Just like everyone else in the country, William Dalrymple too is reeling under the effects of demonetization. And how’s he dealing with it? “Standing in f***ing queues like everyone else!” he tells us over the phone from Delhi.

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The acclaimed author was leaving for London that night. “There’s a beautiful winter morning here. London will be cold and wet and I will look forward to coming back,” says the writer, who has lived for more than two decades in the capital. William admits that he does get a lot of ‘You like Delhi?’ questions, mostly with a raised eyebrow and a surprised expression. “It’s like I have revealed that I have a sexual quirk or something,” he chuckles, adding, “I have lived in Delhi for so many years. I feel very protective of it.”

The author and historian, is slated to speak at Magnetic Words, the storytelling session at Magnetic Fields, the music and arts festival to be held between December 9-11 in Alsisar in Rajasthan, where he will also speak about his soon-to-be-released book, Koh-i-noor: The History of the World’s Most Famous Diamond. Excerpts from a conversation with William:

What’s the agenda at the Magnetic Words event?

Let me first say that I love Rajasthan and I always look forward to going there. Then, the event, I think mixing words and music is really good. The two go together like fish and chips! (laughs) I’m unveiling my new book Koh-i-noor. I can’t tell you in great detail what I discovered, but I can tell you that it’s a whole new chapter of the diamond history. It reads like an episode from Game of Thrones! Wherever the diamond goes, there’s mayhem and murder, torture and blinding. It’s a very lively tale.

I read somewhere that you said it will be a controversial book...

Not really controversial, but it’s certainly an exciting tale. It’s not like I’ll suddenly reveal that the diamond is from Japan or something! So it’s not a complete rewrite, but there are a lot of new chapters in the diamond’s history that undermine a lot of the traditional history or the early history of the diamond.

There is a lot of historical research you put in your books and for that, you must be needing access to government documents and files. Is it easy to access them?

For this book, I haven’t used government sources. By and large, it is Persian and Afghan histories and biographies written in the 17th, 18th  and 19th centuries. But yes, I do spend lot of time in the National Archives here. The staff is incredibly helpful. Like anything in India, you have to go through a process. Once you have done that, everyone is very helpful.

You’re not a book churner. Most of your books have a gap of five years...

My books are mostly five year projects and this one comes in the middle of a big project on the East India Company called The Anarchy, which will be out in two years’ time, maybe in 2018 or 2019. I took a six-month break for this book and it was great fun. But now, I’m looking forward to getting back to my big project next week.

After putting in so much work, how do you react if somebody criticises your book?

I’ve been very lucky. All my books have been bestsellers and many of them have been nominated for awards. But I do get one or two reviews and it does hurt. Every writer hates getting a bad review. It’s like having one of your children slapped in public! (laughs) You just have to take it. One famous literary guy once wrote, you make many enemies in life but you never discover them until you write a book.

There’s so much going on in your book – travel, photography, art. Is there any area left to explore?

I’m very lucky. I’m someone who’s managed to make a living out of my hobby. If I win a lottery tomorrow and don’t have to work again, I would still probably carry on the way I do. I travel, I photograph and I write. Everyone moans about their life, standing in queues to change their Rs 500 notes but I’m just grateful for what I have. (smiles).

After living in Delhi for more than 20 years, do you consider yourself an insider?

I find myself in the unique position of being both, an insider as well as an outsider. On one hand, I go to Delhi parties and I know my way around the gullies of the old city as well as anyone. But it is quite difficult for a white firang to think of oneself as an Indian, even after you’re in the country you have lived and loved and spent your whole life in this country. As a writer, that’s an advantage as I have the surprise of the outsider and can see the bigger picture.