The Peshwa: The Lion and the Stallion by Ram SivasankaranMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Purely for Indian history and Indophile buffs, this is the story of Peshwa Bajirao in his pre-Mastani days (If you know about the story of Bajirao and Princess Mastani of Bundelkhand). The book charts Bajirao's life from his infancy under the tutelage of his father Balaji Vishwanath to his fatherhood and his first battle against the Mughals under Chhatrapathi Shahu's rule. When I first got this book in a kindle offer, I was expecting this to be another tome on the Bajirao-Mastani affair which had become popular due to the Hindi movie on the same folklore. But it was a refreshing change to read about Bajirao on his early life.
The author has written in a very simple and lucid manner which makes it much more enjoyable. I was transported back to my childhood days when I used to read more of such stuff. It deals mainly with the conflict between the Nizam-ul-Mulk of the Mughal empire and the Marathas, the military and political ramifications, time bound tradition of honour in the armed forces and glory for he brave. The book ends with the introduction of Princess Mastani which more or less would likely result in a sequel later life of Bajirao. I thoroughly enjoyed this break from thrillers.
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