The Book Mine: Rajula and The Web of Danger

Deepa Agarwal

One night, fifteen-year-old Rajula's carefree life in the green hills of Kumaon is changed forever. A mysterious man begins to haunt her dreams, and he turns out to be no other than the ruler of Katyur, King Malushahi! The problem is her father: the formidable sorcercer Sunapati Shauka. He has promised her hand to a Tibetan chieftain and now weaves a web of deceit and danger between Rajula and Malushahi. When Rajula learns that Malushahi and she had been sworn in marriage by their mothers much before, she follows her heart and her fate on a perilous journey to the Katyuri capital, Bairath. Despite her mother's magical spells, she has to use all her courage and wits to battle the odds she faces. And for Malushahi winning, her hand poses a death-defying challenge. The epic tale of Rajula's bravery and Malushahi's steadfastness has been sung by bards in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand for centuries, and is retold here for the first time in English. Packed with magic, humour and fascinating characters, it takes you on a thrilling adventure through the lower reaches of Kumaon to the snowy wastes of Tibet.