Raaz Mahal – The Palace of Secrets

Book Review

Author has researched controversies of the origins of the Taj Mahal and rendered it into a modern day mystery novel. Part I of the book covers what the history books talk about the times of the emperor Shah Jahan when the Taj Mahal is supposed to have been built. Shah Jahan spent a major portion of this time in the Deccan around the area of the Tapi river at Burhanpur when he was fighting wars on multiple fronts. He used to travel with his large harem at the time. This is the very basis of the fictional mystery that surrounds the secrets of the Mughal era.

The history of a nation is written by the rulers and archivists of the time or travelers from distant lands. India and particularly the northern part has been subject to invasions through north west India for about a thousand years and then occupation by the British. The historians of the times could have exploited the populace and ignored the previous periods of history under the reigns of the local rulers. The mystery starts unfolding with a Right to Information petition to produce archeological proofs about how and when the Taj Mahal was built. Vijay, the protagonist in the book is a Civil Engineer Archeologist who is appointed to lead the research to respond to this petition.

Vijay and his team research around Agra, London and Burhanpur in addition to available documented history and proofs. When asked to report the analysis, he faces resistance from historians and seniors and presents his novel analysis. Vijay seems to follow his own path to research and brings back more questions than he can answer by himself.