I read The
Krishna Key recently. I was impressed by the rave reviews on multiple sites and
zabardast promotion. I was a little skeptical at first (having read the
Chankaya’s Chant – an okey doeky book) but the summary was interesting enough to
encourage a buy. I received the book from flipkart.com with their usual swiftness.
(kudos to flipkart!)
The book is
about a professor at St. Stephens College who is unwittingly pulled into
finding the truth about the Krishna Key ---as his best friend has been killed. Aided
and abetted along the way by his student and hounded by the Kalki avatar out to
kill him. Of course, our Indian police detectives are not far behind. The story
takes him across the country from Kailash to Kanya Kumari, unearthing various
clues and murders along the way.
However, time
and again your attention is shifted from Prof. Saini’s latest predicament
to a historical monologue that the author insists upon. Mr. Sanghi wants to
be sure that this is one history lesson that we do not manage to skip.
Having been
a history student myself….. just across the road from St. Stephens at Hindu
College, sometimes I felt that I was in the middle of a gripping history
lecture though the content is a little out of the course.
But once you
accept that .....Yes,....... the Krishna key has lot of historical facts --- monologue
style,.......... the book is a good mix of mythological, historical and fiction.
The book is
certainly very readable, once I picked it up………. “I had to read it through”. I needed to go through the journey with
Ravi Saini and find the culprit with him. And the surprises that were there in
the book were really surprises for me. Of course it is not the next, “The Da Vinci Code” or even “Angels & Demons” though there are similarities between Ravi Saini our hero and Robert Langdon …… (our author is certainly a fan).
But, for a
quick read it is good. It is important to approach it simply without expecting
to come out of it enriched or something. Yes, it certainly wouldn’t feature on
your favorites list for years to come , but it will certainly pass the time,
make a afternoon enjoyable. And may also make you Google: Somnath temple as I did.
