"Delhi: City of the blood gates" by Vineet Bajpai - The conclusion!
This book is published by Treeshade books in 2023 and has 336 pages. This is Book 3 of Delhi trilogy.
The mulla has tricked Mastaan’s friend Shahbaaz to take Fay and Pat out of Delhi. An army attacks them, hundred times their size. Three English generals (John Nicholson, William Hodson, Theo Metcalf) are coming to Delhi to win it back from the mutineers. The Badshah has asked for three wishes to the half faced Darwish at a terrible price. Delhi is colored with blood. Pujari of the Neeli chatri mandir, Gauri Shankar Shastri, is a mysterious person.
Where is Bandookbaz? Will he fight with or against the mutineers? Can he save Fay? What is the date of Delhi?
It’s the final book of Delhi trilogy. We know the outcome of Revolution of 1857, so it’s not difficult to guess how the story will end. The fight for Delhi has reached its final phase. The fight between Mastaan and Nikhaal Bhagvan is the highlight of the story.
I have read Harappa trilogy of this author and it was very good. So, my expectations from this trilogy was high, but unfortunately this trilogy falls short of expectation. Neither does it spell bind the audience, nor does it have a good flow. It looks like a patch work quilt.
However, author makes an important point. Indraprastha was created by burning the Khandavprastha forest and killing all animals and tribes in it. So, Delhi has a violent history and the violence continues till date.
At the end, author rues the lack of attention to the first revolution for freedom and that we don’t know many heroes other than Mangal Pande and Rani Laxmibai. He also argues that the single most important reason why we lost in 1857 was because the freedom fighters were fighting without a leader, without a guiding light. They were scattered all over India. Agree with author on both counts.
Why I read this book? Author. Have read first two books.
What did I like? The fight with Nikhaal Bhagwan.
What didn’t like? The Tipu angle.
Give it a miss!
