While Madhavrao has been depicted as a shrewd statesman and a just and able ruler, his coronation as Peshwa came at a very difficult time... just after the defeat at Panipat. Faced with rebellions all over and powerful neighbors looking to settle old scores, his greatest challenges came from his own family !!The book which describes the reign of Madhavrao Peshwa is more of a history based novel rather than a biography - its not a record of overt history nor does it provide a critical analysis of the events that took place. Instead the book focuses a lot on Madhavrao Peshwa's relationships with his family and his personal life - the book present the Peshwa more as human than paint a larger than life image of his successes. "Swami" by Ranjit Desai, originally published in 1962, is based on the life and times of Madhavrao Peshwa. It explores various relationships like his wife Ramabai, his mother Gopikabai and his uncle Raghobadada among others. Though mainly focussed on Madhavrao, the other characters remain somewhat stunted in their growth and development. The author has glossed over much of the details of wars with Madhavarao's opponents making his victories sound almost too easy and hence by consequence him almost divine in his military skills. Surely there must be some complexity of thought, some grey areas at play here which would have made interesting reading and presented a more complete and realistic picture of Madhavrao. Surely, some people would be at the receiving end of these decisions and would not view Madhavrao in the same divine spirit as did his supporters. Presenting these weaknesses would have painted a more complete picture of Madhavrao along with his fallacies making him a more human, believable character. The complexity of thought of certain moments in the book could be explored a bit more. Nonetheless, Ranjit Desai does a very good job of humanising history, putting the actions of various men (and women) in the Peshwa family in context of their nature, ambitions and the external forces acting on them. The novel is as much a retelling of history as a story of a young man building his own legacy, fighting against his deteriorating health, enemies bent on destroying him and the pall settling on the empire in the wake of the defeat at Panipat in 1761. All in all, "Swami" keeps its promise of being an evergreen Marathi classic.
What do You think about Swami (2000)?
Hearttouching.....Everyone have to read...atleast those who loves about history of maratha's...
—bobbybrent777
