Deepavali Sandesh 2006

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Shubh! Shubh! Deepavali!

"Follow The Cowherd Boy" - By J.A. Joshi

I am delighted to write this post, for I have been lucky enough to read the manuscript of "Follow the Cowherd Boy", which comes out officially on Wednesday 25th October! Having heard the Bhajans of Mirabai and knowing a little about her life, the book gave me a beautiful insight into her life and educated me on the history, customs and traditions within Indian in the 16th century.

If you've heard of Mirabai, then this is a book you must certainly read to know more about her. If you've not heard of her - then what are you waiting for...?

Below is a brief synopsis of the novel:

"Follow the Cowherd Boy” is the story of Princess Mira Ratan Rathore, who was born in Rajasthan, India during the 16th century. The area, located on the India and Pakistan border, was plagued by waves of attacks from invading tribes of Moghuls and Afghans. The conquering tribes tried to force the local Indian Hindu people to convert to Islam."

Mira, a princess of war-torn Merta, has been in love with Krishna since she was five years old. When her father arranges her marriage to Bhoj, the prince of the neighboring kingdom Merwar, she is devastated. She ultimately agrees to the marriage in order to save her people from invading Moghuls. The alliance between their kingdoms brings peace to the land but is fragile. Her marriage brings surprises not only to Mira but to Bhoj also. Then when Mira meets a wandering holy man by the name of Ravi Das, things get complicated. Ravi steers Mira through a spiritual journey that poets have sung about for centuries.

Unfortunately, Bhoj's corrupt cousin Vikram is not interested in peace. For him, Bhoj and his wife are pawns in his plan to usurp the throne of Merwar. He is a master of manipulation and Mira realizes what is happening too late.

Unbeknownst to all, there are even greater forces at work.

The book can be ordered directly from:

• The Publisher - contains excerpts
• Amazon.com (USA) - contains excerpts
• Amazon.co.uk (UK) - contains excerpts
• Amazon.ca (Canada) - contains excerpts
• Barnes & Noble
• Lehmans - Germany

About the Author

J.A. Joshi was born and raised in North London, England, the youngest of five children. Her parents fascinated her with stories about Krishna and India since she was a baby. Her fascination grew as she did. She always had passion for reading and writing which was lucky as she loved to read her own writing. By the time she was fourteen, it was a foregone conclusion that she would be a writer in a family of scientists and she completed an English Literature degree as a result. She began writing Follow the Cowherd Boy during her final year at university, completing it in 2004 when she was 22 years old.

Lewisville Leader newspaper (TX) review