Book Review - Chanakya’s Chant

You are an exceptional young man. You are extremely analytical. You work in the most unorthodox manner and morally unacceptable to the ways of world. You are a strategist. And Your father is killed by the king of Magadh.

This is a story of a man who was destined to go down the history as a Master Strategist. Chanakya. So exceptional was this man, that he has managed to leave his foot prints in our lives in some way or the other. Be it strategic discussions in board rooms of companies or the army fighting in a battle field. Even a simple game of chess is converted into set of complex game plans by following his thoughts.

The Story:

This is one of those story told in the most amazing manner, slick and fast paced.

But don't get confused about this book being just an piece of history narrated yet again. The author masterfully manages to weave a beautiful story around it. To give you a glimpse, there are two parallel stories running simultaneously. There is one around Chanakya, revolves around the period of 340 BC. And then we have the second story, two and a half thousand years ahead in time, revolving around Pandit Gangasagar Mishra, in whom we distinctly see the glimpses of the master strategist.

Where the author manages to score in his story telling skills is when he starts seamlessly converging between these two stories. The author tactfully takes us through the journey of the lives of both these men in a manner we can see the life of Gangasagar overlapping with the life of his guru, Chanakya. And you are left with carving for more.

At one end we start reading about Chanakya who revenges his fathers death by overthrowing him and getting Chandragupta Maurya  to throne by using his shrewd skills (aptly summed up into Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed) and then we progress into the second tale where Gangasagar is seen using his shrewd skills to throne his daughter as the prime minister of India.

Things to look out for:

The story telling is slick. The pace of the story is fast, compels the reader to think what comes next. Before one realises, we would have reached the climax of the story and are left carving for more.

All in all, this masterpiece from Ashwin Sanghi will highly interest you if you like reading fast paced stories. The juggling between the stories will keep you engrossed till the end. The history angle to it, makes the book an interesting read.

About the author:

An entrepreneur by profession, Ashwin Sanghi writes extensively on history, religion and politics in his spare time, but historical fiction in the thriller genre is his passion and hobby. 

Ashwin Sanghi holds a masters degree from Yale. He is an entrepreneur by profession, but historical fiction in the thriller genre is his passion and hobby. He believes that every writer has a unique DNA and says that his DNA is composed of: history, mythology, theology, suspense, mystery, and conspiracy.

He lives in India with his wife Anushika and son Raghuvir.

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