Book conversations: The Krishna Key

Take Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.  Replace the western characters with Indian ones.  Replace the Christian symbols and mythological anecdotes with Hindu ones.  Replace Robert Langdon with Ravi Mohan Saini, and Silas with Taarak Vakil.  And there you have it.  The Krishna Key.  

I haven't read The Da Vinic Code since historical fiction is not really my cup of tea, but I have seen the film based on the book.  And the similarities in the structure of the story and the plot of the Code and the Key are as startling as any of the revelations in either of the works.  I am of course, not suggesting that the plot of the Code (first published in 2004) was used to make up that of the Key (published in 2012), although it might have acted as a source of inspiration.  There is nothing wrong in this, and I am merely making an observation as to the similarity.  

Now for the plot itself.  A group of scientists spread out across India, are trying to piece together the secret of Krishna's key, a relic from the days of Lord Krishna and Mahabharata.  Each one is in peril, as a teacher-pupil duo seeks to get its hands on the parts of the key that they possess.  The pupil, who is led to believe that he is the Kalki Avatar (the 10th incarnation of Vishnu) by the teacher, goes about killing the scientists one by one in cold blood, until only Ravi Mohan Saini is left to outwit the duo and get to the secret that the key and the seal would reveal.  

The killings - all done by inserting a scalpel in the left foot of the victims to cause fatal bleeding - are inspired by the way Krishna Himself is said to have succumbed (he was killed by a hunter's arrow accidentally shot into his foot, in keeping with Gandhari's curse uttered after the war at Kurukshetra had ended). 

Sanghi combines painstaking historical research drawn from various sources, and cleverly intertwined fiction to create an exciting plot that is sure to keep one riveted till the end.  There are twists and turns galore, even as we discover that the surnames of the scientists - Saini, Varshney, Kurkude, Bhojaraj and Chhedi - are the names of the clans under the Yadava lineage that Krishna belonged to, that Taarak Vakil is an anagram of Kalki Avatar, and Sir Khan of Krishna, that the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre resembles a Shivling when viewed from above, that the Kailash mountain is pyramid shaped, and that there is a kalash and a lotus (both Hindu symbols) on the dome of the Taj Mahal.  

Even though the writing is a tad indifferent in the beginning, it gets engaging as the story progresses and hurtles towards the climax.  Sanghi helpfully lists the references from which the factual information is drawn; and it is a comprehensive list comprising books, papers and articles, blogs and websites, and video and audio sources.  These references provide legitimacy to the historical facts presented in the book, in addition to raising the tantalising possibility of the story actually being authentic. 

This work is a triumph of creative storytelling in the background of the rich and untapped classical Indian literature and mythology/history.  And Sanghi deserves full credit for proving that stories based on our scriptures can be as exciting, entertaining and informative as those drawn from other sources; and if this work is anything to go by, probably more so.


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