Girls of India: A Chola Adventure

Another book from my kid's school library.  I had not known about this series beforehand so I was curious to read the story.  The author, Anu Kumar, has won Commonwealth prize for her children's books.  This book is a historical novel laced with mystery.  The author has made a good attempt to elaborate the ways of the kings (their lineage, their royal courts and proceedings, the wars fought, the kingdoms ruled, well you get the idea!) through this novel. 

The Chola kingdom is very famous in the Southern parts of India and this story is played during the rule of Rajaraja cholan who is a very popular name in history.  It reminds me of our epic Mahabharata as this kingdom too has its enemies near and far and the battle to throne is constant.  Though the story is lined with imagination, it would not be difficult for any student to understand the lineage of the Chola kings if they would read this story once. 

The story follows through the life of a young girl Raji and her parents.  The plot was handled good and can get the kid's attention hooked as to they try to solve who had done what.  But from an adult's point of view, it was easily predictable as we had been told the same story time and again starting with our epics.  It was interesting to know about the Borobudur islands in Indonesia which plays a vital role in the story.  The author has given a very flowing narration throwing in so many nuances that bring the grandeur of the palace and the kingdom itself.  Since the story is all set in Tamil Nadu I was happy to see Tamil scripts.  While the script read, “நான் மீண்டும் பார்க்க முடியாது”, the translation was just the opposite, "I will see you again".  A very trivial mistake, but it makes you wonder which is right when the story has not fully evolved.  Well for the reader's sake, the translation is correct.

Also it is said Raji's father works on a stone sculpture at first and then it is mentioned as a brass sculpture later.  I had to rewind the pages to check if I got it wrong.  But I think the author had changed it to brass owing to its weight.  I know this is a children's novel and a young mind may or may not overlook these facts.  Altogether it was a good read and would recommend to the middle grade readers.