The Elephant Girl - Book Review

Title  - The Elephant Girl 
Author - Chitta Ranjan
Publisher - Lead Start Corporation
Format - Paperback
Genre - Historical Fiction
Pages - 322

Blurb :

The forests of Eastern India, during the late years of the British Raj, were rife with stories about a mythical maiden riding a wild pachyderm. On a train ride through these deep jungles, a series of strange events unfold to pique the curiosity of Raj Narayan, the crown prince of Paschim Behar. Two attempts on Raj’s life as well as the murder of his father, the Maharajah and his favourite brother in the Royal Palace seem to be linked to a conspiracy to shroud the legend of the elephant girl in secrecy. What starts as a short trip soon hurtles crown prince Raj into a rollercoaster ride of adventure as he becomes obsessed to get to the bottom of the mystery of the elephant girl. Torn between his urge to seek out the mysterious maiden notwithstanding the advanced pregnancy of his wife and the evolving intrigues around succession amongst the brothers and his beautiful step mother, he finds himself in the maze of royal intrigue with the players shuttling between the opulent royal palace and deep dark forest with royal secrets. Will he betray his loving wife’s trust to be with the maiden? Will he find the murderer? Will he survive the savage mysterious forests and live to tell his tale?

Review :
What attracted me to this book was the title and the cover of the book. I have not read a lot of books on wild life. The story line really intrigued me. I am a huge fan of Historical stories. This book is set in the early 1930's in the jungles of Assam. Another reason I wanted to read this book was that I haven't read much about Eastern India, especially the pre partition era.

I am glad that I picked this book because it has everything, family ties, conspiracies, drama emotions and suspense.

Who is the Elephant girl? What happens when Raj Narayan goes back to the palace after the death of his father? Read the book to know more.

The scenes depicted by the author are very vivid and clear. You get a glimpse of India during the pre partition era. Chitta Ranjan has explained the scenes in detail. The narrative is clear and crisp. There are a lot of twists and turns in the book and the end is a pleasant surprise. 

Overall a very good read. 

About the author :
Ranjan is an engineer by profession, who lives in Perth, Western Australia with
his wife and two children. His childhood spent in the verdant north-eastern
corner of India sparked his fascination for nature and wildlife. On completing
his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, he moved to New Delhi for
work. He has since completed his master’s degree in process engineering with
Monash University. He has lived in Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi and Paris before
coming to Australia in 2005.

Ranjan is widely travelled and his hobbies include bird watching and reading.
His passion for bird watching combined with his love of nature have culminated
in extensive exploration of the forests of India, particularly in the remote north-
eastern corner. He has organised many bird watching camps in numerous tiger
reserves in India. His love for the jungles of India coupled with his interest in
the history of the princely states under British India have culminated in his first
novel; The Elephant Girl.



Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5