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Chanakya’s Chant
by Ashwin Sanghi
Description:
The year is 340 BC. A hunted, haunted Brahmin youth vows revenge for the gruesome murder of his beloved father. Cold, calculating, cruel and armed with a complete absence of accepted morals, he becomes the most powerful political strategist in Bharat and succeeds in uniting a ragged country against the invasion of the army of that demigod, Alexander the Great. Pitting the weak edges of both forces against each other, he pulls off a wicked and astonishing victory and succeeds in installing Chandragupta on the throne of the mighty Mauryan empire.
History knows him as the brilliant strategist Chanakya. Satisfiedand a little boredby his success as a kingmaker, through the simple summoning of his gifted mind, he recedes into the shadows to write his Arthashastra, the science of wealth’. But history, which exults in repeating itself, revives Chanakya two and a half millennia later, in the avatar of Gangasagar Mishra, a Brahmin teacher in smalltown India who becomes puppeteer to a host of ambitious individualsincluding a certain slumchild who grows up into a beautiful and powerful woman.
Modern India happens to be just as riven as ancient Bharat by class hatred, corruption and divisive politics and this landscape is Gangasagar’s feasting ground. Can this wily panditwho preys on greed, venality and sexual deviancebring about another miracle of a united India? Will Chanakya’s chant work again? Ashwin Sanghi, the bestselling author of The Rozabal Line, brings you yet another historical spinechiller.
About The Author
Ashwin Sanghi (born 25 January 1969) is an Indian writer in the fiction-Thriller genre. He is the author of three best-selling novels: The Rozabal Line, Chanakya’s Chant and The Krishna Key. All his books have been based on historical, theological and mythological themes. He is one of India’s best-selling conspiracy fiction writers and is an author of the new era of retelling Indian history or mythology in a contemporary context. Forbes India has included him in their Celebrity 100 list. His latest novel, The Sialkot Saga was released in April 2016.Sanghi completed his schooling from the Cathedral & John Connon School, graduated with a BA (Economics) from St. Xavier’s College and earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He joined his family’s business in 1993. He wrote his first novel in 2006 and thereafter continued to pursue dual careers, as a businessman as well as writer. He is part of the overall trend of young professionals and businessmen turning to writing as a parallel career. In 2013, Sanghi and James Patterson announced that they would be co-writing an India-based thriller called “Private India” within Patterson’s “Private” series. The book was released in July 2014.
Skryf Review
Chanakya’s Chant is very well written by Ashwin Sanghi. The protagonist of this novel is Chanakya, very well known politician from our history book, who wants to take revenge for the gruesome murder of his beloved father. Cold, calculating, cruel and armed with complete absence of accepted morals, he becomes the most powerful political strategist in Bharat and succeeds in uniting a ragged country against the invasion of the army of the demigod, Alexander the great. Another is the modern day Chanakya know as Gangasagar Mishra, a Brahmin teacher in a small town of India who becomes a puppeteer to a host of ambitious individuals – including a certain slum child who grows up to be a beautiful and a powerful woman.The narration switches back and forth between the two different eras, ending every arc of each story at a point which just heightens the suspense. And one is compelled to read on to find out what happens next.The story is one of wit, conceit, deceit, treachery, jealousy and all the other verbs you can think of regarding Indian Politics. Sanghi takes a theme from Chanakya’s Principles, describes it in an ancient setting and then applies it to a modern political theme.