A beautiful retelling of the eternal but tragic love story of Baz Bahadur and Roopmati, set in the gorgeous locales of Mandu, peaking with the beauty of the eternal Narmada winding her way through jungles, valleys and mountains, leaving her admirers wanting more and more of her. Add music to this concoction, and you know your mood is set for a melodic romance.
Baz falls in love with her music first. The daily mehfils are the perfect way for that love of music to grow into a passionate longing for Roopmati herself. She is in denial at first. But soon, she falls in love with him, too. And the union is satisfyingly romantic.
Hiba, Baz’s wife, her mother and Adham Khan, a highly influential Mughal general reporting directly to Emperor Akbar, are all working to get rid of Roopmati from Malwa.
Does the plan work? Can Baz keep his kingdom and lover safe from the Mughals? Read the book to know more.
While the main characters are both technically sound, I couldn’t connect with any of them. Baz was too caught up in music and his love to be a good ruler. His struggle between his two roles wasn’t explored enough.
Roopmati was very one-dimensional, having nothing to do except sing and wait for her lover.
Of the other characters, Hiba stood out. I absolutely loved how her character underwent a fabulous change. I cheered for her, smiling my way through the entire process. I got goosebumps when she got it.
Mandu was a character by itself. I was awash with the beauty of the place, and I have put it on my travel bucket list. That Mandu is the primary title of the book is fitting.
The book opens your eyes to the history of the times, and I loved that.
All in all, it’s a good historical fiction that could have been better if the main protagonists had more depth.
Author’s Note:
I won this book for the monthly campaign: ‘Mixed Tape Mood Blog Hop’ hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters blog hop series.
If you are interested, here are a couple more of my book reviews:
I would like to read it too. Marked it for my bucket list. I’ve been to Mandu, done a post on it also and it’s fab in monsoon, so everyone said.
Good book, Ambica. The best part of the book for me was Mandu. Now on my travel list.