Dear readers,
It has been long, but I come back to you all with a book so heroic and filled with utmost courage.
I am here to talk about a book our history lessons so easily skipped. It is Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s first historical-fiction book that tells the tale of Rani Jindan Kaur of Punjab. The story of the extraordinary life of Rani Jindan Kaur remains less known to people.
The book talks about Rani Jindan, who was born to the kennel keeper of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who became his youngest and favorite wife. The married life of Rani Jindan was far from a bed of roses though her real troubles started when she lost Maharaja Ranjit Singh to an age-related illness. After losing her husband, Rani Jindan was soon blessed with a baby boy, who later went on to become the Kind at the mere age of six, and Rani Jindan became the Queen regent.
She then dedicated her life to protecting his son and the King of Punjab- Maharaja Dalip Singh's throne. She also became one of the queens of her time who defied the veil and addressed the courtiers openly.
The story moves on to the struggles she faced to keep her son and the throne safe but ended up living her life in exile.
The book sums up the life of one of India’s most fearless women of the 19th century. Chitra Banerjee has cast the magic over the book in four parts- ‘Girl’, ‘Bride’, ‘Queen’, ‘Rebel’. The book perfectly captures the unbeatable spirit of Rani Jindan Kaur. Chitra Banerjee succeeds in bringing the characters to life, much as she has done in her previous books.
All the historical fiction fans and women need to add this to their TBR list.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is-
I may be injured, I may be even wounded to the heart; but I am not defeated yet.
The book is 372 pages long and is on Amazon.