#398 - A Mauryan Adventure
by Subhadra Sen Gupta and illustrated by Hemant Kumar
“A Mauryan Adventure” by Subhadra Sen Gupta and illustrated by Hemant Kumar. Published by Penguin. An adventure filled story of twelve year old Madhura who worked as a maid of Princess Sanghamitra during the reign of King Ashoka.
Madhura lived in the legendary city of Pataliputra which was the capital of the Mauryan kingdom in the third century BCE. Her father had been a soldier and was killed in the battle of Kalinga. Now, she and her mother worked as maids in the royal harem. While her mother served Queen Mahadevi, she worked as a maid and companion to Princess Sanghamitra. Her brother Kartik seemed to lead a much better and exciting life according to her. He was a travelling trader and got to visit different places. In comparison her life was so mundane and she was made to work so hard the entire day.
Madhura wished to become a soldier when she grew up. She could then fight with swords and ride horses. She dreamt of travelling to different places like her brother. But girls were not allowed to do any of these at that time. When an unexpected opportunity of travelling with her brother Kartik to Ujjaini presents itself, Madhura is very happy. Her dreams are coming true after all. But there are a quite a few strange events happening around her. Why is Kartik visiting a minister’s office? Who is the strange fat man who gave packets of gold and silver coins to Kartik? Why are they stopping at Vidisha on the way to Ujjaini to meet the prior of the Buddhist monastery? Kartik is definitely up to something which Madhura has to find out. Is he just a trader or there is more than what meets the eye? Read the mystery and adventure filled story to find out what happens next and what is going to be revealed to Madhura as she gets headlong into a big adventure.
My almost nine year old and I enjoyed reading this book. It was quite fun to get a peek into how life may have been so long ago. The plot was quite engrossing and we felt like we were part of the action and going around with Madhura. We just couldn’t wait to know what would happen next and unravel the mystery. We had already read an extremely enjoyable time-travelling adventure called “Chandragupta Maurya and the Greek Onslaught” set during the time of Alexander’s war with King Porus and Chandragupta Maurya being a young man with no inkling that he would be the founder of the powerful Mauryan dynasty one day. And now, this story being set during his grandson King Ashoka’s rule was quite an interesting one for us. Stories like these which highlight how common people might have lived in such turbulent periods so long ago are quite a refreshing experience.
There seemed to be liberties taken in depicting a few aspects but we considered it as a work of fiction, as against historical fiction, and just enjoyed the plot. For instance, I am not sure if Ashoka was as great as he is portrayed. There would have been shades of grey in his character too. Also, vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage were not found in India in those times. They were introduced much later by the Europeans. The book is part of the “Girls of India” series which makes us travel back to different eras of Indian history with the girls who lived in them giving us a glimpse of their lives. We have already read and liked the books “A Chera Adventure”, “A Harappan Adventure” and “A Chola Adventure” from the series. Hoping that more books (may even be on some lesser known dynasties) are added to this lovely series.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 9 and above.
Reasons to Read
The book gives a glimpse into how life might have been during the rule of the Mauryan kingdom through the eyes of a child which makes it an interesting read for children.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India, for review. Thank you to Greeshma and Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!