Book Review - Vasu and the Matsya Temple

 

‘Vasu and the Matsya Temple’ is a gripping story of a blessed boy Vasu, who destiny chooses to go on a fun-filled heroic journey  on the very day of his birth. A journey which in the end will free the world from the clutches of the vicious struggles of power and bring peace and harmony on the earth. The long lost sacred Ashtmangala symbols created by the Matsya Avataar of Lord Vishnu are key to these power struggles and Vasu is on an adventures journey to find them to bring an end to fierce battles and savage wars.

The story is the first part of a trilogy ‘Ashtamangala Adventures of Vasu’ by Rajiv Tanwar who is an orthopaedic surgeon by profession and a passionate story teller and a writer by choice.  The book is a fantasy fiction that narrates an incredible journey of the young boy Vasu which through various twists and turns keeps the readers spellbound.

Vasu son of an archaeologist Shridhar Gupta is kidnapped on the day of his birth by evil Samraat Viraat Shatru. The reason is that his father stumbles across a locket during a research in a jungle and puts it in the neck of the child. The mysterious locket has one of the eight Ashtmangala symbols on it. The king of the oceanic world Maharaja Siddhivarun ailing and trapped under the spells of his new wife Rani Roopmati, frees him with the help of Guru Nagarjuna the Raj Vaidya of the sea kingdom. Here on starts the adventurous journey of Vasu from the enchanted oceans to the mesmerizing jungles, from the depths of the seas to the planes of the earth, from Triveni Sangam in Allahabad to the enigmatic Matsya temple, which finally links to the devastating tsunami of 2004. There are other brave children in this gallant journey of Vasu which also include the young daughter of Maharaja Siddhivarun, Aishwarya. The courage and valor of the young children display a perfect example of self-belief and valiance that children should be inculcated with from a very young age. The characters are well-developed and the story is well-narrated. Though at places especially in the first five chapters I felt that the story needed to be carried forward more by the characters than told by the author himself.

However I found ‘Vasu and the Matsya Temple’ a very interesting read, a fantastic fantasy tale which every child should read or should be read to by the elders. But the book is not only for the children, it can mesmerise readers of any age. I congratulate Mr Rajiv Tanwar for this brilliant book and very much look forward to reading the other two parts of the trilogy.

The book can be bought from Amazon -
http://www.amazon.in/Vasu-Matsya-Temple-Rajeev-Tanwar/dp/9384180319/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428263403&sr=8-1&keywords=vasu+and+the+matsya+temple