[ultimate_heading main_heading=”Hardaul by Rakesh Sharma” main_heading_color=”#1e73be” sub_heading_color=”#8224e3″ spacer=”line_with_icon” spacer_position=”bottom” line_style=”dotted” line_height=”1″ line_color=”#1e73be” icon_type=”custom” icon_img=”id^48|url^http://ashvamegh.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Ashvamegh-ICO.jpg|caption^null|alt^Ashvamegh Journal Icon|title^Ashvamegh ICO|description^null” img_width=”48″ main_heading_style=”font-weight:bold;” main_heading_font_size=”desktop:34px;” line_width=”3″]ek bharatiya yuva ki soch…[/ultimate_heading]
Book – Hardaul (ek bharatiya yuva ki soch)
Author – Rakesh Sharma
Publisher – Educreation (2016)
Page Numbers – 120
Buy the book: Amazon Link
Reviewed by – Alok Mishra
Famous all over India, the folklore of Lala Hardaul tells us the story of deceit, doubt, valour and an Indian youth who sacrificed his life… I did not hear more about Hardaul in the past except the scanty details of his legend. However, recently, I got to read the book by Rakesh Sharma, an author currently based in Bangalore, Hardaul: Ek Bhartiya Yuva ki Soch (which translates as the thought of a young Indian). Rakesh has given the legend of Hardaul a touch of fiction and a slight hint of modern India to make the story, even more, connecting with the readers. Moreover, as the book is written in Hindi, it will grip the readers very soon because of the lack of a further step (read-translate-digest).
The book by Rakesh begins with a character sketch of the young prince of Orchha, Hardaul. Since his childhood, Hardaul was a brave and analytical person who loved to come out of the problems rather than sitting and letting the water flow over his head. Rakesh tells the readers about the modern thinking of Hardaul and his interests which were religious, democratic, progressive and everything else that makes a king great on the pages of history as well as the real life.
The book gives details of the Aurangzeb’s attack on Orchha, Jujhar Singh’s departure and the plot against prince Hardaul to assassinate him. However, Hardaul successfully comes out of the plot because of his bravery and quality of problem-solving which was innate. But who can win over fate? Who could ever win over doubt? Who could stand against one’s own in wars? Arjuna was a unique case because Lord was with him. Hardaul, however, was a person who did not have the companionship of Gods. Hidayat Khan (the creation of the author), plots the seeds of doubt between Jujhar Singh and Hardaul. Jujhar Singh, the elder brother of Hardaul, comes to know of something which he cannot tolerate. The twist of the events took me back to Othello’s case at this point. Doubt cannot lead you to light unless you are a detective like James Bond! Hardaul, just to prove that he was innocent, has to do something that no one could dare to do in the wildest of dreams. Events occur and he dies, leaving the land of Orchha in woe! What happens in between the death of Hardaul and the conspiracies is something that readers should better find out themselves by reading the book.
Though the story is fictitious with the slightest hints of the original folklore, you will get to know the purpose behind the story once you read it. Rakesh has wonderfully reminded me my school days when I used to enjoy reading Hindi stories a lot. The seeds of doubt will only grow the fruits of worry and devastation, especially, among the relatives. The valour of Hardaul is depicted in all colours. His bravery, his dedication to serving his people, his war skills, and his planning for the future were all tremendous! I will recommend this book to all those readers who are looking for some great tales from our past. Read this book by Rakesh to know about the state of Orchha and the prince it saw – Hardaul!
