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A world gone by, through the eyes of William Dalrymple

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Book lovers at Prithvi Theatre were transported to a cold freezing winter evening in 1837 from the sweltering Saturday afternoon in Mumbai as noted author and historian William Dalrymple recounted a story of Indian army's foray into Afghan territory under the British rule, and it's eventual downfall.

The author was in Mumbai to attend the Tata Literature Live festival, being conducted at the Prithvi theatre for the first time since it's inception. Dalrymple was there to talk about his most famous work, 'Return of a King' -- a tale of over 18,000 Indian soldiers who were killed brutally or died in the harsh terrains of Afghanistan in the bid to conquer it for the British Raj.

Dalrymple, who rigorously researched and wrote the book over a period of four years, says that he is disappointed with the young Indian history students and researchers who loosely write their thesis and base their work on already printed english texts of Indian history. "It is sad that there less than ten people in India who can read and translate ancient works in Persian language. The archives in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Ludhiana and Calcutta are rich with historical accounts dating back to colonial days or even farther back. Young researchers should take more effort to appreciate the history of their country," pointed out Dalrylmple.

At present, Dalrymple is researching for his next book, 'The Anarchy,' which traces the growth of the East India Company from between 1756 to 1803. "I am working on the book which chronicles the feats of the East India Company that started off from a private trade company and became a colonial power," he told dna. "The book will take at least another three to four years to be published."

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