I finished reading 'The Immortals of Meluha' quite some time back but never had the chance to write about it.
It's not a great book. Nevertheless, there are few instances which make the book worth reading.
I had picked up this up book from a book fair just by sheer accident and it became my companion during my commute from home to work (not to forget the travelling time from home to work was just 20 minutes).
The major reason that drew me read the book was that it was a fiction interwoven around mythological characters.
Such encounters in the past had proved to be really fruitful especially S.L. Bhyrappa's "Parva".
An appealing factor about the story is Amish's way of explaining practices of age old days which can easily be compared to the modern day amenities.
The Meluhan way of town planning, drainage maintanance, hygiene management, scientific researches, the use of mirrors (in the manner of copper plates) and soap for bathing (cake like substance)has been introduced in a simple way whose connection can be drawn to the present day usages.
There is one part where he mentions about Lord Ram's idea of an ideal society (Rama Rajya)which should have both 'stability' and 'flexibility'.
He says- "Stability allows a person the freedom of choice. People can pursue their dreams only when they are living in a society where survival is not a daily threat. In a society without security and stability, there are no intellectuals or artists or geniuses. man is constantly in fight or flight mode. Where is the luxury then to allow ideas to be nurtured or dreams to be pursued?
That is the way all humans were before formed societies. Civilisation is very fragile. All it takes is a few decades o chaos to forget humanity and turn into animals'.
But allowing people to achieving their potential causes instability too, partially. People are happy when their life changes for the better. But there are situations in which change can lead to chaos.
When people face a change imposed by others which they cannot understand, they resist it as it happens too fast. And too rapid a change causes instability.
That is the bedrock of Ram's way of life. There are laws which help a society change slowly and allow it to remain stable. At the same time, it allows its citizens the freedom to follow their dreams".
