The Brahmin is a historical thriller set in the time of Ashoka — when we encounter him here he’s not quite Great as yet, but getting there fast. For now he’s the mighty and feared king of Magadha out to gobble up his much smaller neighbour. But as war with Kalinga looms, a couple of murders in the palace rattle both the king and his men.
To be honest, the reader is not particularly invested in the dead. These are early days, or rather, pages, and we don’t know or care about the victims. What the killings do, however, is introduce the hero, the mysterious Brahmin. He’s Ashoka’s spymaster, his most trusted lieutenant. Move over James Bond.
The palace is teeming with intrigue; in the mix are spies of varying hues, high-ranking schemers and backstabbers, assorted royalty, and an assassin — too many characters for you to wrap your head around; there are more plots and subplots than anyone can afford to build on. As I muddled through the first quarter, I wondered if the writer could gather it all together and pull it off.
He actually does.
The Brahmin is a pretty gripping read and after that first scene-setting hurdle, it takes off at a gallop. It moves swiftly from one city to another, and once things start happening they don’t seem to stop. I found the conclusion a bit knotty, but needless to say, many disasters are averted.
A note about the setting. The writer admits he took some liberties and it’s there for you to see. This is Sanjay Leela Bhansali universe. Everything’s very five-star and posh; mangoes, guavas and pomegranates grow in the same season; gardens, pillars, posts, walls are all perfumed; descriptions of food will make you want to reach for a food delivery app on your phone. The men are buff, dude-ish and deadly except when they are villains, and the women slim, svelte and always beautiful. Like, seriously, can I go live there please?
The writer is the author of Jobless Clueless Reckless, a novel about teenagers.
The Brahmin; Ravi Shankar Etteth, Westland, ₹350
