Travel and city buff Deepak Dalal fuses fact with fiction in his new series about life in 1850s Bombay. For thrill quotient, he weaves in the mystique of the Sahyadris
Travel and city buff Deepak Dalal fuses fact with fiction in his new series about life in 1850s Bombay. For thrill quotient, he weaves in the mystique of the Sahyadris
As Deepak Dalal readies for the release of his latest titles under the Sahyadri Adventure series, he is excited that it will rekindle a curiosity for history among the youth, in particular. "As a kid, I would travel to Fort to visit my father's office. I realised there was no fort there, yet the name survived. Not even a wall or sections of the ramparts were around. An entire part of our history had been wiped out." 
City's green lung Oval Maidan stands lush in front of the architecturally
impressive Rajabai Tower and University of Mumbai
Deepak spent two months researching the city he lived in within the confines of the Mumbai University library and came across stunning vintage photographs of Esplanade and Marine Drive among other landmarks. I wanted to recreate the bygone era," says the writer.
Combining fact and fiction was a task in itself, and Deepak took care to ensure the accuracy was intact. Noted historian, conservationist and author Sharada Dwivedi along with fellow historian and Mumbai Police force expert Deepak Rao played mentors throughout. "Both took time off to read the Mumbai sections of my manuscript. I wanted to be absolutely sure; after all, it's this great city's history we are talking about."
After five years of piecing together the bits, Deepak's work is finally out in bookstores. But will it draw in readers? "Look at JK Rowling's brillianceu00a0-- she brought reading back in fashion, particularly for young adults. If the literature is gripping, it becomes a page-turner, automatically. It's up to Indian writers to provide that."
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The books will be launched at Crossword (Kemps Corner) on July 4 at 11.30 am, and at Crossword (Powai) at 6.30 pm.
The Sahyadri Adventure Series, Koleshwar's Adventure & Anirudh's Dream, Deepak Dalal, Tarini Publishing, Rs 195 each
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