>Jonesey95 at 16:10, 15 March 2021

2021-03-15T16:10:26Z

New page

{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{infobox book | 
| name = Chanakya's Chant
| title_orig = chanakya's chant
| translator =mukharjee
∘⊃
| image = Chanakya's Chant.jpg
| caption = First edition cover
| author = [[Ashwin Sanghi]]
| cover_artist =
| country = [[India]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| series =
| genre = [[Novel]]
| publisher = [[Westland Ltd.]]
| release_date = 2010
| media_type = Print [[Paperback]]
| pages = 448 pp (first edition, paperback)
| isbn = 978-93-8065-867-4
| isbn_note = (first edition, paperback)
| dewey=
| congress=
| oclc=
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}

'''''Chanakya's Chant''''' (2010) is a [[novel]] written by Indian author [[Ashwin Sanghi]]. It was written two years after his first novel ''[[The Rozabal Line]]'' (2008) was released in India. ''Chanakya's Chant'' was released on 26 January 2011 and entered all major Indian national bestseller lists within two months.<ref>[http://www.topnews.in/law/mj-akbar-hm-naqvi-top-selling-authors-week-252575 IANS, New Delhi, 24 February 2011]</ref> It reached #1 on India-Today's bestseller list on 4 April 2011.<ref>[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H-yWdWa-bpA/TY7Wq1Y8j6I/AAAAAAAACXM/Gl1XGTk4fFo/s1600/TOP%2B10.jpg India Today, 4 April 2011]</ref> On 19 June 2011, [[UTV Software Communications]] announced that it had acquired the movie rights.<ref>[http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_chanakya-from-novels-to-big-screen_1556699 DNA, 19 June 2011]</ref>

==Plot summary==
The year is 340 [[Before Christ|B.C]]. A hunted, haunted Brahmin youth vows revenge for the gruesome murder of his beloved father by the Emperor of Magadh, Dhana Nanda. Cold, calculating, cruel and armed with complete absence of accepted morals, he becomes the most powerful political strategist in Bharat and succeeds in uniting a ragged and broken country against the invasion of barbaric army of the Greek demigod, [[Alexander the Great]]. Pitting the weak edges of both forces against each other, he pulls off a wicked and astonishing victory and succeeds in installing his disciple [[Chandragupta Maurya]] on the throne of the mighty [[Mauryan empire]]. History knows him as the brilliant strategist [[Chanakya]]. Satisfied - and a little bored - by his success as a kingmaker through the simple summoning of his gifted mind, he recedes into the shadows to write ''[[Arthashastra]]'', the science of wealth and tactics.

But history, which exults in repeating itself, revives Chanakya two and a half millennia later, due to a curse put on him by his childhood playmate and crush Suvasini, who was a part of his grand plans. Chanakya takes birth again in the form of Pandit Gangasagar Mishra, a poor Brahmin teacher in a small town of India who becomes a puppeteer to a host of ambitious yet foolish individuals - including a certain slum child-Chandini Gupta, who grows up to be a beautiful, intelligent and a powerful woman. Modern India happens to be just as riven and divided as ancient Bharat by casteist and communal hatred, corruption and divisive politics and this happens to be Gangasagar's feasting ground. Can this wily [[pandit]], who preys on greed, venality and lust, bring about another miracle of a united India? Will the Chanakya Chant work again?

==Literary significance & criticism==
[[File:Ashwin Sanghi-8.jpg|thumb|right|150x150px|Ashwin Sanghi]]
The book has been well received by critics.<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/booksreviews/Above-High-Command/Article1-655844.aspx Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 28 January 2011]</ref> [[Shashi Tharoor]], who released the book in Mumbai, called it "a delightfully interesting and gripping read". According to Tharoor, works of authors like Ashwin Sanghi were the culmination of the process started by [[Salman Rushdie]]’s ''[[Midnight's Children]]'' in which a specifically Indian voice was used to narrate the story, almost as though the author were writing exclusively for Indian audiences.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lSWuHOlBlg Video recording of speech by Shashi Tharoor regarding Chanakya's Chant]</ref> Even though the book is a historical tale, it has been called a contemporary novel that uses colloquial terms.<ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Turn-the-page/766381/ Indian Express, Mumbai, 24 March 2011]</ref>

In an interview with [[Flipkart]], the author clarified that his intention was to write a fast-paced thriller that would entertain more than educate.<ref>[http://blog.flipkart.com/interview-ashwin-sanghi-the-rozabal-line-chanakyas-chant-fiction-that-sounds-like-fact FlipkartBlog, Bangalore, 9 March 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312165120/http://blog.flipkart.com/interview-ashwin-sanghi-the-rozabal-line-chanakyas-chant-fiction-that-sounds-like-fact |date=12 March 2011 }}</ref> Some literary observers view the author's work as part of a reawakening in India's mythology.<ref>[http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110306/jsp/graphiti/story_13667590.jsp The Telegraph, Kolkata, 6 March 2011]</ref>

A review in the book blog INDIAreads described ''Chanakya's Chant'' as a very compelling read with very real characters, settings and manoeuvres. "It is much akin to reading a blow by blow account of Indian politics today. Of course as Chanakya’s story so aptly shows, it is not very different from Indian politics 2500 years ago either. So really the scams, scandals, corruption, collateral damage, war mongering, innocent deaths, communal riots – all the ills that we accuse the modern day politicians of - are nothing new. Nor is their use for gaining power a particular characteristic of our “depraved” leaders. Power has always come at a price and the price as Chanakya points out is not just one’s emotions but one’s conscience as well. This is the message that flows out of Chanakya’s Chant."<ref>[http://blogs.indiareads.com/views-and-reviews/the-chant-of-power-book-review/ INDIAreads Blog, Delhi, 1 March 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903121557/http://blogs.indiareads.com/views-and-reviews/the-chant-of-power-book-review/ |date=3 September 2011 }}</ref>

Ravi Jain of bookGeeks writes - "If you love History and Contemporary Fiction, then Chanakya’s Chant is ideal for you. The two subjects are poles apart and, to combine them and make the outcome interesting is a mountainous task. But, Ashwin Sanghi makes it look effortless and does a perfect job."<ref>[https://www.bookgeeks.in/chanakyas-chant-ashwin-sanghi-book-review/ Ravi Jain, bookGeeks, 16 April 2013]</ref>

The novel won the 2010 [[Vodafone Crossword Book Award]] (Popular Award).

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
*[[The Rozabal Line]]
*[[The Krishna Key]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ashwinsanghi.com ''Chanakya's Chant'' Official Website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chanakya's Chant}}
[[Category:2010 Indian novels]]
[[Category:Works about the Maurya Empire]]

Chanakya's Chant - Revision history

>Jonesey95 at 16:10, 15 March 2021