New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) From Babur’s humble beginnings in 1526 to the abject humiliation and exile of Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1857, a new illustrated book chronicles the rise and fall of Mughal Empire through the stories of its key figures.
Co-written by Ashwitha Jayakumar and Nikhil Gulati, “The Book of Emperors”, released on Sunday, is published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).
A descendant of Turkic conqueror Timur and also of Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, Babur, whose original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad, founded the Mughal Empire in India.
“I wanted to convey all of the chaos, the colourful characters and the complexity of the Mughal world using a narrative history approach, incorporating anecdotes from primary sources to tell a story that’s fun to read while also being informative,” Jayakumar, who has written and adapted over a dozen books for young readers, told PTI.
According to the publisher, for 300 years, Babur’s sons and grandsons, alongside their mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, would wage wars, make art and music, eat a delicious fruit or two, and change and be changed by the land they called home.
“History would call them the Mughals. ‘The Book of Emperors’ tells their stories,” read the description of the book.
The Mughal Empire, which was founded in 1526 and lasted for over 200 years, at its peak covered modern day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
While Jayakumar’s crisp writing brings each emperor to life with just the right amount of detail, making it a must-read for all ages; award-winning Gulati’s immersive illustrations aim to vividly depict life in the Mughal Empire.
“The art of the book draws heavily upon the large collection of Mughal miniature paintings that depict the people, places and events spanning three centuries. We cannot go back in time and see what the Mughal world really looked like, but my goal was to give a flavour of the times, based on their art, so that the reader can imagine it for themselves,” said Gulati, the award-winning creator behind graphic novel, “The People of the Indus”.
“The Book of Emperors”, priced at Rs 499, is currently available for purchase across online and offline stores. PTI MG RDS RDS
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