Sujoy Ghosh

What are your early inspirations which motivated you to write?

Madhulika Liddle: I first began writing when I was about six years old – I used to write short stories that I would share with my parents and sister. I seriously began writing only when I was in my twenties, and that was mostly as a result of being a voracious reader all my life. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been surrounded by books. I read so much, I was inspired to try writing as well, and that in the genres I most enjoyed reading, such as detective fiction and black humor. I started off with short stories (since that length seemed most manageable), but I discovered soon after that there was not much of a market for short stories: most publishers, back in the early noughties at least, didn’t want to touch short stories. I therefore began writing a novel – my first book, The Englishman’s Cameo – in a genre (historical detective) that I have loved since I was a young teen.

What is your writing process? What was the journey to identify your process like?

Madhulika Liddle: I like to sort things out in my head, get at least a rough idea of what plot I will follow, before I get down to actually typing the story. This doesn’t mean that my mental ‘story’ is sacrosanct; as I type, I get unexpected ideas now and then, which might change how my story is progressing. Also, I don’t edit as I go: I type out the entire manuscript, and once I’m done, I set it aside and leave it be for at least a few weeks. Then I come back to it with fresh eyes and do a rigorous round of self-editing. For short stories, I may do several rounds of self-edits before I submit the story; for longer works, like novels, perhaps only one round of self-edits may suffice.

Identifying what process best suits me has been just something that’s come about organically, though I’ve drawn inspiration from others. The idea of not falling in love with your own writing (and therefore being ruthless about self-edits) is something I learnt when I used to work at NIIT. The idea of not editing as you go was a tip I picked up elsewhere – I don’t remember where, now – but it’s stood me in good stead.

How do your personal experiences influence your writing?

Madhulika Liddle: My personal experiences (and my personal likes and dislikes, my beliefs and values) come through quite strongly in my writing. I draw on my interest in history, nature and wildlife, and art, for instance, in a lot of my work. Some of the jobs I’ve worked in (in hotels, advertising, and in the corporate world) have been settings for short stories; some memories – of Srinagar in the early 80s, when the Kashmir Valley was extremely turbulent and strife-torn – have been the topics of other stories. Subjects that have really shaken me, like the issue of bride trafficking in the Delhi NCR region, or the plight of migrant laborer’s during Covid, have also been the themes of some short stories.

Tell us about your books?

Madhulika Liddle: I am the author of two main series of books. The first, the one for which most people remember me, is the Muzaffar Jang series, about a detective in 17th century Delhi. I pioneered the Indian historical detective with Muzaffar Jang, so I’m especially proud of that. Muzaffar Jang appeared in four books: The Englishman’s Cameo; The Eighth Guest and Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries; Engraved in Stone; and Crimson City. The last book in the series, Crimson City is now part of the curriculum as an optional at Delhi University.

The other series (which I am in the process of writing) is called The Delhi Quartet, a four-novel series telling the stories of a group of interconnected families, set against a backdrop of 800 years of Delhi’s history, beginning just before Mohammad Ghori’s invasion of Delhi in around 1192 and ending with Partition. The first book of the series, The Garden of Heaven, was published in 2021 to critical acclaim and was long-listed for the Tata Lit Live! Best Book of the Year Award. The sequel to this book, An Unholy Drought, is due for release in April 2024.

Also due for release later this year is Gardens of Delhi, a non-fiction book that I’ve written in collaboration with my sister, the eminent historian Swapna Liddle. My other collaborative book so far has been a fantasy novel, The Pledge: Adventures to Sada, written with film-maker Kannan Iyer.

Besides these books, I’ve had two collections of short stories published: My Lawfully Wedded Husband and Other Stories (a collection of black humor, which was initially published by Westland, and was republished as a Kindle-only e-book a couple of years ago) and Woman to Woman: Stories, consisting of women-centric stories. In addition, I have self-published, as Kindle-only e-books, a cookbook (Lockdown Lunches: The World on a Plate) and a Regency romance, Put Asunder, which I wrote under a pseudonym, as Lynn Bishop.

Tell us about your next project?

Madhulika Liddle: I’m about to begin work on the third book of the Delhi Quartet. This book (currently untitled) will cover the years between the ascension of Akbar to the throne (1556) and Nadir Shah’s invasion of Delhi in 1739. I am still doing research for the book and trying to plot sections of it, so the actual writing of it will probably begin within the next couple of months.