The mystery is a device, a tool to bring history to life: Author Arjun Raj Gaind

While historical fiction (of the mythological variety) is very popular in India, historical mystery is only just starting to find its legs as a genre. This is a thought that even author Arjun Raj Gaind agrees with.

The author is one of India’s best known comic book writers, and has created some critically acclaimed, bestselling graphic novels (he prefers the term sequential art). But the reason he talks about historical mystery now, is because of The Maharajah Mysteries — a trilogy of historical mysteries. The author saw a successful run with his first book A Very Pukka Murder, and the recently released second book, Death at the Durbar, just ups the game.

The book follows the adventures of Maharaja (and sleuth) Sikander Singh, and is set in the times of the British Raj. Each character in the book adds to the narrative which has the right ratio of mystery and humour to deliver something close to the works of authors from the golden age of mystery. What makes it an even better read is that despite being part of a trilogy, the book doesn’t require prior knowledge of events in the first book.

“I think that all the best series, especially from the golden age of mystery and suspense, allow a reader to enter at any point by picking up any book in the cycle. Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, pulp novels like Modesty Blaise or James Bond or Leslie Charteris’ Saint series — you don’t necessarily have to read them in sequential order to enjoy them. In my opinion, a good and effective mystery must be self-contained and conclusive. I wanted to do exactly that with the Maharaja Mysteries,” says Gaind.

Talking about why he chose to dabble with historical mystery, Gaind says, “I love writing historical mysteries. I can lose myself quite easily in the past, not just the broad sweep of events, but the minutiae, the details of what people ate and drank and how they dressed and talked. The mystery is frankly a device, a tool to bring history to life. That is the real challenge, to be

I love writing historical mysteries. I can lose myself easily in the past — not just the broad sweep of events, but the details of what people ate and drank and how they dressed and talked. ARJUN RAJ GAIND AUTHOR

able to strike a balance between the two. As for influences, I’m inspired by a great many authors, and it would take a week or two to list them. However, my favourite book is Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West. If I can find his balance of brevity and eloquence, then I can die a happy death.”

Ask him about his works being adapted for the silver screen and Gaind says that he would have loved late actor Shashi Kapoor to play the role of Sikander. Amongst the contemporary actors, he’d choose Vikrant Massey or Jim Sarbh. “It might also be nice to have a Sikh actor in the role,” he says.