Maharaja in Denims

Author: Khushwant Singh
Publisher: Amaryllis, New Delhi
(Pp 176, ISBN 978-93-81506-43-1, Rs 250)

The author Khushwant Singh is a writer, columnist (Punjabi by Nature’ in the Hindustan Times) and TV show host. Though, he has previously authored three books: Sikhs Unlimited, Mending Soul, and Turbaned Tornado, this is his first novel – a historical fiction. It is an intriguing narrative of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, commonly known as the Lion of Punjab, through the eyes of a teenager named Hari, who believes he is a reincarnation of the maharaja. When Suzanne, Hari’s girlfriend, attempts to decode Hari’s past life through the practice of regression, she is shocked to discover that Hari has had more than one tumultuous past lives. An emotional drama with shades of politics and the tragic after-effects of the assassination of the former prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, it makes an interesting and intense read!

–Varsha Verma