THE FISHER QUEEN'S DYNASTY BY KAVITA KANÉ

TITLE- THE FISHER QUEEN'S DYNASTY

AUTHOR- KAVITA KANÉ

GENRE- MYTHOLOGICAL FICTION

NO: OF PAGES- 324

PUBLISHERS- WESTLAND BOOKS

FORMAT- PAPERBACK

About the book-

Matsyagandha, Kali, Yojanagandha, Daseyi- the queen of Hastinapur, Satyavati. Abandoned as a baby, preyed on by a rishi, she hardens herself, determined that next time she is with a man, she will be the one to win. And win she does: the throne of Hastinapur for herself, and the promise that her sons will be heirs to the kingdom But at what cost?

In a place where she is disdained and scorned, Satyavati must set aside her own loss and pain if she is to play the game of politics. She learns to be ruthless, unscrupulous- traits that estrange her from everyone around. Everyone, except the man she cheated of his birthright.

A piercing, insightful look at the grand matriarch of the Kuru family, the woman who sets off the sequence of events that ended in the bloody battle of Kurukshetra.

My rating-🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

My review-

'I learnt to love like a man- to love without feelings. And I shall never forget this lesson.'

These were the lines that the matriarch of the Kuru family, Satyavati had said to her father very early in her life. This was the lesson she learned at a tender age.Born to a king, she was abandoned by him due to her colour. She had grown up as a fisher-girl despite her royal lineage and hence despised her fate,her real father and society altogether. She grew up into this cunning lady who would go to any extent to get herself a crown, become a queen and safeguard her title. She would ruthlessly remove any obstacle thus carving her own destiny. But is it really the end that she wants? Are her ways right?
From manipulating a rishi to fulfil her wish in exchange of a child from her to luring an aged king by her sultry physique she ensured she became the queen of Hastinapur. She did so by taking away everything from Devavrat, the rightful heir to the throne and schemed in every possible way to safeguard herself and her progeny.
Devavrat out of his love for his father not only gave up everything but also promised his loyalty to the throne and kingdom of Hastinapur. Later known as Bhishm, he became one of the most well known characters of Mahabharata.
This is the story which shows Mahabharata in a new light, the back story of Bhishm, his journey form Devavrat to Bhishm and the part Satyavati played in the scheme of events.
Right from her life as the fisher-girl, to king Shantanu's wife, to the perfectly political queen, this story reveals her manipulative side, her ambitions and her blind rage against men using women for their convenience. The impact she had on Bhishm's life takes up a major part of the story. Eventually how her over-ambitiousness led to the fall of the Hastinapur and the events leading to the birth of Kauravs and the Pandavas have been described.
This is an absolutely stunning story, describing a strong matriarch, a poweful character determined not to be taken advantage of in the male dominated society, who is not only adamant in getting back her rightful place but also is scheming enough to maintain it by any means. The story is a gripping experience in itself making the readers experience the power of a determined lady, the extent one can go for self-preservation, the essence of duty, loyalty and sacrifice, the society where women are considered as objects of lust which in turn can be used for gaining benefits and the whole process which humans think as their self-made path that actually turns out to be destiny.

Characters-

Satyavati- the daughter of a king, bought up by a fisherman, is the protagonist of this story. An overtly ambitious woman, working towards making her own destiny ultimately regretting all her decisions at the end of her life. A dark skinned girl, shunned for being manipulative rose above all to become a politically correct queen, a woman who played everyone according to her own convenience. Besides her worse side, she is also portrayed as a loving mother and above all as a human being capable of feeling guilt and sorrow depsite her malicious nature. She is shown as this woman ahead of her times refusing to be submissive, working towards self-preservation.

Bhishm- born as Devavrat to King Shantanu and Ganga, he is the epitome of ideals. Bound by his love for his father he not only gave up his throne but also pledged celebicy all his life to safeguard the heirarchy of Satyavati's progeny- hence called Bhishm. A master of Vedas and weapon, he remained royal to the throne and Hastinapur even after the boon of "icchamrityu". He supported Satyavati in all her endeavors carrying out some of them himself. It was she, whom he later blamed to be the root cause of the downfall of Hastinapur. A strong idealist who sacrificed everything for the sake of an oath, a  perfect son, an advisor and loyalty personified- who did everything for the sake of his country. Eventually he too regretted a lot of decisions on his deathbed.

King Shantanu- the father of Devavrat, a womanizer, tormented due to his separation from Ganga married Satyavati to unleash the curse on Hastinapur. Blinded by lust he not only destroyed Devavrat's future but also lead on Satyavati towards her ruthless ambitions.

There are other characters like Dasharaj- Satyavati's father (non-biological) who was instrumental in making Devavrat take up the oath, there is Rishi Parashar and his son with Satyavati-Ved Vyasa who plays a major role towards the end of the story. 

There are also other characters who are there to explain Satyavati's tactics and Devavrat's devastation.

Writing style- 

The story just flows, not a single dull moment, revelations at every step. It highlights the society, the politics running in the kingdoms, the back-stories and relations of several Kings. The way Satyavati has been portrayed is very powerful.The character development is absolutely perfect, starting from the perfection to the humane touches provided with the gradual change of events. Also it narrates several birth stories of children born between humans and apsaras and many prophecies thereafter.

The narration is very informative, exhaustive even, everything minutely detailed and is absolutely comprehensible. The way it has strengthened the roots of Mahabharata right from the earliest generation is praiseworthy. It truely shows the epic in a new light, all the characters more defined. 

An absolute page-turner itching the reader to get to it's end. 

I would highly recommend it to everyone- for this perception of events is something everyone should relish, and for mythology lovers- you are going to be awed by it. This piece is mythology at it's best.

I would like to thank Westland books for providing me with a complimentary copy in exchange of an honest review.

About the author-

Kavita Kané is the best selling author of four books all based on Indian mythology. A senior journalist with a career of over two decades, she quit her job to write books. With a Post-graduate degree in English Literature and Journalism and Mass communication from the University of Pune, the only skill she has, she confesses is writing.
Born in Mumbai, with a childhood spent largely in Patna and Delhi, she lives in Pune with her Mariner husband, two daughters, two dogs and the uncurious cat.