The legend of Amrapali by Anurag Anand

"The legend of Amrapali", by Anurag Anand. This book is published by Shrishti publishers and has about 213 pages.

Everyone knows the story of Amrapali, the legendary courtesan, of Vaishali, famous for her ethereal beauty and divine dancing. I remember watching an old Hindi film on her many years ago.

The story starts with Amrapali's patents finding a nascent baby girl in mango grove. The king of Vajji, where they resided, is not decided by birth but was elected (It was the first democracy in the world) and ruled from Vaishali. Amrapali is famous for her beauty and dancing skills. King Manudev likes her and wants to marry her. Her father rejects the proposal and plans to marry her to her childhood sweetheart Pushp kumar.

But the king arrests Pushp. When he tries to flee, he is killed. Talking refugee of an ancient law, he declares Amrapali as the nagarvadhu (Courtesan) of Vaishali. Being a nagarvadhu, now Amrapali has to entertain all the rich men in town. Her father commits suicide. Her friend Prabha accompanies her till end.

Will King Manudeva have her? Does Amrapali likes being the object of desire of everyone? Does she remember the loved ones? Does she want revenge?

Amrapali, the courtesan (nagarvadhu - नगरवधू), is well known. Tales of her beauty and dancing skills are passed down from generation to generation. Her generosity and the work that she did for the society are also known. However nobody knows her as a human being, as a girl and a woman.

The story becomes very interesting towards the end of the book. She was not only beautiful and excellent dancer but she was also just and was an expert in kootaniti (कूटनिती). The story of how she saved her motherland and Prabha and how she took her revenge is fascinating.

Author has spent too many pages for the story before she becomes Naharvadhu, hence that part is slow, but then the story picks up. Although Amrapali was a courtesan author has refrained from describing her adventures in the world of sex and has preferred to concentrate on her dancing skills.

The book is slow initially and I took a break of more than a month before resuming to read. This speaks volumes about the book. The cover has a photograph of Mallika Sarabhai as Amrapali. It's fabulous.

Author could have and should have made the story more interesting. But he choose not to.

You will like the book if you are interested in Amrapali's story.