Chanakya’s Chant is one of the most successful books written by Ashwin Sanghi, one of India’s bestselling authors in recent years. This novel captures the history of India in a somewhat compelling way, not without factual and abstract inaccuracies, that keeps the readers engaged with the text as well as the context. Ashwin Sanghi’s style of writing is very simple. He creates the plot in his first part, takes the readers into confidence, teaches them the ‘abcd’ of his story and then connects the past with a solid present created with the scenarios and problems of modern society. You cannot find any reasons to not read this novel by him. Many have done. Many more will do. Many leading book review websites and also many top book bloggers in India have covered and reviewed this novel. 

Chanakya’s Chant begins right in the past when Chanakya was living his adversities and also his glories. The novelist tries to connect Chanakya’s life with the readers by creating sympathy for him and making the hero perception around Chanakya. However, the readers who might not know Chanakya (which seems possible in the case of readers being teenagers and youths) will certainly need this connection in order to understand the second half of this novel. The readers who pick up this book just because of Chanakya’s name will find the first phases a little dragging as the novelist has tried to fuse his emotional and fictional imagination with the history. 

In the second part, where the meat of the novel for the modern generation lies, we meet the reincarnation of Chanakya, Pandit Gangasagar Mishra. However, this Gangasagar – who is Chanakya’s rebirth, is not like Chanakya at the beginning of his life. He needs inspiration and spur to move ahead. He takes time to realise what should be the purpose of his life and also finding the right Chandragupta for this modern India. Who becomes Chandragupta of the day? A lady. Does Pandit Gangasagar Mishra become Chanakya? Yes, he becomes. However, what happens in between and how he becomes Chanakya and what he does thereafter should be the points of interest for the readers to find out themselves and thus extracting the piece of joy from the novel by Ashwin Sanghi. 

Commenting on the technical aspects of the novel, I will keep my points limited to the ideas that Ashwin Sanghi has targeted mainly those readers who are not very much aware of the history and they can be lured and moulded to whatever ways the novelist may want. Above that, there are also historical mistakes or deliberate recalculations of timeframe and morphed ideas… these are, for an excuse, the fictional necessities that may be needed to make the novel a novel and not a fictional account of history. 

Is the novel interesting enough to keep the readers indulged? Of course! Ashwin Sanghi’s Chanakya Chant is a masterpiece of modern Indian English literature that evokes Indian history to the best of its use. I am sure that many readers will be impressed by the abundance of glory points in the novel. The way past and the present have been symmetrically posed together for the readers is amazing to find, read and enjoy. The narrative is as exciting as interesting is the novel. You will certainly like the novel – mark my words! You can get a copy of the novel from Amazon India in Kindle format and enjoy the work… Link is below: 

Buy the novel from Amazon India – click here to go to Amazon 

Review by a book blogger for Indian Book Lovers