The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy #1) – Amish Tripathi
1900 BC. In what modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation. The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha a near perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived. This once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis. To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracised and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills!
The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge.
Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero? And does he want to be that hero at all? Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?
Maya is a present day Chennai-based lawyer who is investigating the mysterious death of her client, Tulsi – but everyone is a suspect; including Tulsi’s mother, husband, and daughter, who act strangely about her demise. So, in order to find the truth, Maya goes into sleuth-mode and finds a metal box under a mattress that contains an old paperback diary. Little does she know, that the book will transport her to sixteenth century India where a temple dancer, Achale, is investigating a similar murder, the strange death of Thulasi – a case that parallels Tulsi’s more than Maya would like to admit. Can Maya figure out how the murders are linked and catch the “killers” before they strike again? Or will she run out of time like her client did?
On November 1st 1984, a day after the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a nineteen-year-old student travels back from a class trip with his mentor and chemistry teacher, Professor Singh. As the group disembark at Delhi station a mob surrounds the professor, throws a tire over him, douses him in gasoline and sets him alight.
Memories and Such 