DWELLING ON DALRYMPLE

William Dalrymple, the scrupulous scholar and master story-teller, made a fast-paced and highly animated presentation of his latest book, ‘Return of the King: The Battle for Afghanistan 1839-1842’ (2012) at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto back in April.
Once again, the master of intricate details had located new material in Farsi, Russian and Urdu on the First Anglo-Afghan War which resulted in the greatest British military defeat of the 19th century. Dominic Sandbrook of the Sunday Times Books of the Year remarked: ‘For the Afghans, this was their Trafalgar, Waterloo and Battle of Britain.’ Not having read the book, it remains high on my bucket-list of ‘books to read before I die’.
Unfortunately, a thin crowd attended the riveting book discussion. Possibly, inadequate media coverage or the suddenness of the schedule meant not enough people were informed of the event. Fortunately, this provided us moments to talk to Olivia Fraser, his wife. An illustrator of repute, she was en route along with her husband to the Venice Biennale for an exhibition of her new artwork, titled ‘Sacred Landscapes’ – an artistic expression evolved from Rajasthani miniatures. To Dalrymple, I expressed my sentiment of serendipity. Having missed his appearance at the 2014 Hay Festival in Dhaka and his earlier visit arranged by Independent University of Bangladesh, it was my destiny to cross oceans to meet him in Toronto. For the multitudes of avid Dalrymple readers, the narrative historian’s announcement that ‘The White Mughal: Love and Betrayal in the Eighteenth Century’ (2002) would take a celluloid form was exciting news.

I had met Dalrymple some years earlier in New Delhi at the Oxford Bookstore, Connaught Place where he was doing a presentation. Dalrymple’s house-guests were Salman Rushdie and his then-wife Padma Lakshmi. Dalrymple declared: ‘I could hardly leave my guests home alone and so brought them along.’ I was able to have a few words with Dalrymple. I mentioned Baron’s Hotel, the iconic hotel in Aleppo, Syria in which I have stayed and which he mentions in his book ‘From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium’ (1998). He expressed surprise that I had read this book of his; since according to him not many in India are familiar with this account of his travels in the Middle East.

My husband and I attended the launch of his master-piece tribute to Bahadur Shah Zafar, ‘The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857’ (2006) at the British Council, New Delhi. It remains a monumental memory. This was no cheese and cocktail circuit book launch. This was no book release event with a galaxy of chief guest, special guest and honoured guest weighing down the stage. This was no starry event where an invited guest eclipsed the author himself. Here the superstar was Dalrymple and Dalrymple alone. What followed was a most imaginatively orchestrated event. Set in a magical ambience, the event was staged in the courtyard of the British Council in the evening. Surrounded by flickering wall diya lights that softly illuminated the all white farash floor seating – the packed audience were transported to the central courtyard of a well-appointed haveli in northern India. Flanked by Mahmood Farooqui, the Rhodes scholar of Urdu and Farsi who undertook much of the translation of long untouched archival material and at this venue read out Bahadur Shah Zafar’s couplets and Radhika Chopra, renowned ghazal singer who mesmerised us with her rendition of the last Mughal emperor’s compositions, Dalrymple held court. For an extra element of stage effect; all three were clad in white whilst seated on a white divan.

Continuing his prolific output of writings, this summer alone I have come across his expansive review of Nisid Hajari’s recent release (2015) ‘Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition’ that appeared in the prestigious New Yorker magazine on June 29. Dalrymple’s review titled ‘The Great Divide: The Violent Legacy of Indian Partition’ is once again a mark of the writer’s prodigious gift for exploring an historical event and then telling a remarkable story. The New Yorker article is partly a review of the widely acclaimed book authored by Hajari and partly Dalrymple’s own historical expose of the cataclysmic event. ‘Midnight’s Furies’ as a result has been added to my ‘wings of desire.’

Days with Dalrymple continue...I received from London a copy of the ‘Financial Times Weekend’, dated July 11 -12. It carries an article by Dalrymple titled ‘The last of the bards.’ He is on a visit to the Tamil temple-town of Madurai, in southern India. He wants to meet the poet-preachers of Tamil Nadu. He had come to meet Srinivasan, an accountant by day. “By night, however, he was something extraordinary. For Srinivasan was one of the last hereditary bards keeping alive a millennia-old tradition of sacred Tamil verse stretching back to the classical golden age of south Indian civilisation.” Today, the tradition is at risk. For “I have not been blessed with children and our whole tradition – 1,200 years old – now rests on the shoulders of my nephew...A dunce, grasping capacity he lacks. Every night I worry.” Imbibing the mood and the moment, Dalrymple once again dips and delves into the evolving and at times vanishing traditions of a fast-changing society.

His forays into southern India mark his yet another long journey to research for his forthcoming book (2016) on the East India Company – ‘The Anarchy: How a Corporation Replaced the Mughal Empire 1756-1803.’ Centuries past in Madras, the East India Company established its first mercantile corner-stone in India followed by the fortified Fort St George in 1639 on the eastern Coromandel coast. Today, Madras renamed Chennai in 1996 in the state of Tamil Nadu, remains the site for the commencement of the commercial and colonial presence of the British in India. The Company has been termed ‘the original corporate raiders.’ And the rest is history. We can count on William Dalrymple through his many passages through India; to once again offer his many devotees a tantalising tale of the rise and fall of the Company which then led to the rise of the ‘Jewel in the Crown.’ 

The writer is a history and travel enthusiast. ‘India: Beyond the Taj and the Raj’, University Press Limited, Dhaka, 2013 is her latest book.

DWELLING ON DALRYMPLE

William Dalrymple, the scrupulous scholar and master story-teller, made a fast-paced and highly animated presentation of his latest book, Return of the King: The Battle for Afghanistan 1839-1842 (2012) at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto back in April. Once again, the master of intricate details had located new material in Farsi, Russian and Urdu on the First Anglo-Afghan War which resulted in the greatest British military defeat of the 19th century. Dominic Sandbrook of the Sunday Times Books of the Year remarked: For the Afghans, this was their Trafalgar, Waterloo and Battle of Britain. Not having read the book, it remains high on my bucket-list of books to read before I die. Unfortunately, a thin crowd attended the riveting book discussion. Possibly, inadequate media coverage or the suddenness of the schedule meant not enough people were informed of the event. Fortunately, this provided us moments to talk to Olivia Fraser, his wife. An illustrator of repute, she was en route along with her husband to the Venice Biennale for an exhibition of her new artwork, titled Sacred Landscapes an artistic expression evolved from Rajasthani miniatures. To Dalrymple, I expressed my sentiment of serendipity. Having missed his appearance at the 2014 Hay Festival in Dhaka and his earlier visit arranged by Independent University of Bangladesh, it was my destiny to cross oceans to meet him in Toronto. For the multitudes of avid Dalrymple readers, the narrative historians announcement that The White Mughal: Love and Betrayal in the Eighteenth Century (2002) would take a celluloid form was exciting news. I had met Dalrymple some years earlier in New Delhi at the Oxford Bookstore, Connaught Place where he was doing a presentation. Dalrymples house-guests were Salman Rushdie and his then-wife Padma Lakshmi. Dalrymple declared: I could hardly leave my guests home alone and so brought them along. I was able to have a few words with Dalrymple. I mentioned Barons Hotel, the iconic hotel in Aleppo, Syria in which I have stayed and which he mentions in his book From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium (1998). He expressed surprise that I had read this book of his; since according to him not many in India are familiar with this account of his travels in the Middle East. My husband and I attended the launch of his master-piece tribute to Bahadur Shah Zafar, The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857 (2006) at the British Council, New Delhi. It remains a monumental memory. This was no cheese and cocktail circuit book launch. This was no book release event with a galaxy of chief guest, special guest and honoured guest weighing down the stage. This was no starry event where an invited guest eclipsed the author himself. Here the superstar was Dalrymple and Dalrymple alone. What followed was a most imaginatively orchestrated event. Set in a magical ambience, the event was staged in the courtyard of the British Council in the evening. Surrounded by flickering wall diya lights that softly illuminated the all white farash floor seating the packed audience were transported to the central courtyard of a well-appointed haveli in northern India. Flanked by Mahmood Farooqui, the Rhodes scholar of Urdu and Farsi who undertook much of the translation of long untouched archival material and at this venue read out Bahadur Shah Zafars couplets and Radhika Chopra, renowned ghazal singer who mesmerised us with her rendition of the last Mughal emperors compositions, Dalrymple held court. For an extra element of stage effect; all three were clad in white whilst seated on a white divan. Continuing his prolific output of writings, this summer alone I have come across his expansive review of Nisid Hajaris recent release (2015) Midnights Furies: The Deadly Legacy of Indias Partition that appeared in the prestigious New Yorker magazine on June 29. Dalrymples review titled The Great Divide: The Violent Legacy of Indian Partition is once again a mark of the writers prodigious gift for exploring an historical event and then telling a remarkable story. The New Yorker article is partly a review of the widely acclaimed book authored by Hajari and partly Dalrymples own historical expose of the cataclysmic event. Midnights Furies as a result has been added to my wings of desire. Days with Dalrymple continue...I received from London a copy of the Financial Times Weekend, dated July 11 -12. It carries an article by Dalrymple titled The last of the bards. He is on a visit to the Tamil temple-town of Madurai, in southern India. He wants to meet the poet-preachers of Tamil Nadu. He had come to meet Srinivasan, an accountant by day. By night, however, he was something extraordinary. For Srinivasan was one of the last hereditary bards keeping alive a millennia-old tradition of sacred Tamil verse stretching back to the classical golden age of south Indian civilisation. Today, the tradition is at risk. For I have not been blessed with children and our whole tradition 1,200 years old now rests on the shoulders of my nephew...A dunce, grasping capacity he lacks. Every night I worry. Imbibing the mood and the moment, Dalrymple once again dips and delves into the evolving and at times vanishing traditions of a fast-changing society. His forays into southern India mark his yet another long journey to research for his forthcoming book (2016) on the East India Company The Anarchy: How a Corporation Replaced the Mughal Empire 1756-1803. Centuries past in Madras, the East India Company established its first mercantile corner-stone in India followed by the fortified Fort St George in 1639 on the eastern Coromandel coast. Today, Madras renamed Chennai in 1996 in the state of Tamil Nadu, remains the site for the commencement of the commercial and colonial presence of the British in India. The Company has been termed the original corporate raiders. And the rest is history. We can count on William Dalrymple through his many passages through India; to once again offer his many devotees a tantalising tale of the rise and fall of the Company which then led to the rise of the Jewel in the Crown. The writer is a history and travel enthusiast. India: Beyond the Taj and the Raj, University Press Limited, Dhaka, 2013 is her latest book.