THE IVORY THRONE (DANTHASIMHASANAM)

This was a gift for my mother, who told me that this book was good and interesting.

Manu S Pillai has chronicled the saga of Maharani Regent Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Amma Maharani Sethu Parvathy Bayi in his debut novel, The Ivory Throne. The former was the senior rani of the Attingal house, and after adoption into the Travancore Royal family, she became the Senior Princess and later the Senior Rani. When the then ruling monarch, Ayilyam Tirunal passed on, and since the heir apparent Chithira Tirunal, the son of the Junior Rani was a minor, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi became the Maharani Regent, who per the matrilineal system ruled as the absolute monarch in the name of the minor Chithira Tirunal. We don't need to read novels by Stephan King et al. for a convoluted story of intrigue, mystery, romance, all replete with scandals, rumours of black magic and so on. While Manu has tried to maintain his neutrality, one cannot help but think that he is in awe of the towering personality of the Senior Maharani Regent. I get the feeling that he is a bit of an apologist for the Maharani. He has not been critical at all of the Maharani where he should have been, instead, has tried to couch her actions with subtle and not so subtle justifications. For instance, the Press Regulation Act, her not accepting the Temple Proclamation for the temples of the house of Attingal are two such instances. He does, though, in the passing, refer to her not accepting the Proclamations due to her casteist mindset in a later chapter. He has conveniently avoided the topic of the Maharani preventing Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's entry to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple only by superstitious beliefs.I have heard the stories of the Royal Family from my Mother. One of the stories that I remember is her telling me how, she and her teenage friends, used to wait at the temple (Commoners weren't allowed entry before the King) to get a glimpse of the handsome erstwhile ruler of the state Sri Chithira Tirunal. She used to speak about his piety to the divine and how gentle and cultured he came across as, at the same time contrasting him with his more flamboyant brother. She also spoke of the 'villain of the piece' the Amma Maharani, who supposedly didn't allow her son, the ruler to get married (something Manu dismisses as hearsay), and how she had isolated her scholar husband and even put him under house-arrest. The latter is something Manu hasn't written about in the book at all. It is regrettable that the Amma Maharani's side of the family had declined all interviews, something that Pillai writes about in his acknowledgement. It would have been nice to get their perspective as well.The most commendable thing about this book is that he has written history like a page-turner. He has a very subtle way of setting the context with precedents, and even contrasting the current situation with the past. Another thing that is evident is the effort that has gone into the writing of this book. He says in an interview that this book is a result of six years of research. He has quoted freely from the archives, correspondences of the two Ranis, the Royal Consort, the Dewans, the Residents, and so on. All of the records paint an almost deified picture of the Maharani Regent while casting the Junior Maharani in not so favourable light. Therefore, it would have helped balance the book even further if they had given interviews. It is impressive that he has shown restraint while quoting material. The research is evident in the bibliography which runs into more than 250 pages. I must add that his style of writing has me wanting to analyse the characters too! That is saying something about a historical chronicle

During this lockdown it's become a ritual now for us to sit down for tea as a family, while my father reads aloud the best stories from this book. My mother is also a big fan of the author between! Dad is not pleased with the font size and paper quality though...

ഒരു ത്രില്ലർ പോലെ വായിച്ചു പോകാവുന്ന ചരിത്ര പുസ്തകം. തിരുവിതാംകൂറിന്റെ അറിയാത്ത വഴികൾ. വായിച്ചിരിക്കേണ്ട പുസ്തകം