I will never write a novel: William Dalrymple

Shivangi Singh Festival director of the Jaipur Literary Festival, William Dalrymple was seen in an enthusiastic mood throughout the event. He cracked jokes, exchanged pleasantries with everyone, indulged in passionate discussions, made poignant observations and took the debates entirely to a new level with his in-depth knowledge of the subject.The author, who is considered an authority on history and travel writing, was overheard making some insightful and witty remarks at the festival. Talking about the plight of a writer, he observed, ‘authors are at their readers` mercy -there are no velvet ropes to keep readers away.’ About travel-writing, he said, ‘it is the detail that gives life to a description’ and that often it was first impressions that made the best travel writing. The author also went on to say, in another discussion on it with Charles Nicholl, Colin Thubron, Pico Iyer and Vikram Seth that ‘travel writing is one of the most interesting forms of literature.’ He explained that the idea of quest is universal in almost all cultures and it is the form that is continually reinvented, even in this age of the web and mass tourism. Stealing some time out of his busy schedule, Dalrymple sat down for an exclusive chat with Shivangi Singh of Spicezee.com. Shivangi: You are one of the directors of the literary festival. How did you see the festival over the span of four years. What are the changes? Dalrymple: I must say that the literature festival has grown spectacularly. Once in 2002, seven people attended one of my discussions. Now, the sessions are jam-packed. The crowd enthusiastically participates in the discussions. Now, it’s much bigger. This time we had about 116 authors, 34 moderators, 35 musicians and six sessions in a day. It is all very wonderful! Shivangi: What is different about this literature festival? Dalrymple: I think we`re the only major free literature festival in the world -- you don`t have to wangle for any passes. The VIPs mingle with the crowds so a reader can just accost an author and ask why he made his plot work out in a certain way. Also, after the tension across the border of Pakistan and India, we felt it was vital to continue the cultural dialogue between Pakistan and India. You can say once that stops the fanatics have won. Shivangi: How did you get interested in Indian history? Dalrymple: Well, I was always interested in history. I have lived here for 25 years, I left Cambridge to travel around and explore history. When I landed in Delhi, I became completely involved with the history of the nation and so stayed on. Shivangi: How would you like your works to be known as – serious works of history or historical novels? Dalrymple: I don’t think there is any clear-cut demarcation between a historical novel and serious work of history. My works can be termed as historical novels but it has authentic history in it. Similarly, I would like to say that serious history can be exciting too. Only in India, people feel that only serious and boring works are good. But it is not necessarily so. Shivangi: Do you plan to write a purely fictitious novel in future? Dalrymple: No, I will never write a novel. Shivangi: Somewhere, I read that you have talked about a folk tale being turned into the epic Mahabharata. How reliable do you think epics are as historical sources? Dalrymple: No, epics are myths and history is a memoir of real events, so they are not reliable. But epics remain a critical source as one steals important information from it. But if one completely relies on epics then there may be some trouble. Dalrymple’s forthcoming book, ‘Nine Lives’ that chronicles his travels among India`s wanderers, Sufis and sages, is one of the most awaited books this year.