Self-rule comes with a price

Ajay Singha

It is 1648 and the young Maratha warrior Shivaji successfully repulses an attack by the Adil Shahi’s forces on the Purandar hill, a fort nestled in the Western Ghats. Further away, the Mughal forces have entered Hyderabad, capital of the Qutub Shahi kingdom. The 17th century Hindustan is in turmoil and the Mughal empire has reached its zenith. Kings and Sultans have accumulated untold wealth. Meanwhile, Shivaji has started working towards his dream of self rule through swaraj.

This book is a well-researched historical fiction based on Shivaji and Aurangzeb, who are fighting their own battles. Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughals, has plans to take over a throne soaked in the blood of his kin. Shivaji’s duty is to serve the masters of his father, but he chooses another path — of swaraj. 

Shivaji leads the Maratha armies to the battleground. He infuses valour and determination in his people and makes them hopeful of victory and divine blessings. Under his leadership, the Marathas recapture several forts and generate the much-needed revenue for financing their war effort.

For Aurangzeb, the battle of Ujjain is decisive to determine the successor of the Mughal throne. Aurangzeb lays siege to the Agra fort and imprisons his own father. Murad Baksh, his younger brother and a loyalist, is also treacherously imprisoned. 

The scene shifts to the Deccan where Afzal Khan, the general of the Adil Shahi kingdom, is lured by Shivaji to meet and discuss the terms of Shivaji’s surrender. The Maratha leader gets the better of the Khan and slays him, using a baghnach, concealed tiger claws. 

Aurangzeb is furious. He deploys the imperial forces in full strength against the Marathas. Shivaji is then forced to seek a compromise. He is invited to attend Aurangzeb’s coronation and discuss a lasting settlement. Both Shivaji and his son Sambhaji are treacherously trapped by the Mughals in Agra. They, however, manage to escape. 

 Aurangzeb decides that this will be his final frontier.  The Frontiers is not just a story of who Shivaji was, but who he was up against. Exchange of witty dialogues between the protagonists makes it an interesting read. The book ends with a promising scope for a sequel by the writer, who successfully infuses life into historical characters and shares their personal fears and trepidations with the reader.