Review of
“The Peshwa” – Ram Sivasankaran
After the movie Bajirao Mastani, we all became
familiar with the story of Bajirao and his personal life with his wives
Kashibai and Mastani. But the movie didn’t quite show the story before that, or
how Rao gained and did justice to the title of Peshwa. This book brings
out the life of Bajirao beginning from before his birth, when his father,
Balaji Vishvanath Bhat was the Peshwa to the Chhatrapati Shahu. This
book is work of fiction based on real events and people. However, the detailing
and the depiction of various characters and events are fantastic. The story
shows the demise the demise of Rao’s father, Balaji, and how he, till his last
breath clears the path for his son to inherit the stature of Peshwa of the
Maratha Confederacy. Amongst other wannabes who want to be the next Peshwa, Rao
proves his mantle and in doing so, his wife Kashibai stood with him in doing
so.
The plot of the book is focused on the first
battle of Rao against the Nizam-ul-mulk, the martial tactics and strategizies devised by the Peshwa during the course of the war. The background story
of the interaction of Nizam with Rao’s father and the following attacks
on him along with the bitterness infused between the Mughals and Marathas lends
the book an interesting curve.
To all those romantics, who might pick up this
book looking for a passionate love story will be in for a surprise when they
found no mention of the legendary Mastani in the whole book save a fleeting
mention in the Epilogue, for it is the story of ‘a Lion and a Stallion’ and not
kindred hearts. I too was a bit taken back, but the retelling of the journey of
a man from being a toddler to a Peshwa was a pleasant eye-opener and
left me with high praises for the author.
Book Courtesy: WritersMelon
