Krishna Udayasankar

Govinda

Emperor Dharma Yudhisthir of the Kauravas and Empress Panchali Draupadi rule over a unified Aryavarta, an empire built for them by Govinda Shauri with the blessings of the Firstborn and by the might of those whom everyone believes long gone - the Firewrights. Now the Firewrights rise from the ashes of the past, divided as before in purpose and allegiance, and no one, it seems, can stand in the way of the chaos about to be unleashed on the land - not the Firstborn, not the kings of Aryavarta, and not Govinda Shauri. As sinister plans are put in play and treacherous alliances emerge, Aryavarta transforms into its own worst enemy. Dharma Yudhisthir gambles away his empire, the tormented empress is forced into a terrifying exile and the many nations of the realm begin to take up arms in a bid to fight, conquer and destroy each other. His every dream shattered, Govinda is left a broken man. The only way he can protect Aryavarta and the woman in whose trusted hands he had left it is by playing a dangerous game. But can he bring himself to reveal the terrible secrets that the Vyasa has guarded all his life - secrets that may well destroy the Firstborn, and the Firewrights with them?

The Aryavarta Chronicles

Kaurava

The empire that was Aryavarta fades under the shadow of doom. As the bitter struggle to gain control of the divided kingdom ensues, both Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa of the Firstborn and the Secret Keeper of the Firewrights can only watch as their own blood, their kin, savage and kill on the fields of Kurukshetra. Restraint and reason have deserted the rulers who once protected the land and they manipulate, scheme and kill with abandon - for victory is all that matters. At the heart of the storm stands Govinda Shauri, driven by fickle allies and failed kings, to the very brink of darkness. He may well be the greatest danger Aryavarta has faced yet, for he is determined to change things forever. Reforging the forsaken realm in the fire of his apocalyptic wrath, Govinda prepares to destroy everything he loves and make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of one last hope: that humanity will rise. There will be revolution.

Kurukshetra

'Nothing left to fight for is nothing left to lose... Emperor Dharma Yudhisthir of the Kauravas and Empress Panchali Draupadi rule over the unified realm of Aryavarta, an empire built for them by Govinda Shauri with the blessings of the Firstborn and by the might of those whom everyone believes long gone – the Firewrights. Now the Firewrights rise from the ashes of the past, divided as before in purpose and allegiance, and no one, it seems, can stand in the way of the chaos about to be unleashed on the land – not the Firstborn, not the kings of Aryavarta, and not Govinda Shauri. As sinister plans are put in play and treacherous alliances emerge, Aryavarta transforms into its own worst enemy. Dharma Yudhisthir gambles away his empire, the tormented empress is forced into a terrifying exile and the many nations of the realm begin to take up arms in a bid to fight, conquer and destroy each other. His every dream shattered, Govinda is left a broken man. The only way he can protect Aryavarta and the woman in whose trusted hands he had left it is by playing a dangerous game. But can he bring himself to reveal the terrible secrets that the Vyasa has protected all his life – secrets that may well destroy the Firstborn, and the Firewrights with them? In Kaurava, the second book in The Aryavarta Chronicles series, Krishna Udayasankar continues to recreate the world of the Mahabharata and the lives of its characters through stunning imagination and powerful storytelling. This is the epic like it was never told before.

Book 2

The Aryavarta Chronicles Kaurava

Govinda Shauri always has a plan. Govinda, son of Nanda-one of the many cowherds in the verdant kingdom of Surasena, in Aryavarta-was content with his tough but wonderful life. That was until the king's men came looking for him and his brother, Balabadra, spewing death and destruction in their wake. Forced to leave behind those they love in order to save them, the brothers are now on the run-all the while being hunted by the tyrant king, Kans, and his bloodthirsty adviser, Chanuran, who will stop at nothing to kill them. Even as their journey reveals Govinda's true identity as a prince and the rightful heir to the Surasena crown, it pulls them deeper into the murky secrets surrounding the throne-and its bloody legacy. What will it take for an ordinary cowherd boy to grow into a master strategist who will always have a plan?

The Prequel to Govinda

The Cowherd Prince

Tania De Rozario

Zarina Muhammad

The EtiquetteSG Anthologies

Body Boundaries

It was always the same dream, a dream that began with darkness and blood.' When Assistant Commissioner of Police Aditi Kashyap is called upon to solve a gruesome triple homicide in a Mumbai suburb, she is dragged into the terrifying world of the Saimhas-werelions-who have lived alongside humans, hiding amongst them, since ancient times. Faced with the unbelievable, Aditi has no choice but to join hands with Prithvi, an Enforcer called in to hunt down this seemingly otherworldly murderer. But can Prithvi overcome the nightmarish burdens of his dark and violent past to unravel the mystery hidden deep within this secret world of werelions? Can he be trusted to save lives, or will he choose to serve a different, more powerful, master? Read on, as Aditi and Prithvi race through the dark underbelly of Mumbai-from quiet suburbs to gritty brothels, from forgotten colonial tunnels to the lights and glamour of the inner city-in search of a dangerous truth. In search of a monster.

Beast

Jaishankar Krishnamurthy

When Charulata Ramachandran's brother, Ravi, dies unexpectedly in an accident, she returns from the US to Mumbai. She soon stumbles on something that suggests a more sinister game is in play. Her suspicions that Ravi may have been murdered are dismissed by the police, so Charu, along with the retired-policeman-turned-detective Anand and Ravi's best friend David tries to piece things together. Her life is thrown in disarray in the process. As Charu's discovery brings to light the intricate details of an immaculate blackmailing scheme, she must not only brave the imminent threat to her own life, but also grapple with the terrifying possibility that perhaps her brother was not the honest, decent man she had thought him to be. Can Charu deal with the horrifying truth to unravel the twisted threads of a conspiracy that has left her brother, and others, dead? Does she dare find out who killed her brother and, more importantly, why? In the end, like the farside of the moon, everyone has a face that has never been seen. Does Charu have it in her to find the other side?

Farside

Professor Bharadvaj is more than just another whisky-loving, gun-toting historian-for-hire. Behind the assumed identity of a cynical academic is a man who has walked the earth for scores of years. He is Asvatthama-the cursed immortal, the man who cannot die. When Professor Bharadvaj is approached by the enigmatic Maya Jervois to search for a historical artefact unlike any other, he is reluctant to pursue it. The object in question, the Vajra, is rumoured to possess incredible alchemical powers, but the Professor does not believe it exists. After all, he has spent many lifetimes-and identities-searching for it, in a bid to unearth the secret to his unending life. Yet, as the evidence of the Vajra's existence becomes increasingly compelling, the professor is plunged into an adrenaline-fuelled adventure that takes him from the labyrinthine passages beneath the Somnath temple to the legendary home of the siddhas in the Nilgiris, and finally into the deserts of Pakistan to solve a confounding puzzle left behind by the ancients. But who is behind the dangerous mercenaries trying to thwart his discoveries at every step? And is the professor-a legendary warrior in a long-ago life-cursed to walk the path of death and bloodshed forever?

Krishna Udayasankar

About

Books

Join the club