Because, as it turns out, Meluha is not as perfect as it seems: the neighbouring kingdom of the Chandravanshis has evil designs on it and has teamed up with the evil, deformed Nagas to carry out terrorist attacks within the country. He is immediately venerated as a Saviour, the ‘ Neelkanth’ of legend who has arrived to save the Meluhans from disaster. When Shiva’s throat suddenly turns blue after he drinks a medicinal concoction, the reaction of the Meluhans is baffling, to say the least. Once they arrive, though, the new immigrants find that there might be more to the Meluhans’ generous invitation. To Shiva it makes perfect sense to do so and so the Gunas move into the rich and powerful Suryavanshi kingdom of Meluha. They’re promised good accommodation, fruitful occupations and a peaceful, conflict-free existence. He’s looking for a way out of this miserable life, when fortunately, envoys arrive from a country called Meluha – well-known for it’s peaceful and highly developed ways – and invite Shiva and his tribe, the Gunas, to make their home with them. The Shiva we are introduced to in The Immortals of Meluha, the first book of the trilogy, is a Tibetan chieftain, whose home in the Himalayas is made uninhabitable by the constant assaults of the warring Pakritis. If Amish’s purpose, while writing his Shiva Trilogy, was to present an Everyman, elevated to greatness by extraordinary circumstances, he has succeeded spectacularly.
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