Book review: 'The Krishna Key '

The Krishna Key
Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Publisher: Westland
Rating: *

The obsession with mythology fiction seems to have gone too far. Ashwin Sanghi’s latest is over-exactingly detailed with over-stretched explanations for over-reaching concepts that drown you in religious jargon.

With its complicated terminology and Sanskrit phrases, the book feels like a painful lesson in theology. The author goes on and on about the mystical Philosopher’s Stone, after finally getting to the point of the story in the late second half of the book. ‘It’s here, or it could be there, maybe it’s actually there’, leaving the reader feeling like the ball in a game of pinball – bouncing around aimlessly. Drop it! Harry Potter found it already — it’s safe at Hogwarts!

The Bollywood-style flashbacks to the fabled stories of the Mahabharata at the beginning of every chapter are an unnecessary break to the story, which barely seems to flow at a steady pace in the first place. Brewing with conspiracy and blinded with the obsession of creating a stir out of nothing, the book rambles on and seems like a spiel on a vague and far-fetched concept.

The characters are bearable though. But the sudden sidelining of the character of Taarak Vakil — the only character who seems worth understanding — again draws attention to the lost plot of the book. The other characters are shape-shifters, who repeatedly change loyalties, and reveal contorted and dark shades, to the point where they just get annoying.

The author in his introduction note attributes his words to the unknown being hovering above, saying the words flow “through me, not from me.” The next time, don’t leave it to faith, pull out that faithful red pen and read your manuscript before turning it in. And also, if you do reprint, do notice a crucial error on page 301 where the injured inspector’s name is wrong — twice. Editor dear, were you sleeping?