About the Book
This is the story of sluttish play of time
which loves to stay with rich, famous and powerful and deserts the weak and
poor!
A magical, mystical, passionate and sinful
love story which played havoc with history-a story which was buried in the
banks of Krishna River or somewhere amongst the mountainous valley of the Vindhyas in 7th century
A.D.
This tale is intricately woven around Chalukya Parameshwara or
The Black Emperor, Pulkasein II, (610A.D-643A.D.) of WesternChalukya dynasty,
his untamed passion for wars and his unusual desire for the forgotten enigmatic
beauty, Arundhati! The story also traverses the immortal love life of Pulkasein II’s
contemporary, Narsimhavarman I of Pallava dynasty and his
beloved Sivagami. “But you shall shine more bright in these contents than unswept stone besmear'd with
sluttish time.” ~William Shakespeare
About the Author:
Rashmi Singh is a well known
author, avid blogger and a passionate painter. She made her debut with Love’s
Journey in 2011 which earned her rave reviews. The Fallen Love is her second
fiction. She has also written two self help books, Taming the Restless Mind and
Back to School@30. The Untold Story of Arundhati and The Black
Emperor-The Sluttish Time is her next fictional offering and fifth book. Rashmi has
a Master’s degree in Management and runs a Personality Development Training
Centre.
Review:
A highly gripping and addictive piece of
work by Rashmi Singh. The author has showed her mettle yet again with her fifth
book. I had read another piece of work 'The Fallen Love' and since then had
been eagerly waiting for her latest work. When she first told me that she was
working on a historical fiction I was a little unsure if I would love the book
as much as I loved TFL but her writing has certainly left me amazed. I have no
qualms in confessing that historical fiction is a genre that isn't my cup of tea,
whether reading or writing. But when I picked up the book, there was no looking
back. I just couldn't put it down. There is a different charisma in her
writing, somehow she knows the portrayal of sufferings, pain, heartaches so
amazingly well. There are a lot of complex emotions involved in this story and
Mrs. Singh has left no stone unturned in bringing out each of them so
flawlessly.
One thing that I'd like to mention here is the setting of the times where
you've just read about and never been is a little difficult but not even a
point comes when you would expect a loose end. The times of Pulkasein II of the
Chalukyan Dynasty and his cunning ways have been brought into light. You can
conquer land but not love, the curse of true love bites you from within, how
efficiently the story has been written is when you suddenly realize after
finishing off the book that you are in the 21st century. Believe me, I had
dreams of Chalukyan Dynasty for almost a week. A well researched book that
shows you the power of a woman, her strength even after being considered the
weakest of all and to top it all the emotional highs and lows that you find in
the book are simple incomparable. There's so much to learn about history which
we weren't even aware of and mind you, this book has every element of
hypnotism. Yes, it is addictive, it will stay in your mind for a long long time
and would help you introspect within yourself and would make you think of the
times gone by. Talking about the cover, it totally reflects the enchanting history with the painting being made by the author herself.
Through this review, I'd actually ask the readers to give this genre and book a chance. Take a break from the usual romances you read, this book is going to mesmerize you till the end. A complete package and a recommended read.
Through this review, I'd actually ask the readers to give this genre and book a chance. Take a break from the usual romances you read, this book is going to mesmerize you till the end. A complete package and a recommended read.
(The review is posted at Goodreads as well)
