Book Club Sirajuddaula by Dipayan Sarkar

Shaista Shaista! You get what you deserve. History, urban legends, people have generously lent to out vobulary adding dimension. Dipayan took us on an incredibly journey of the History and intrigue of the Mughals and the British to retain power. He has been reading up many books and authors and shared his gleanings

There are many versions and often the ruler controls the narrative. The Black Hole Tragedy remains a much debated event. We learnt about the rulers, the politics. Dipayan outlined the perimeter of the Fort as per Brijen Gupta, Hill and even Lord Curzon. The four corners overlooking the River which has receded since then. The Road on the South beside the Fort led to the Ghat and was the Kila Ghat Road now renamed as Koilaghat. The Customs Office was where the Ghat was. The boundaries were discovered during various excavations and established definitively during Curzon’s time. Despite his reputation he was an archaeologist and his contributions have been valuable in establishing the existence of the old Fort William.

We were participating in the war for 5 days as it is recorded and narrated by Dipayan. A couple of hundred British soldiers versus the thousands of soldiers the Nawab’s army. It seems he never intended to fight but simply wanted to assert his authority. Having decimated the British troops systematically on the four fronts he retired In the Fort. Most non Britishers were asked to leave and the remaining few indulged in drunken revelry and he threatened to put them in confinement. A Britisher pointed to a room and they were put there. The rest is History.

Holwell and all others. The numbers who died were evidently not so many. And it has been established by many. After the versions we heard sitting beside Lal Dighi, we walked around the Fort . Examining old maps, following the plaques, we identified the markers as per writings in the journals and it was a very happy learning spent with Dipayan’s incredible storytelling.