Taking the Taj

by Shivjeet Kullar

The story keeps shuttling from the present-day Taj, to the times when it was being built, with mindboggling trivia that keeps you glued to the novel - hoping it'd be for real! Inside the Taj, a young historian races to uncover a dramatic secret. It is a four-hundred-year-old secret as surprising as it is shocking, and it can change the way we look at the Taj. forever! Shivjeet Kuliar conjures up an intriguing account of complexities of human emotions, situations, love and lust. The novel takes you from the highs of power and rebellion to the lows of poverty and submission. As a nation heads towards a vortex of violence and destruction the whole world watches in horror' A nail-biting, adrenaline-pumpling account of an unforgettable twenty-four hours at the Taj.

Genres: Historical Fiction

377 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2013

Reviews

[Manya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annexure-1
Shivjeet Kullar, Taking the Taj, Amaryllis, Edition- 1st, 2013

The book ‘Taking the Taj’ is a fiction-thriller. The book is about a group of terrorists who entered the Taj Mahal and held a few international and wealthy tourists as hostages. But they have ulterior motives and have nothing to do with the hostages.
In the book, my favorite character is Dr.Meera, a criminal psychologist. She played a crucial part in tackling the terrorists. The other characters felt natural to me because their character-building, past stories, and heroic tales did not feel foreign. Every character had encountered some heart-breaking incidences, yet they managed to build themselves. Furthermore, the writer kept me engaged and intrigued all the time. It had unimaginable plot twists, some ‘awe’ moments, and some gave goosebumps. My favorite part of the book is at the end when the protagonist makes his final move and how it turns out. Furthermore, some of the pieces were written on mysterious and tense sides, which somehow made me eager to jump to the further parts. At last, the book got a grip on my brain, wanting to know more.
Everything is not always on the brighter side. The few parts of the book that I didn’t appreciate/ like were the ones where female characters were just used as an object to please men. It ranged from giving pleasure to ordinary men to a sheriff, the king, or even a criminal. The majority of the female characters were degraded to pleasure spots irrespective of the skills and merit they held.

My concluding thoughts about the book are that it is a must-read for people who like fiction-thriller. The writer has done a great job swiftly moving from one scene to another, building up intense suspense and giving chills.

[Khushie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Fast paced and well written, I enjoyed it. Kullar's experience as a copywriter shows in his writing. I take away 1.5 stars because the end was very abrupt and i couldn't decide whether I liked Wg Cdr Amarjeet or absolutely hated him. I don't know if that's what the author wanted.

[Rohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey members!
So the other day I picked up Taking the Taj by this guy, Shivjeet Kullar. The blurb said that he's a columnist with Times Of India as well as an ad guy who's won hundreds of awards so I figured why not! I was a bit taken aback by the line on the cover that said -At Last a genuine Indian Thriller Writer - a bit presumptuous if you ask me but I figured I'd give it a try. And Baannng!! the book starts like a bullet out of a pistol and doesn't stop flying for over 350 pages. There's terrorists who take over the Taj Mahal, demanding the release of a Osama like Character and with 13 international CEO's as hostages.
There's action, tension, communalism, politics and a little romance as well (gotta have the Romance).
What's more; the book keeps shifting between Shah Jahan's time and present day till a BIG SECRET about the Taj is revealed (and no I ain't telling you the secret ha ha). But I will say that the book dishes out surprise after surprise and introduces us to a whole host of interesting characters (perhaps 1too many), and all in all is a ROCKING READ!!!
In fact in some ways it's more like watching a film than reading a book!!!
Really enjoyed it...do read it ....and remember to BREATHE!!!

[Naveen Singh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book thinking it is based on true events of 26/11, well I was wrong. nevertheless, I started reading it and to my surprise book just takes off like plane from the very first page and manages to do so upto certain extent. However, at certain point of time you feel like author has discussed past of his characters little more than what was needed and it becomes like a monotonous that whenever any new charcter is introduced, you know well in advance that now there will be his past in next few pages. However, he never failed to introduce sensual, passionate physical intimacy and description of his characters just to make sure that reader is still interesitng in the "story".
The book is more like a bollywood movie and it would be an exaggaration to call it as "finally an Indian thriller".

[Pankaj Mullick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much has been learnt from Western thrillers, but not much else. It's a page-turner but not much else. The historical perspective has been thrown in to add another dimension but it doesn't quite add to the whole - stays apart and comes together with the plot in a oblique, disjointed way. Hailing oneself (or was it the publisher's doing?) as "finally an Indian thriller writer" is a tad presumtuous. It's an attempt, a good one, but not stellar stuff.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uncertain about it... on one hand, there is a certain plausibility to the plot and a riveting pace, but on the other hand, there are irritating typos, needless diversions into backgrounds of peripheral characters, several plot-lines - including some rather promising ones - which rise but peter out without warning, and some rather glaring consistencies - HIV+ soldiers in a professional army? But still a good read nevertheless - despite the rather hurried ending?

[Ravin Lama · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Taking the Taj", is a fast-paced, action-packed, unputdownable book I've read in a long time. A thriller that lives up to it's name. It's a great mix of history, mystery, creativity and imagination. This would make one heck of an exciting movie. Recommended reading.

[Anuradha Mathur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked up the book by chance but am really glad I did. It is non stop excitement with tension adding on minute by minute. Planning to visit the Taj Mahal to 'see' the book in my mind. Hope they make a movie!!

[Arvind Srinivasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced novel, the highlight of it is in the last very few pages.
Towards last 50 pages we get a thought on how the hell is the story going to end in 50 pages, but the end is very intelligent ... just that makes this book a very good read.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and easy read. Though the plot and storyline make you read the book somewhere the pace with which normally thrillers make you hook to the books is missing.

[Vikrantkuthiala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great first book by Shivjeet, another achiever from the Boys of 80, class of Mayo