Author Manreet Sodhi Someshwar’s The Hunt for Kohinoor is the second from her Mehrunisa trilogy. She talks to Divya Kaushik about lack of good historical fiction and how much research goes into making one
She visited the Taj Mahal like hundred other visitors and being a great history buff she was extraordinarily excited, hoping that her visit would let her explore some facts that books on the historical monument have failed to reveal. But Manreet Sodhi Someshwar returned disappointed as the only thing guide could share about the monument were some dull details about dimensions. “But I knew that there was a bigger story waiting to be told. I referred to many books and I realised that most experts on Taj Mahal are non-Indians.
Most books that have come out provide masalafication of history. So I decided to go deep with my research on the monument,” says the Hong Kong-based author, while sharing how her book The Taj Conspiracy, which is the first in the trilogy featuring the Mughal scholar Mehrunisa, came about. Now the author is ready with the second book of the trilogy, and it is not just a historical account. She terms it a “thrilling historical fiction.” It is called The Hunt for Kohinoor. “When I started with The Taj Conspiracy I didn’t set out to write a trilogy, but I am a slow writer and I take long as I do in-depth research for my books. For example, in The Taj Conspiracy you find details on the art, calligraphy, architecture. The idea is that the reader should learn about the Taj Mahal, a monument about which we know little except for the legendary love story behind it, and how it’s truly symbolic of our culture. So when I had lots of information and I started to enjoy building the characters, I thought I can come up with the trilogy,” she shares. The Hunt for Kohinoor is a spy, suspense, action thriller set in the India-Pakistan-Afghanistan region. It has a strong historical narrative woven into the story, both contemporary — Indo-Pak warfare, and ancient Mughal war. “In view of the current tension with Pakistan, it is a very timely thriller. After The Taj Conspiracy it is the first Indian thriller series to feature a strong female protagonist. In the ongoing gender debate in India, Mehrunisa provides a strong positive role model for young women,” comments the author and explains why she was impressed and determined to lead her stories with character like Mehrunisa. “I am not presenting her as an Indian James Bond, but she is the lady we know for her perseverance and courage and I was really impressed by the role she has played in the past. Mehrunisa is an unusual female protagonist, half-Persian, half-Punjabi. The inspiration came from being a woman in our patriarchal society. I was clear I didn’t want a Jemima Bond. Instead I was interested in a regular Indian woman who is vulnerable because of her gender, religion, culture and is faced with a huge challenge of saving the Taj Mahal (in The Taj Conspiracy). I have already started working on my third novel in the trilogy and each of the book is separate thrilling take, what links each three is Mehrunisa’s personal journey. Every woman would relate to the kind of challenges and conflicts she faces. She is such woman that after reading about her every one would feel inspired,” explains Manreet.
The author says that her upbringing at a place like Ferozepur has left strong impressions on her mind. Her deep interest in history is rooted at the place where she grew up. She says, “I grew up in Ferozepur, a small town located on the Indo-Pak border. It saw some of the worst rioting during Partition, lived through three Indo-Pak wars and I witnessed the Khalistan movement first hand while growing up in the town that was branded a ‘terrorist hot-bed.’ After a hectic corporate career I took a sabbatical in Singapore and thought I would write a short story. I wrote one and enjoyed the experience and followed it with some more. The sabbatical went from six months to more and a short story demanded to be converted into a novel. It took me seven years and that was how my first novel The long Walk Home happened. It is the first fictional examination of the 20th century history of Punjab. After reading it you will realise that it has strong traces of what I noticed while growing up. Those facts and questions on history didn’t strike me then, but once I was distanced from Ferozepur, I had memories and stories to go back to. The long Walk Home is located at the border town that I grew up in. At the time of Partition, Ferozepur was Muslim majority and by law should have gone to Pakistan. However, it was a large military arsenal and Nehru convinced Cyril Radcliffe, the man assigned with drawing the boundary line, to nudge it into India. Ferozepur was to see some of the worst rioting during Partition. Its air, consequently, is suffused with loss, with stories of loss, with memories of loss. The book also is the fictional look at the Sikh millitancy. I have seen that era, a time of curfews, shoot-outs at borders and fake encounter killings. I have memories of Sardars being strapped in blankets, while waiting for my father outside his office. My father, a criminal lawyer, explained to us, that someone was being taken away in the night by police for interrogation. A lot of encounter killings of ‘dreaded millitants’ in Punjab occurred. The story in the book is told by an old, Punjabi man and has references to the pre-Partition era as well.”
Manreet says that history, should be presented in an enchanting package. “Since I have so much information to share with my books I have to weave facts and information in a story. I don’t want my books to read like a history lesson. I am inspired by Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan and I believe it is the historical fiction at its best,” she concludes.