The longest multiple-volume historical novel Shivaji – the Mahasamrat

The life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been portrayed in many books till date. It has been presented in movies, poems and plays. However, many aspects of his personality are still unknown on the pages of history. Many such aspects are being highlighted in the novel Mahasamrat written by Vishwas Patil. This dream project for Vishwas Patil and Mehta Publishing House is entering the bookstores on August 1, 2022.

The volumes…

The first volume of Mahasamratis titled Zanzavat (The Whirlwind) and is remarkable for its strong historical research, lucid language and grand, epic style. The 450-page historical novel is ready for publication. The second volume titled Rankheyndal (Grim Battlefield ) runs into 500 pages and should be ready for publication in a few months. The subsequent volumes will follow soon after.

Different editions…

The original novel in Marathi is being published by Mehta Publishing House, Pune and the Hindi version will be published by Rajkamal Prakashan, Delhi. Master translator Nadeem Khan completed the English version of Volume One.

The honour…

Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao went through Patil’s Marathi novel Panipat in 1991 and got so mesmerized by it that he immediately got the Bharatiya Gyanpeeth to publish it in Hindi. During those days Rao was president of the Bharatiya Gyanpeeth. Sunil Gangopadhy wrote a separate article in praise of Patil and his famous novel Mahanayakin famous Bengali magazine Desh.

Vishwas Patil was given the main Sahitya Akademi award at the age of 32 for his novel Jhadazadati (A Dirge for the Dammed) based on the plight of the people affected by the construction of dams. Recently, the people of Assam honoured Patil with the Indira Goswami National Award by.

Shivaji Maharaj has been a life-long inspiration and subject of study for Patil. The hallmark of Patil’s novels has been the research that precedes their writing. For writing on Shivaji, he has done numerous research tours of Karnataka, Agra, Tamil Nadu and all of Maharashtra, in effect all the places that have influenced or been influenced by the iconic ruler. He has climbed 240 forts himself in the past few years as a part of his research for bringing authenticity into his Shivaji volumes.

The publisher…

Mehta Publishing House has started the pre-booking for the first volume of Mahasamrat. The book costing Rs.575 is available for Rs.425 till August 1. Mehta Publishing House is trying to spread the word in interior Maharashtra for the promotion of the book and are expecting a grand welcome by readers.