User:Damanksekhon/sandbox



Moran Da Maharaja is a collection of historic fictional stories book written by U.K. based Punjabi author Balraj Singh Sidhu and Published By Sahibdeep Publication, Mansa, Punjab, India. It Contains story about Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his queens. The stories are a marvelous combination of historical facts and human imagination, intrinsically weaving the plight of Royal ladies and of course, the court dancers. The Maharaja longs for ‘variety’ in his life, thus proves unfaithful towards women, already kept in his ‘haram’. Ranjit Singh leads a majestic yet voluptuous life style. His love for ‘Moran’ the dancer is merely a lust. Failing to pay the required attention toward his state and related affairs, he leads to the downfall of Sikh Empire and annexation of Punjab into the British Empire. Balraj Sidhu breaks the conventional barriers, which till now, refrained the historians and writers from writing about the Maharaja’s personal life, because he belonged to a certain community and religion, thus considered ‘pious’. Balraj raises readers’ curiousity and sustains it very well throughout the stories. He has forged the links to the maximum by quoting historical dates and other known facts between Ranjit Singh’s personal as well as professional life. He takes the Maharaja’s sentimental/sexual indulgence with Moran openly, disregarding customary discipline imposed by the Sikh society. Above all, it beautifully portrays the irony of love and betrayal on the Maharaja’s part. If we swim into the same direction as the waves go, we see the same sea and the same danger, but Balraj took courage to swim against the flow to break customs, traditions and myths. Some parts of this book are consider controversial by Sikh extremists. Apart from Maharaja Ranjit Singh's stories there are other stories based on true historic events and characters such as Lady Godiva, Princess Of Kapurthala and the love story of Dona Paula.