Taj

This powerful novel tells the story at two different levels. The first one talks about the love affair of Shah Jahan and Arjumand till her death. The latter narrates the story of the later years of Shah Jahan till his death.  It is an old fashioned and stylish novel, told to perfection. More than a historical romance it brings out the political and social life of the Mughals.  A historical novel written with amazing simplicity, the book also gives a fascinating description of how the immortal monument of love was built. THE STATESMAN.

It is not surprising that nearly two decades after the book first came out, Penguin India has chosen to bring out its edition of Timeri N. Murari’s TAJ. Both are clearly backing a proven winner.  Murari fashions it well, skillfully weaving fact and fiction, steering the narrative back and forth in time…the reader is swept along easily by the inevitability of the historical denouement that must come, and by the classic love story that never ends. OUTLOOK.

People come from all over the world to visit the Taj Mahal and this book proves that India is all that its been made out to be, a land of fable, culture and a rich glorious past.  This is a book portraying India in all her cultural finery, replete with fact and folklore. In this fascinating book Murari has written much more than a historical romance, he has skillfully recreated the period against which the story is set.  Though erotic in parts the book has factually kept to the happenings of that era. As a historian I would definitely recommend this book, especially for someone who is planning to visit the Taj Mahal. DECCAN CHRONICLE.

Timeri N Murari has recreated this evergreen love story of the 17^th century India with the lucidity of a poet. It’s more than a period love story.  Murari deftly weaves this magical tale with the story of Murthi and his wife Sita, both fictional characters who, in the novel, are invited by Shah Jahan to assist in the building of the mausoleum. The grandeur that marked the lives of royalty is juxtaposed against the stark poverty just outside the palace gates.  The parallel story Shah Jahan and Arjumand, Murthi and Sita’s struggle to survive at the mercy of the nobles touches one’s heart. The book reverberates with the message that love is all powerful. THE TRIBUNE.

What Timeri N. Murari has attempted is to give life a life to Arjumand beyond the tomb by which alone she’s remembered. His most thrilling chapters deal with the Mughal army’s chase of Shah Jahan and his family over four years for trying to usurp the throne. His sketch of Mehrunissa’s characters outshines all others.  Along with the palace intrigues Murari also tells the story of Murthi, a Hindu carver of god’s statues, who is sent to Agra by his ruler to help build the Taj Mahal. The author’s strength lies in the way he has tackled several stories in one. HINDUSTAN TIMES.

-Only a masterly historical novelist like Timeri Murari could skate so teasingly near the lip of a volcano. In choosing the love story of Shah Jahan and Arjumand (Mumtaz) and tracing the subtle decline of the Great Mughals after Akbar, the author is able to build a remarkable framework which echoes the triumphant emergence of the Taj Mahal. The structure of this novel is as fascinating as the building it describes. Bill Aitken, SUNDAY OBSERVER

–A sense of impending tragedy prevails throughout the novel, foreshadowing the destruction of brothers pitted against brothers in bloody pursuit of the Peacock Throne. One can read into the symbolic undertones, and find this a complex and disturbing novel. Asia  Magazine.

-Much  that is banal has been written about a passion that became woven into history, but in TAJ, Murari avoids the temptation for tears; instead he has written a book of powerful simplicity, and at the same time evokes those far off days when a great man buried his heart in a mausoleum.  Gloucestershire ECHO.

-The writer does convey successfully au aura of 17^th century India by having an eye and ear for detail. We learn of the incredible wealth and sumptuousness of the Mughal court we learn of the intrigues within families where Tamerlane’s law forbidding the killing of next of kin breaks down as brother plots against brother. BBC RADIO.

-Putting historical source to good use, Murari has fashioned a stylish novel that brings to life the politics and intrigues of Mughal court life. OUTLOOK.