Publisher: Smashwords edition
Book Jacket:
In a daring midnight operation by armed men, over 10,000 pilgrims are taken hostage en route to the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi, a popular Himalayan religious-tourist destination in the troubled state of Jammu & Kashmir in Northern India. The hostage-takers threaten to shoot pilgrims every day, unless the incumbent Government accedes to their demands.
With the largest Hindu festival of Diwali just around the corner and elections less than six months away, the Government at the center is under immense pressure to act. What will the Government do? The army? The intelligence agencies? The common man?
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Who are these men? Is there a larger plot? Faced with such unprecedented events, will the country descend into unimaginable anarchy or will it rise above the issues of collective apathy and greed that have plagued it since Independence?
Book Review:
Operation Jai Mata Di is the debut work of Pratik Shah. For
his first published work the author has done a reasonable job. Though, there is
a lot of scope for improvement but still it’s qualified to be called as a
decent work. His writing is to the straightforward and crisp. The author has
tried his best to make an impactful debut but I believe he falls short.
The story gyrates around the mountains of Maa Vaishno Devi,
where almost 10,000 pilgrims are being held captive by terrorists. They want
the government to fulfil their demands or else one by one they will shoot down
the devotees. Which terrorist organizations do they belong to is still a mystery
or are they?
The story line is intriguing and will keep the readers
bounded. The description of the place is up to mark and I can say this because
every year without fail, as a true devotee, I have visited this place for the
last ten years and this was also one of the reasons why I was looking forward
to read this book. Author’s command over
the story was great and admirable.
Nevertheless, even if the narrative is honest and
intriguing, the spot is practically inconceivable. The restriction and norms
will never permit such a great number of devotees at the sights. Some of the
scenes are disturbing or I should better say degrading. There are minor loop
holes in the story here and there but then you can easily ignore it.
I would not say that it’s not a good book but yes, it could
have been better. For me it doesn’t fall in the fiction genre because I would categorize
it as a Fantasy. Readers will not be
disappointed after reading this book. Read this book for its description and
thrill.
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