Raj

Rating:
Summary: British India and Royal India Under The Raj - Excellent!!
Review: Author Gita Mehta demonstrates her extraordinary grasp of the historical, political and cultural complexities of India, British and royal, under the Raj. She writes with realistic detail and subtlety about the period from Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee to the violent and bloody civil wars for independence. Ms Mehta brings her characters, both fictional and real, to life. She gives the reader a firsthand view of a maharajah's royal zenana, (harem), where women in purdah are guarded by corrupt eunuchs and she takes us to the battlefields of WWI along with Indian Calvary warriors. We witness Mahatma Gandhi march to the sea, with hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, to break British laws against making salt. And we witness, most vividly, India's struggle for independence and partition - from nationalist, royalist and British points of view. Gita Mehta brilliantly translates the cultural nuances and vividly sets her scenes of pageantry and poverty.

At the center of this epic novel is Jaya Singh, the only daughter of the Maharajah and Maharani of Balmer. She was raised in the thousand year-old tradition of purdah by her mother and was educated exactly like her royal brother, (Balmer's heir), according to her father's decision. She learned to play polo, hunt tiger and wild boar, and how to govern and lead. Jaya marries the jaded, westernized Maharajah of Sipur and finds herself in a history-making position.

I have always been fascinated by India, especially during the period of the British Raj. Usually, however, the focus of the books I have read has been on the Indian nationalist movements and those who supported and led them. This well researched novel also delves into the lives and politics of princely India. An engrossing read with a fresh perspective - I really enjoyed it.
JANA

Rating:
Summary: A mediocre novel but still worth reading
Review: The Maharajahs of India have beenrelegated to a minor footnote in bothhistory and literature. This bestseller attempts to remedy that by telling the story of Jaya Devi, the daughter of the Maharajah of one kingdom who marries the Prince of another. Beautifully descriptive and evocative, the book is nevertheless rather disappointing as it never really gets off the ground. All the characters but Jaya appear flat and one-dimensional and, even more frustrating, Jaya herself never really grows up. We are left with an apology for India's imperial past, one that is lovingly and touchingly told but one that fails to seriously explore the issues. And when time rolls on and the tumult of Indian partition erupts, Jaya and her story fade far into the background. Mehta's narrative stutters through a cursory listing of events with little emotional impact. This Gone with the Wind of India's princely kingdoms could have done with a good editor. I encourage all those interested in India's past to read it, I just decry the lack of better alternatives.

Rating:
Summary: India and a Princess in Evolution
Review: This novel reads as a chronicle, not only of Princess Jaya's life, but also of an India in transformation from the late 1800s up through the early years following Independence in 1947.

I enjoyed reading this book and found Princess Jaya to be a remarkable woman. She weathers a lot of trying experiences and shows herself to be resilient.

The only fault I found with the novel, however, was in the sequencing of historical events. For instance, some of what the author stated about the placing of some events during the First World War were not accurate. When I read a historical novel, I get a better appreciation for the novel when the historical events it describes are true and placed in the proper sequences. Perhaps for some other readers, that matters little. But for me, that took away from me giving this novel 5 stars.