The mountain of light by Indu Sundaresan

"The mountain of light" by Indu Sundaresan. This book is published by Washington Square Pr in 2013 and has 324 pages.

Koh-i-noor is literally translated as Mountain of light. This is the story of world famous diamond Koh-i-noor, spanning over forty years. Maharaja Ranjit Sing, King of Punjab empire, acquired Koh-i-noor from Shuja, the exiled king of Afghanistan under his protection. Punjab Empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh encompassed Peshawar, Multan, Lahore, Srinagar and today's Punjab. Story starts from here, takes us through the upheavals after death of Ranjit Singh, last king of Punjab Daleep Singh, transfer of Kohinoor to the British, Daleep Sing's attempts to retrieve it and his eventual death.

How does the custody of Kohinoor pass until it landed in the hands of British? Who wore it when it was with Punjab empire? What is the curse on Kohinoor? Who presented it to the queen of England?

The book enlightens us about Kohinoor and change of its custody. It's a fiction based on facts. One feels like one is reading a history rather than a story. The story is mostly slow, boring with patches of interest in between. It lacks pace and excitement.

A number of sub stories are left incomplete. Reader wonders what happened to those stories, how they culminated and why were they added in the book, in the first place.

It was interesting to know that Maharaja Ranjit Singh employed a number of foreigners including two Italian generals (Paolo Avitabile & Ventura), a Romanian surgeon (Hanigberger), a French governer (Allard) & an American (Josiah Harlan)

I had to be determined not to abandon reading the book. I completed the book only because of my curiosity about Kohinoor.

Give it a miss.