Nandshankar Mehta
Trans. By: Tulsi Vatsal, Aban Mukherji
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Pages: 332; Price: Rs 499
In the grip of lust, acting against the norms of Kshatriya dharma, Karan Vaghela, the raja of Gujarat, abducts the beautiful Roopsundari, his prime minister Madhav’s wife. Fuelled by a desire for revenge, Madhav escapes from the capital Anhilpur Patan and makes his way to Delhi, in a journey fraught with dangers and obstacles. On reaching Delhi he persuades Sultan Alauddin Khilji to invade Gujarat. The Sultan’s invasion is successful. Patan fort is destroyed and left in ruins. Karan loses not only his kingdom but also his wife Kaularani and, a few years later, his daughter Devaldevi as well to the Turkish sultan. The humiliating defeat of Karan forever ends Rajput rule in Gujarat, signalling the end of an era and the dawn of a new age. Rich in psychological insight and imbued with a poetic vision, Nandshankar Mehta’s Karan Ghelo tells the spellbinding tale of a man who tragically failed his land and its people.
