Author: Lyndon C
Publisher: Kindle edition
Pages: 105
My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐
Sid Cooper, aged 11, and his
dad are in Agra so his dad can attend a business meeting. Sid, a great history
buff, with a fascination for the Taj, gets an opportunity to see the Taj, in
the company of Raj Verma, the son of his dad’s colleague.
When his expensive camera falls
and breaks, Sid buys a cheap camera from a man peddling junk outside the Taj
Mahal. The camera is magical and the two boys are transported 350 years into
the past when the magnificent monument was still being built.
They learn that some precious
gems that were to be used in the intricate inlay work have gone missing. Hungry
for adventure, the two boys decide to nab the thief and find the gems.
The blurb tells us that Shah Jahan
is furious, but in the book, he seems remarkably unmoved and offers a reward to
whoever finds the missing gems. This is the man of who it is said that he
chopped off the arms of the workers who labored on the construction to ensure
that they never worked on a similar project again. Wouldn’t it have been more
in character if he were to demand that his men find the gems and the thief or
risk being beheaded?
Nor does he seem perturbed at
the sight of two 11-year-old boys casually strolling by, at the construction
site. For a Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan is far too genial, politely enquiring about
who they are, before letting them go.
What’s more, once the mystery is solved,
he generously hands out gifts to the boys. Not the smallest hint of curiosity
about whose kids they are and how they happened to land there.
The blurb also tells us that
the boys seek to save history and themselves. But the truth is that the boys
are far from concerned about themselves. The past is an extension of their outing
to the Taj. Not once do they worry about how they will return to their own
time. It’s not as if they’ve experienced both ends of the time travel journey
before, the going forth and the return. Their nonchalance is unreal.
The book takes far too long
to tell its story. At 32% on the Kindle, Sid’s camera broke. He bought a new
one at 42%. But it wasn’t until 59%, that they went back in time. Too much time
was wasted just reaching the past.
At one point, Sid and Raj
watch Shah Jahan speaking to the supervising architect. Raj translates the
Hindi conversation for Sid’s benefit. He tells Sid that the emperor spoke to
Puruji. How did Raj know the name of the architect? Errors like these should
have been caught in time.
The mystery in this book is utterly tame. There is no
sense of danger or intrigue. The mystery itself is solved by the boys very
easily, that too at the suggestion of a poor boy who works at the site.
In fact, the ease with which
they slip into the past, without anyone suspecting them of being spies or
strangers is amazing. Even their clothes are magically transformed into period
costumes.
La Niña found it funny that
Sid and Raj’s fathers were so cool with the idea of two 11-year-olds going to
the Taj all by themselves, without a responsible grownup in attendance. She wanted
to know if I would have let her go alone.
The bulk of the book is taken
up by facts relating to the Taj Mahal, which was interesting at first. It would
have been better if these nuggets of information had been seamlessly woven into
the story, rather than having Sid read them out from a book or having Raj show
off his knowledge.
The illustrations by
fifth-grader Ananya Chopra were beautiful. This kid is really talented.
As an idea, time travel is
always very exciting. Here the potential inherent in it is completely lost.
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