I have been
hearing about the world famous duo Akbar and Birbal even before I got into
schooling. I always assumed them as ‘fairy tale’ kind of figures; however, as I
got more familiar with history and fiction, I was able to make the difference
between two. Birbal is famous for playing against his enemies amidst the most
challenging circumstances, and Akbar was the only legendary king from the
Mughal Empire. I never cared to know what was Birbal’s real name and how did he
became so famous. To me, it was more of a funny character.
With time, I
read some books, fiction and non-fiction and history on the Mughal Empire. The
Final Puzzle by Juhi Ray seems like the best I have ever read based on the King
Akbar. In this novel the author has reverently called him as Padshah Akbar, a
spiced up slang in Punjabi and Urdu. Unlike the Mughal series by Alex
Rutherford, this novel is unconventional. In the presence of Akbar, Juhi
succeeded in illuminating the character of Raja Birbal. Here the lead character
is Mahesh Das – an ordinary person of good personality. When he’s introduced to
the court of Akbar from Rewa, he somehow managed to win the empire’s heart by
his extraordinaire brilliance. In the initial parts of the novel, it has been
beautifully developed as how Mahesh Das came close to Akbar and later on the
Emperor makes him as Raja Birbal, an authority of some provinces. While reading
I always felt as the King Akbar considered Mahesh Das his close friend well
before the later could convince himself. One strong reason was their hidden
meetings and roaming around the places in disguise.
The novel is
not just about Mahesh and Akbar. There is more to that, once you delve deep
into it, you will feel that the heat of measured pace and gradual turning of
events. Mahesh Das’s personal life at home and his struggle to be one of the
gems in the Akbar’s court makes up the most of the narration.
The expanse of
the story begins unfolding when Mahesh and Akbar disguised as normal men takes
up many cases that needs to be solved with immaculate precision. Also, the problem
was that Akbar was made to sit at the throne at a tender age following the
death of his father Humayun. This led many Islamic clergies and his closed ones
to create factions in order to overthrow Akbar. But the main obstacle was Mahesh
Das. They wanted Akbar to be a pure Islamic leader; however, it was Mahesh Das
who was supporting the Emperor for religious tolerance and healthy share of
Hindus in his administration. Some of the most visible enemies were Zain Khan
and Badaoni. Akbar and Mahesh were aware of the rising rebellion, so they
joined hands and outwitted their enemies. But how did they do, that is
something incredible to know at length.
Also, when
Akbar stumbles upon an incomplete chart, he assigns Mahesh Das to unveil it.
This made Mahesh Das travel across entire Hindustan. In the process, he gets
acquainted with Vithalnathji of Mathura, and Radha from Gada. Initially Radha
hates Akbar because he raided and killed the queen Rani Durgavati. But slowly
as Radha and Mahesh Das get to know each other and the good motives of the
emperor, she not only changes her opinions but also find herself working for
him. She is instrumental in saving Mahesh Das’s life at various junctures. She was
one of the characters in the novel who always epitomized temerity and action. I
loved her pugnacious attitude.
From the
novel, there are many anecdotes that must be familiar with the readers,
however, every time they are presented in spiced up narration, they look as
fresh as a new day. So, even this novel has many already heard stories about
Birbal and Akbar – but it is not for boredom, rather nudges the story to a new
level altogether. The novel scores high on emotional and psychological value and
very less on battles and bloodshed. The ending of the novel is riveting –
probably that was the last opportunity for Raja Birbal to outwit his enemy Zain
Khan. The battle for Kashmir becomes an interesting saga for all when a hilly
tribe from Afghanistan joins the drama. At that battle, a hug rumour stirs in
the air against Raja Birbal and the Mughal Army. It was more than a puzzle and
shock – but that was a kind of final puzzle for Akbar and Birbal than that
incomplete chart. They wanted it to remain buried as a secret, an unsolved
puzzle. But at this battle, Mahesh Das is declared dead, but his body didn’t
show up. What actually happened to him and Radha, is something that awaits your
turn. Pick it up, read it at your own pace and you will be marveled at the
brilliance of this historical fiction. Juhi Ray must have done a tremendous research
and her language and narration is superb, at this peak I think she is best for
historical fictions.
Akbar’s idea
of nine gems was borrowed by his favourite king in the history, Chandragupta Vikramaditya.
But who gave him his reference – that’s another secret waiting unveiling.
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