A Chola Adventure
by Anu Kumar and illustrated by Hemant Kumar
“A Chola Adventure” by Anu Kumar and illustrated by Hemant Kumar. Published by Penguin. An adventure and mystery filled story set in tenth century Thanjavur during the reign of Raja Raja Chola.
The year is 990 CE. Raji is a brave, gifted and spirited twelve year old girl growing up in the Chola kingdom. She is a talented sculptor who makes miniature models of kingdoms in stone replete with details. She is however tormented by nightmares quite often given that her parents are not with her. Her mother Menaka who was the best dancer was exiled after being accused of attempting to poison Prince Madurantaka and left to fend for herself in a boat in the sea on a stormy night long ago. No one knows what happened to her. Her father Keshavan who was one of the best sculptors left home in grief after the unfortunate incident. Raji lives with her old Aji (grandmother).
Raji’s father returns home all of a sudden after many years. She is happy that he is back but doesn’t question him much about the lost years as she doesn’t want to make him upset. The King’s nephew Ananta and Prince Rajendra who like Raji’s miniature kingdoms befriend her and manage to get her to live in the palace to get more training. Raji rescues a Chinese sailor in a stormy night when he is in danger. He has lost his memory. As the days progress, a chain of strange events unfold. A Shiva statue sculpted by Keshavan goes missing. Prince Madurantaka vanishes. A gruesome murder takes place inside the big temple. Lot of other events which seem to be unconnected on the surface seem to be taking place. Is the King in danger? Are these omens bad for the royal family? Who is behind all these incidents? Is there a connection with the Chinese sailor that Raji rescued? Can Raji and her friends try and solve the mystery? Does this have anything to do with the past? Will peace be restored in the mighty kingdom? Read the book to find out all of these and figure out the overall sequence of interconnected events.
My 8.5 year old and I loved reading the book. We were hooked to it and faced severe reader’s dilemma. On one hand we wanted to know what would happen next but read the book slowly as we didn’t want to finish reading it. The plot was extremely gripping. The themes of friendship, hope, adventure, mystery and conspiracy have been woven very well. My son is a huge fan of Raja Raja Chola ever since he read the Amar Chitra Katha book on him three years ago. Therefore he already knew the backdrop of the story about the Chola royal family. 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” and “A Harappan Adventure” from the series.
It definitely is the Chola season for us. We read another mystery book featuring this great king called “Raja Raja and the Swapped Sacks” in the recent times. Also watched and loved Ponniyin Selvan part I. We have done a mini Chola trail covering Thanjavur, Gangaikondacholapuram and Darasuram twice a couple of years ago. He now wants to go back and do the entire trail again!
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 9 and above.
Reasons to Read
The book gives a fascinating insight into the society and life in general during the times of the Cholas through the eyes of children. This makes it interesting for the children who read it.
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.
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!
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