Just put down my very own copy of Tuhin A. Sinha's tour de force "The Edge Of Power" and must candidly confess that I am ensnared hook, line and sinker........

At the outset, let me confess or admit that I am a bibliophile who literally devours books; I devour a minimum of five titles a week and only share my thoughts and impressions on books that leave an indelible impression on both my mind as soul as well..........

"The Edge Of Power" is the long awaited sequel to the author's equally impressive treatise "The Edge Of Desire" and takes up the tale of it's main protagonist Shruti Ranjan who was left browbeaten and berating her fate after the untimely demise of her political patron and opportunistic betrayal by a man in whom she reposed her trust and political future........

This epic tale begins with a wannabe Arvind Kejriwal clone Daivik and his long standing friend and confidante, fading tinsel town superstar Catherine Khan floating the idea od floating their very own fledgling and novel political outfit in the aftermath of the sad, shocking and sordid Nirbhaya sexaul assault episode.......

Catherine is recovering from the trauma of a repressive, abusive and restrictive marriage to the son of the Hindi film industry's leading producer director and Diaivik is still coming to terms with the unseemly demand of Rs. 7 crore from Ravi Nehra (self styled president of the nation';s leading political party) for anointing him as it's official candidate for a much desired parliamentary seat.......

The two of them unanimously hit upon the idea of hoisting their political bandwagon on the able though somewhat jaded shoulders of Shruti Ranjan the erstwhile stormy petrel and soul keeper of the nation's politics who herself happens to be a surviving "political" gang rape victim..........

They somehow manage to convince Shruti into abandoning the safe, secure and familiar climes of her rehabilitation centre for women and retreat and accompanying them to Delhi so that she can acquaint herself first hand with the prevalent ground realities in the national capital in the aftermath of the horrific Nirbhaya rape episode that awakened the collective conscience of a dormant nation..........

And thereby begins a heady concoction of sacrifice, valour, political machinations, self flagellation, doubts, despair, death, destruction and mayhem that culminates in a sterling and heady triumph with Shruti being administered the oath of office of the Prime Minister of this proud and haughty nation right at the very end of the narrative.........

The canvas of this epic tale is also dotted with peripheral characters like Rhea (daughter of Shruti Ranjan's political mentor Sharad as well as estranged wife of the tale's enfant terrible Ravi Nehra) who only make "guest" appearances in the narrative nut still manage to leave a deep rooted impression on the mind of the transfixed and fixated reader............

Running into 303 odd pages and enticingly priced at Rs. 299 (available at a discount off 25-30% of the cover price through Flipkart, HomeShop18, Infibeam and such notable others), Tuhin.A.Sinha's magnum opus is a must read for any student or bystander who is as fascinated by the nation's ephemeral and ever changing political canvas.........

So do yourself a favour and grab a copy before it runs off the bookshelves......HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.........

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tuhin A.Sinha; a columnist, writer as well as screenwriter is one of the nation's foremost best selling novelists as well as the author of four previous works "The Edge Of Desire", "Of Love And Politics", That Thing Called Love", and "The Captain (formerly 22 Yards)" all of which broke new ground and explored uncharted territories in terms of subject, treatment and content.........

He also bears the additional burden of being an eminent and highly successful screenwriter of several immensely popular television shows including the seemingly evergreen "Yeh Rishtaa Kya Kehlata Hain" which reportedly is still making an appearance on Star Plus.........