Courting the Dancer

A new book travels back to 500 BC,when the beautiful court dancer Amrapali held the republic of Vaishali in a thrall. The Legend of Amrapali by Anurag Anand (Srishti Publishers,Rs 200) merges history with fiction,fantasy and fable,to tell the story of one of the best-known dancers of ancient India. Amrapali’s parentage was unknown — she was found by a farmer at the bottom of a mango tree and her early talent for dance had the “entire neighbourhood talking about the girl who could put even apsaras to shame”. How she catches the eye of the king,transforms into a powerful,and often feared personality,and then changes the course of the country’s politics,makes up the bulk of the storyline.