Jadu is twelve when his parents are burnt to death in front of his eyes, innocent bystanders in the struggle for power between the East India Company and the Nawab of Bengal. By a quirk of fate, he is drawn into the whirlwind of events that follow, till at last he stands face to face with the architect of his misfortune—Job Charnock himself.
Set in the later part of Aurangzeb’s reign, this work of historical fiction charts the turbulent history of an insignificant hutment that becomes one man’s unyielding obsession. It sets the stage for its subsequent metamorphosis from a humble trading post into Calcutta, the second-most important city in the British Empire.
In exploring the how, but more importantly the why of this coming into being, it speaks of the motivations of the great and good and the helplessness of the not so great, all of whom form the mise en scène of the city’s birth. A poignant tale of the common folk, both homegrown and foreign, who watch unheeded while destinies are shaped by whims. Interwoven with verifiable historical events and many notable characters from history, it is above all the story of one innocent boy who navigates the maelstrom into which he is flung, and emerges victorious and hopeful.
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Price: ₹595
Publisher: Niyogi Books
ISBN: 9788119626083
Pages: 400
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Madhurima Vidyarthi, an endocrinologist trained in Kolkata and London and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (UK), has always been a passionately committed writer. Over the years she has written in many formats across a range of genres and age groups including articles for The Statesman, scripts for educational documentaries (EMMRC, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata) and for a CD-ROM created by Price Waterhouse Coopers on Satyajit Ray (narrated by Sir Richard Attenborough). But her enduring love has always been fiction. Although she has been published as a children’s writer previously (My Grandmother’s Masterpiece, Munni Monster and The School for Bad Girls among them) this is her first book for adults.