William Dalrymple and his works

Another author who has managed to hold my attention is William Dalrymple. I have read quite a few of his books. Chief among them being "The Last Mughal", "The White Mughals", "The Age of Kali" and "The City of Djinns"

I believe when it comes to History and travel-related writing no one can beat him. He virtually brings to life the era or the place he is writing about, and demonstrates immense intrepidity when it comes talking to the most unusual people that are generally a part of his book.

In my opinion, Dalrymple is a great fan of the syncretic Indo-Islamic culture that dominated much of Northern India, and met its end in the unfortunate Partition of the sub-continent. The author has spent considerable time in the India and gives an unbiased and objective account of events, which makes it all the more worth-while to read his works

"The City of Djinns" is an ode to the great city of Delhi thru' the ages. Dalrymple literally peels off various layers of the history of the City, while visiting many of the remnants of the various ages that the city has seen. Meeting a range of people from calligraphers to eunuchs to Anglo-Indians to the current descendants of the Mughal dynasty, he traverses the city, while describing the historical significance of some of monuments that are now in a rather sad state of affairs. He analyzes the architecture of the places he visits and puts them in perspective with the social condition of that era. He describes the politics and the debauchery of the Mughal court and the adventures of some of the early Brits, who started feeling more comfortable in their new surroundings than amongst fellow Brits. All in all, he takes the reader on a fascinating journey thru' the streets of Delhi transporting him to the age when those streets dazzled in their glory.

While "The City of Djinns" is about a specific city, in "The Age of Kali", Dalrymple makes the entire sub-continent his stage and writes a travelogue par excellence. Travelling from the north to the south and then to Pakistan and Sri-Lanka, he meets up with people some of us would dread to meet. From Laloo Yadav, the much-tainted, but still much admired former Chief Minister of Bihar and the Rajmata of Gwalior to Bahveri Devi, an unfortunate victim of gang-rape, the array of people he meets is mind-boggling. He talks to folks who witnessed the Sati of Deorala and in his classic unbiased way, juxtaposes the New Age India of the Software engineer with the Bharat of Caste wars and Sati. Just like "The City of Djinns", this one too makes heady reading.

While the "The City of Djinns" and "The Age of Kali" are essentially travelogues, "White Mughals" and "The Last Mughal" are works of history. "White Mughals" is set in the late eighteenth century Hyderabad, where the British Resident in the court of the Nizam, James Kirk patrick, falls in love Khair-un-Nissa, the great niece of the Nizam's Prime Minister and ended up marrying her and fathering two kids, despite the many obstacles, including the fact that she was almost always in Purdah. It is an absorbing tale that leaves you slightly sad in the end, since the story does not quite end on a happy note. But what stands out again, is Dalrymple's love for composite cultures, in this case the inter-mingling of the British and the Islamic culture of Hyderabad.

"The Last Mughal" is an almost day-by-day account of the 1857 mutiny or the first struggle for Indian Independence, whichever way you may want to call it. Dalrymple renews his love-story with Delhi, describing very objectively the happenings around a water-shed event during the British rule of India. He describes how the Last Mughal was a reluctant Emperor on whom the responsibility of leading a war was almost thrust upon by the rebel soldiers, how the residents of Delhi itself wanted to be no party to the war and how the Indian soldiers were so close to victory, but did not force the issue, simply due to lack of intelligence. Its a book you want to finish in one shot. Dalrymple once again brings to life the streets of Delhi during the Mutiny and makes one wonder , "Why don't they teach History like this at school?" In short, extremely compelling reading.

One wishes Dalrymple a long career in writing and wish History were taught like this at our schools.