Archive · 25 Aug 2026
Historical Fiction Chronicles Queen Tarabai’s Resistance To Aurangzeb
The book tells a fictionalized story about Tarabai, a brave Maratha queen.
It begins when she is a six-year-old girl named Tara.
Her father teaches her to ride horses and use weapons like her brothers.
She later marries Ram Raja, who becomes a Maratha ruler.
After difficult events, Tara becomes a widowed queen.
She works to protect her two children and her people.
The story shows her using clever plans against Aurangzeb’s army.
The reviewer liked the research and vivid scenes but thought some descriptions were slow and focused too much on Aurangzeb.
Medha Deshmukh Bhaskaran’s historical fiction novel follows Tarabai from childhood to queenhood.
Young Tara receives military training alongside her brothers from her father, Hambir Rao Mohite.
She marries Ram Raja, later Chhatrapati Rajaram, after impressing his elder brother Sambhaji.
The novel depicts Tarabai defending her children and Maratha people during Aurangzeb’s long war.
The review praises the book’s research and vivid detail but says Aurangzeb receives more attention than Tara.
- Who
- The novel focuses on Tarabai, also called Tara, and her resistance to Aurangzeb’s Mughal forces; it was written by Medha Deshmukh Bhaskaran.
- What
- A review of Queen Tara: Kali of the Deccan, a historical fiction novel about Tarabai’s life and military leadership.
- When
- The story begins in 1680 and covers the period between Chhatrapati Sambhaji’s death and Aurangzeb’s death.
- Where
- The story is set across Maratha locations including Talbid, Vasantgad, Satara province, and Raigad.
- Why
- Tarabai fights to protect her children, her people, and the Bhosale clan’s dream of Swaraj.
- Book
- Queen Tara: Kali of the Deccan
- Author
- Medha Deshmukh Bhaskaran
- Publisher
- Penguin
- Length
- 289 pages
- Price
- Rs 499
- Historical setting
- The Maratha-Mughal conflict from 1680 through the period of Aurangzeb’s death
- Reviewer
- Rachna Chhabria