Born in New Delhi and studied in Bengaluru, author HEMMA MYERS SOOD released her first book, The Eternal Ocean of Brahma, which conveys the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita imbibed through intuitive perceptions of the waves of the ocean. She received notable reviews and was compared to Newton and Archimedes for her extraordinary perceptions and unique insights of the waves of the ocean. From then, there has been no stopping. Hemma has been relentlessly publishing books and has diversified into other avenues where she holds workshops and guides individuals in finding the right answers and achieving their goals.

Hemma has successfully completed a course on ‘Writing Fiction’ from the prestigious Oxford University, and her ninth book, Tijara’s Mystery Codes, is uniquely interwoven with historical fiction, murder, palace intrigue and clairvoyance. On the personal front, Hemma lives in Goa, India with her family. She practises meditation, chanting, yoga and pranayama daily. She enjoys walking amongst Mother Nature to receive inspirational insights for her motivational writing.

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The interview:

How did you start writing your latest novel, Tijara’s Mystery Codes?

Tijara’s Mystery Codes is an intriguing combination of clairvoyance interwoven with three timelines that are set apart by millennia, yet inextricably linked by the dark secret of the mystical Amrita.

I was on my way to Tijara Fort Palace in Rajasthan, in November 2015; it was my first trip. I was travelling with a Japanese couple who were staying at my cousin’s house. We were busy talking throughout the journey, but as we neared the Tijara Fort Palace, we craned our necks to gaze up at its magnificent structure. None of us had realised that the driver had taken a turn onto a mud road at the foothills of the Tijara Fort. We took a U-turn when we realised that we were on the ’wrong’ road.

Unfortunately, or so we thought, the car sank into the soft sand. We were later rescued by a tractor that pulled the car out. I could never have imagined that this ‘wrong’ turn would change my life tracks. That’s when the germ of an idea blossomed and I started the journey of writing this story.

Since the book spans three timelines, could you quickly run us through the plot?

The first timeline depicts snippets from the historical Kurukshetra battle. The ancestors of Tijara, King Susharma and his brothers had sided with the Kauravas and fought against the mighty Pandavas. King Susharma had deceptively led Arjuna away from the battlefield. The Kauravas had created the dreaded Chakravyuh and deceitfully trapped Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu. They had brutally killed him, breaking all the battlefield laws and morals.

The second timeline elucidates Rao Raja Balwant Singh’s lifestyle. He was continually threatened by his elder stepbrother who was keen to usurp all his wealth and property. The construction of the majestic fort palace at Tijara stopped abruptly after the tragic death of Rao Raja Balwant Singh in 1848.

The third timeline is set in 1977. Maharaj Mahadev Singh of Tijara Fort Palace has been desperately holding on to his crown, unable to honourably give up his stake to power. His ambitious daughter Rajkumari Mansi is infuriated that her younger twin brother has been named the heir apparent since their royal lineage follows the patriarchal tradition.

So how does the story manage all three timelines?

Maharaj Mahadev plans to decipher a primordial papyrus manuscript, safeguarded over the centuries and preserved in a secret vault. The papyruses describe the formulation of the amrita, a potent anti-ageing elixir that surpasses the famed amrita of the gods. The papyruses are guarded against misuse by a curse by Maharani Madri, mother of the Pandavas and Rao Raja Balwant Singh. Despite the deathly curse that can tragically annihilate their royal lineage, Maharaj Mahadev is determined to create the elixir.

Mahadev hires Dr. Sanjay Kirti to decipher the formula for the Amrita that is encoded in the papyrus. Dr. Sanjay works in top secrecy and makes rapid progress in formulating the elixir. However, at the cusp of success, he is found murdered at Tijara Fort. A brilliant doctor ironically done to death in his youth; perhaps because of being in possession of the secret to ageless life.

The dynamic DSP of Delhi Police, Siddhartha Kumar, has an unusual track record. He has an innate ability to connect to the higher realms and receive mystical guidance in the form of omens which assist him in intuiting obscure details about bizarre crimes.

Coming to Tijara Fort in the guise of the interior decorator Syd, Siddhartha meticulously tracks down vital clues and adopts his unique psychic powers and clairvoyant faculties. Finally, Syd narrows down his hunt to five prime suspects. He plans the grand climax at the Hawa Mahal. Following his intuition, he zeroes in on one of the prime suspects. This gripping plot involves a cursed elixir, murder, missing decoded files, palace intrigue, illicit affairs, and a thrilling climax set at Tijara Fort Palace.

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The story seems to have a multi-faceted, extravagant landscape for the perfect grandeur of a Bollywood film. Any future plans for selling the rights of the book?

Well, I hope your premonitions come true. It’s still too early to divulge information at this juncture. But I am glad the book did fascinate you with the fast pace.

WHAT’S HOT IN MUMBAI strongly recommends you to grab this engrossing, spell-binding book. Author HEMMA MYERS SOOD’s story-telling style is lucid, the character fleshing is interesting, the twists surely will keep you hooked till the end. We finished this book in two nights and found it to have all the ingredients to make it a Blockbuster hit.

The book is available on this link https://amzn.to/3PiAio8