Facts in fiction
clusions on the reign of the king. If there were coins available why not include them pictorially to enhance the reading experience of the reader. In the same essay on Chandra Gupta, the author suffixes his statement saying “so it is claimed” – appears to be the reasoning against the material evidence and also an act of distancing by the scholar himself from the unearthed artefacts. To a large part, the historical evidence falls under either “so it is claimed” or “so it seems” because we are interpreting ruins and leftovers. The author cautions the reader that the Guptas period “greatness” may have been “generally exaggerated by historians, perhaps for sentimental reasons” and sounds resolutely more objective than the rest of the historians who have chosen to write about the period.
In the end, history is one subject that can build confidence, can restore pride and be an educative guide to chart the future. In case it turns out to be a subject of derision it becomes a colourful fiction by the interpreter. History is incomplete without historical and socio-political context, and if the backdrop is presented if often leads to a distorted and often ungainly understanding of the history. Theft and selective interpretation of one’s own history is a great disservice to the nation.
The chapter on Krishnadeva Raya by Manu S Pillai is a fascinating read. Similarly, other essays including “Shivaji and his times” by Jadunath Sarkar, “Tipu Sultan” by Rajmohan Gandhi make for interesting essays. This compact book has a compilation of twelve contributors including Romila Thapar,
William Dalrymple, Salman Rushdie, Kushwant Singh etc. For the readers interested in the rulers and statesmen in the history of India this book can be a quick starting point, although not comprehensive. The publishers could have included any fascinating historical artefacts of each era and make the essays livelier. Overall for a country starved of any good non-academic history books – The Book of Indian Kings could be a good starting point though insubstantial to learn and understand the ancient past and its key protagonists.