It was Friday evening and Bocca café near Master Canteen was abuzz with book lovers across the city jostling for space to hear historian and writer William Dalrymple read out excerpts from his own works. Dalrymple came sailing in, looking comfortable in a crisp white kurta. He was happy to see the interest people had in his works. Author of books like ‘The Last Mughal’, ‘City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi’ and many more, Dalrymple agreed for a quick chat with Shreya Sarkar of Orissa Post about his research and writings.
Living nine lives in the land of djinns
Q) The excerpts you read from your works seem to take the listeners on an inward journey? What made you select these books for today?
A) This has been like revisiting my own works after a long time. I wrote ‘In Xandu: A Quest’ when I was a mere boy of 22. The writing is all about the ramblings of a young soul. In the ‘City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi’, I of those who remembered the pre-Independence Delhi which had more Muslim population. In ‘Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India’, I chronicled the experiences I gathered while traveling.
Q) You are a historian and an avid travel writer? Which do you enjoy most?
A) Well I must say I enjoy the historical writing and prefer it more. In historical novels, I can attempt to be objective and observe things from a bird’s eye perspective. Travel writing is more personal and subjective. It is a first person narrative and I have to sieve through my thoughts to bring out those that are worth a story.
Q) In the book ‘Nine Lives’, the excerpt about the Jain nun who gave up her life seems a personal grieving experience. Did it impact you that deeply?
A) Frankly, I was looking for my stories but I heard this from someone who was with the nun till her last day. I wanted to share her experience as it managed to make an impact on me and still impacts readers.
Q) While researching for your books, do you ever face difficulties while getting the documents?
A) There are two things that are difficult. One is finding documents and the other is to search for new documents. So when are you in the library in London, you have access to books and facts but everyone would have read. To get work done in the National Archives, there are various stipulations. Sometimes for a book, finding the indexes can take three weeks and it is important to know the indexes to search for and scout for new material.
Q) It is said that history is written by victors and we read a lot about the British Raj as colonisers, how do you think that can change?
A) Well, the history that we know is the history we learn. It is important to change that from the school level. Books need to be re-written to include that. Scotland, for instance, was both a coloniser and colonised, hence there are two kinds history that you find in Scotland.
Q) Finally, can we expect you to write about Odisha soon?
A) I am very intrigued by the state and given a chance, would like to explore the city well. Writing comes easy, it is the research that is difficult and may take up years but yes the state has a rich history and I might be tempted to explore it further.
