This and That: Review: The Dawn at Dusk

The Dawn at Dusk by Sandeep Nayyar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

" The circle completes, Shatvari.

It always does. "

Cast in the post vedic era, The Dawn at Dusk is a heart wrenching tale of hate combed with a false belief of justice that sometimes clouds the minds of the best of the humans.

The situation worsens even further, if this hatred is fueled by personal grievances and gets the arsenal of will power.

Those who fuel the fire of revenge within,

Shall know,

That like charity,

Hatred too, begins at your very home.

Shatvari, as a righteous as a woman might be, is a wife of honor. She lives a simplistic and austere life where she dutifully does all for her husband. Only that is not reciprocated by her husband who goes on awry ways to self destruct.

Implode, perhaps is the right way that to describe the collapse of such families. Collapsing within with forces inside your own consciousness.

Very well researched and deftly dealing with the evils of the Aryan civilization, the author is almost as fearless as one might be in penning down such a risky subject. Blending social ostracization into the characters of Shatvari and a character named Gunjan who you can't place in the relations defined by the society.

How do you define the bond between that of a married woman and a friend who happens to be male? They are loyal to their respective feelings but still could do anything for the another.
I can't put my finger to that word because such a relation never existed. Or if it did, we failed to name it.

Blinded by an absolute rage and steel hard determination to the wrongs that were committed against her, being cheated on with a courtesan by her husband, the allegations over her purity and questions on her status - were enough to kindle a volcano that would over throw the mightiest of reigns.

Plot : Sharp and crisply written. You never saw what was coming on the next corner.

Character Drawing : With so numerous a beings involved, it was easy to get meddled up. The fact is Mr. Sandeep Nayyar avoids that. And with class. All the traits are well chiseled!

Three kingdoms and their respective rulers, their army and all their royal prowess. The lines between friends and foes that change with the clock. The complex workings of a neglected and plotting human mind.

This book had it all for me.

Lastly, the author does not take sides. And that, just that, made me ooze out an extra star. A powerful star.

The husband overlaps his feelings of lust and love. He still hoards feelings for the two women till the very end. We are defined by the choices that we make. Shatvari chose Damodar over Gunjan. Did Damodar feign his love for Shatvari to satiate his love of conquering? Nope. Did the courtesan regard Damodar as just another client? Nope. So how do you define the complex web of emotions?

What was correct?
Or rather who was correct?

Or is there even a word called correct for human emotions?

A translated version of the original Samarsiddha, you got to jump your reading queue and get this one straight out.