Let’s Talk Book ! – Shriman Yogi by Ranjit Desai
Title: Shiman Yogi
Author: Ranjit Desai
Review:
The book is originally written in Marathi language. It is about the first Maratha King, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who established Maratha kingdom. Shriman Yogi is what I call ‘Saga of a brave rebel warrior’. Chhatrpati Shivaji Maharaj was brave, rebel and a warrior. The depicts his whole life story. Book begins with the birth of Shivaji Maharaj at Shivneri Fort in Pune. I am sure many of you might know who Shivaji Maharaj is but if you love history I strongly recommend to read this book. In this review we will basically discuss about ‘why one should read this book?’ without going into too much details and without giving exact quotes.
Biggest plus point about this book is history itself. The sequence of events given are in sync with the historians findings. So, to learn about the history this is a good starter. Next big plus is the writing skills. This book has some of the best dialogues I have ever heard of read. Now, there are no exact records of who said what, here Ranjit Desai has taken the literary freedom. But, the author keeps in the story all the time to the extent that you feel that you are witnessing it with your own eyes. That’s the magic of Ranjit Desai. The book actually gives good sense about the society at that time, people their behavior, governance and administration, their problems.
In history text books of Maharashtra, Shivaji Maharaj is always depicted as a king. But, beyond the kingship, Shivaji Maharaj was a human being. He was a father, a husband, a friend and a son. There points in this book when he was happy, sad, angry. He had anxieties and nervousness just like any other human being. So, this book actually shows his life in whole.
This book is originally written in Marathi language but the translations are available if you can’t read Marathi.