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Storytelling and Research
The Nalanda Manuscript follows a former paratrooper who gets pulled into a high-stakes quest to recover a long-lost Nalanda manuscript that mysteriously surfaced in Mali. What first drew you to Nalanda and Timbuktu as the historical anchors of this story?
I was drawn to Timbuktu when I read a National Geographic article about its libraries in 2011. A few months later, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb invaded Timbuktu. During the pandemic, I read a book by Joshua Hamer — The Badass Librarians of Timbuktu (don’t miss it) — about how one librarian rescued 400,000 manuscripts from destruction. I just had to find a story around that incident. Then I thought: hey, didn’t India have its own ancient library at Nalanda. I researched Nalanda, its intelligentsia and far-reaching influence on astronomy, mathematics, poetry and philosophy. And the best part, several internet articles about long-lost libraries failed to mention Nalanda. As an Indian, I felt duty-bound to do my part to make Nalanda known. When I read about how Nalanda was destroyed by invaders, it gave me my ‘what if’ scenario. The link between the two was easy — the Muslim empires that sprawled across the Indian subcontinent to the west of Africa.
Qānūn ad-Dam feels frighteningly plausible. How did you approach creating an antagonist that feels real rather than sensational?
The terrorist founder of Qānūn ad-Dam is based on real Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leaders and police who were active in Algeria and Timbuktu. He went through several reincarnations during my drafts, to turn out the way he did.
The novel blends real historical events with high-stakes action. How did you balance research with storytelling momentum?
Now that you mention it, yes, this is a book with a sweet-spot between the storytelling and research. It took three complete re-writes to get the book out. I’m sure that perseverance and frustration helped forge what you observed. I’m glad it turned out to be enjoyable.
Do you see more stories for Izak Kaurben?
Yes, there are more stories, which will see Izak uncover links between Indian history and contemporary events.
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For 800 years, the grand monastic complex at Nalanda (in present-day Bihar in India) was the epicentre of knowledge and wisdom in the ancient world.
In 1193 AD, a Turkic warlord destroyed it. Legend says its three great libraries burned for months!
Half a world away, Europe’s colonial powers race to locate the fabled city of gold and knowledge, Timbuktu. By the time a European arrived in Timbuktu in 1826, the Moroccan sultan had plundered the city… but Timbuktiens hid, buried or scattered their private manuscript collections among nomadic tribes for safekeeping.
NOW
Timbuktien antiquarian Abdel Haidara is on a mission to recover Timbuktu’s lost manuscripts. Deep in the Sahara, one manuscript carries a tantalising provenance: the seal of Nalanda.
Under the auspices of the National Archives of India, the Chancellor of the New Nalanda University and ex-paratrooper Izak Kaurben head to Timbuktu to repatriate the manuscript.
Before the expedition can achieve its objective, terror group Qānūn ad-Dam — The Law of Blood — kidnaps the chancellor and Abdel, and leaves Izak for dead.
Qānūn ad-Dam demands a ransom for its prisoners, but the price for Abdel’s release — the destruction of every Timbuktien manuscript — is something the Malian government will never concede to.
If Abdel is executed, the Nalanda Manuscript will be lost forever, because only he knows where to find its nomad caretaker in the desolate expanse of the Sahara.
With the clock ticking, an injured Izak and a ragtag team of Timbuktiens must find the Qānūn ad-Dam lair and rescue Abdel before it is too late.
LITERARY TITAN 