My favorite type of novel is a retelling of a real incredible women from history, and “Lioness of Punjab” from Anita Jari Kharbanda from Yali Books is exactly that.

This tells the story of Mai Bhago, a woman that lead 40 soldiers into battle after deserting their posts in the 1700's. (Please read the Goodreads description of the book, it will do a better job than I ever could at sharing the plot!)

But what I loved about this book was that it wasn’t just about an incredible woman when she lead these men, but it shares the story of how she became that woman.

Please do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy of this awesome book when it comes out on September 17th!!

This is a great book for readers interested in historical fiction, women warriors, and strong female protagonists. You can learn a lot of fascinating information about Mai Bhago and 18th century Punjab. I highly recommend this book!

I was drawn into the book from the first chapter. Anita Jari Kharbanda’s descriptions, writing, and details are beautiful and vivid.

In the winter of 1705, Mai Bhago led 40 exhausted, disheartened soldiers back to the defense of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who was under attack by the armies of the mighty Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. Anita Jari Kharbanda’s novel, Lioness of Punjab is so much more than that legendary moment. Kharbanda skillfully weaves together a coming of age story of Mai Bhago, a legendary woman revered by the Sikh community. In so doing, Kharbanda brings out the heart of a young woman who learns to blend her love of her family, community and faith with her need to exert her individual fiery personality.

Kharbanda’s characters come to life against the vivid backdrop of 18th century Punjab. They are complex and multifaceted and I came to care for all of them. Moreover, Kharbanda does a masterful job bringing Mai Bhago herself to life–not just as the legendary woman who would eventually inspire so many others, but as a human being. Again and again, I related to Mai Bhago’s struggles to reconcile her inner self to the outer world. I saw the world through Mai Bhago’s eyes and felt her passion. This is historical fiction at its best, alternating between family interactions, everyday life, and significant historical events.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me access to this book for an honest review!
I would like to preface this by mentioning that my mother comes from a Sikh family and I've lived in Chandigarh, India for most of my life.
So, of course, we had the Punjabi language as a subject in school and while the first couple of years were mostly about learning Gurumukhi, the next few were spent reading Punjabi literature and stories. These, of course, included heroic and praise-worthy stories of the Punjabi historical figures like Mai Bhago, Baba Banda Sahib, and many others with a detailed study of the ten Sikh gurus,
I was beyond elated when I saw a book with "Punjab" in its title on Netgalley. And then so much more elated when I saw that it was based on the life of Mai Bhago.
I'm very happy to say that I loved this book. Even though it deals with pretty grim and heavy themes like war, death, and grief, I loved how raw and real it felt. As if I had been transported to the past and saw everything unfold with my own eyes.
The writing was very beautiful and evoked all the emotions in me that the author would want the readers to feel while reading this book. It was a pretty quick read because of how invested I was in it.
If there is one thing I disliked it was the spellings here and there. The author's note mentions that her mother taught her Gurumukhi among other things so I assume she has grown up outside of India hence, I understand how this might have happened but some of these still irked me a lot and I'm going to mention them:
- Use of Vahiguru instead of Waheguru
- Use of Gurdwara instead of Gurudwara
- Use of kuri when the author clearly meant "kuriyaan" because kuri means a girl and kuriyaan is the word you use for multiple girls.
I'll highly recommend this book to everyone, especially historical fiction lovers!
Actual rating: 4,5

Beautiful prose, honest and straightforward narrative in the words of the lioness herself. It was nothing short of satisfying to follow the story of Mai Bhago from a small girl, who preferred to wrestle with the village boys over what was deemed appropriate for her, to a strong woman who found her purpose and rode fearlessly to face the enemy of her people. Anita Jari Kharbanda flawless storytelling portrayed her as a filial daughter, a loving sister, and a loyal friend and wife before she became the warrior history remembered. I loved the seamless integration of Punjabi vocabulary and culture into the narrative. I admired her bravery and faith and I was moved by her love for her people and how they in turn supported her along her journey. The flow was natural, the story followed her growth in a comfortable pace yet, as someone who read it purely for the battle and action, I was a bit disappointed to find out that was pushed back and limited to the latter chapters. Still, it was quite the enjoyable and informative read which introduced me to a magnificent historical figure. I highly recommend.

It was second historical fiction. I definitely enjoyed it. Right now i just finished telling about this book story to my grandma. Kharbanda did an excellent job in weaving this masterpiece. Each and every detail in story was so beautifully narrated. I have no words for mai bhago's struggle. She was fierce full lady. She inspired so many people including me and will keep inspiring many more. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.
In few words,
Lioness of Punjab is an stunning novel which in its first few pages will drew you to the most passionate and struggling world of mai bhago's and land of Punjab.

Thank you netgalley for the arc.

I was drawn into the book from the first chapter. Anita Jari Kharbanda’s descriptions, writing, and details are beautiful and vivid.

In the winter of 1705, Mai Bhago led 40 exhausted, disheartened soldiers back to the defense of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who was under attack by the armies of the mighty Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. Anita Jari Kharbanda’s novel, Lioness of Punjab is so much more than that legendary moment. Kharbanda skillfully weaves together a coming of age story of Mai Bhago, a legendary woman revered by the Sikh community. In so doing, Kharbanda brings out the heart of a young woman who learns to blend her love of her family, community and faith with her need to exert her individual fiery personality.

Kharbanda’s characters come to life against the vivid backdrop of 18th century Punjab. They are complex and multifaceted and I came to care for all of them. Moreover, Kharbanda does a masterful job bringing Mai Bhago herself to life–not just as the legendary woman who would eventually inspire so many others, but as a human being. Again and again, I related to Mai Bhago’s struggles to reconcile her inner self to the outer world. I saw the world through Mai Bhago’s eyes and felt her passion. This is historical fiction at its best, alternating between family interactions, everyday life, and significant historical events.

Brava!

This was a beautiful book. I loved every moment of it, and this is a lovely coming-of-age story. I definitely recommend this book to everyone. It has bittersweetness and a sense of being realistic yet the heroine prevails through all the expectations and never loses herself. This was just amazing.