Hoshruba, The land and the Tilism: Book Review

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Behind the Book:

Long  long ago, a group of sorcerers created tilism or a magical land. It is a world of spirits and talismans, where mountains change shape, fairies spring from the earth, dragon’s head dart out of flowers, and things are rarely what they seem. But it has a limited lifespan for its destruction is preordained. Hoshruba is its name, and it is ruled by the bold sorcerer Afrasiyab. Prophecies claim that Hoshruba will someday fall to a hero who possessed the key to the tilism. But the key has been lost, and Afrasiyab, with his invincible army of sorcerers, has remained the unchallenged ruler of the land.

Fate will, however, not always be on Afrasiyab’s side. His protection of the giant Laqa draws him to a clossal battle with the force of the hardened warrior Amir Hamza, uncle of the prophet Muhammad and Laqa’s arch enemy. Heading the offensive against Afrasiyab are a band of tricksters-masters of disguise and wit-led by the cunning Ammar Ayya, and the young Prince Asad, Hamza’s grandson and the prophesied conqueror of Hoshruba. When Prince Asad is kidnapped by Afrasiyab’s agents, it is left to Amar and a rebel sorceress to salvage his mission. Who will triumph in the battle for Hoshruba? And can Afrasiyab’s wizard armies be defeated?

Full of magic, adventure, romance and fantasy, TheTilism-e-Hoshruuba is the Indian subcontinent’s greatest Urdu epic. Composed by two rival storytellers in late 19th Century Lucknow, this classic of world literature has never been-until now-translated into English.

Verdict

Hoshruba is a magic empire. Tilism is an Urdu word that originally meant a magic relic. The reader may find the plot of the book a little complex but it is important to mention that the original text has gone through translations meticulously. The nature of the quest is very significant also most of fantasy books, the source of the magic are never harmed whereas here, the source of the magic is destroyed.

 This book is said to run to 24 volumes and will be translated into English for the first time ever by Musharraf Ali Farooqi, the much-admired translator of The Adventures of Amir Hamza. Moreover, Random House India will be publishing all the volumes. This is the first book of the volume.

P.S. : I received this book from the publishers and in return I promised them an honest and unbiased review.

(c) Reviewed by Sridevi Nayak Karopady