to adjust any discrepancies in the event and so the Maharaja must solve the case and that too discreetly.

There are many suspicions to the murder as many royals were in contact with her before her murder. The Maharaja cannot question them all as the question of seniority in terms of the kingdom comes into the picture. So, the Maharaja uses his wits to question many royals with the help of a British officer.

Why is this book special? It is the attention to details and the way a story was spun around a big historical event. The description of the events and the political scene during that time is so apt that while reading it you can see the images floating in front of you. Every part of the book has been described beautifully. The arrogance of royals, the attitude of the British officers and the wits of the Maharaja combines with a mysterious murder which is to be solved before the durbar.

Even the scenes where the Maharaja must interact with the royals of bigger kingdoms have been described with apt accuracy so that none of the royalties would get offended. The beauty of this book is it maintains the level of accuracy on describing the places, events, people and the scenarios just like the first book in the series.

Even if you have not read the first book, you can read this as this is a new story with no link to the previous one. But I would want you to read the first book. I have written about it in the second chapter of this series.

Spinning a murder mystery is not a simple task and when the events take place in an era where most of today's readers were not even born is an onerous task. But the writer takes up the challenge to himself and spins out a perfect story by keeping the history of that era intact. The book gives a delicious slice of life during that time. It also shows the darkness which prevailed during that time. This book shows the amount of research by the author before even starting to write the story.

The Delhi in 1911 differed greatly from the Delhi we know today. The amount of research went into it is worth reading the book. The best part of the author is being a graphic novelist. He has that vision of describing things in the form of images which would float in front of our eyes. Even though Maharaja Sikander Singh is from a small kingdom in the North but still he has his princely attitude but when he dons his detective hat, he is just a curious person looking to solve the mystery behind the murder.

The writer has to spin a fiction tale with the background of an event which had taken place years ago. So, keeping this in mind, Mr Arjun Gaind writes the events of the stories, giving us the picture of the grand durbar. But what if the Maharaja cannot solve the mystery before the arrival of King George V?

At 358 pages, this book is a perfect murder mystery set in the pre-Independence era with the background of an enormous event coming up in Delhi. The writer leaves no stone unturned with this thriller. As you advance slowly, the book mesmerises you in such a manner that you just won't want to put the book down. You would be curious as to know who killed the teenage girl? You would be curious to know how would the Maharaja work this time as he is surrounded by some of the big kings, Nawabs and British officials? You would be curious to know whether King George V gets to know about it or the Maharaja winds up the case before it? There are so many curious moments in this book which would make you turn the page. Mr Arjun Gaind is a master storyteller.

As mentioned, this is the second book in the trilogy series. Just like its predecessor, this book manages to maintain the eminence of the series and leads the way to the final book in this series. It is very difficult to maintain the same excitement for all the books, but the author has it all planned. The first book was extraordinarily unique, and it set a path towards the future adventures of the Maharaja who loved solving mysteries more than ruling his kingdom. The second book maintains the same stature as the Maharaja sets out of his kingdom but his curiosity to solve cases pulls him towards the murder. The connection is very well made and the way it reveals the mystery gives it a perfect ending.

I do not want to reveal any mystery in sharing my experience (trust me; it is very difficult to control it). But I would suggest if you want to share the same or maybe even a different and better experience you need to read both the books. This would make you wait for the third book.

PS- The third book is titled; The Missing Memsahib and it would be available soon.

Until I upload my experience with another book, till then take care, be safe and keep on reading. Cheers.