WRITER AND HISTORIAN WILLIAM DALRYMPLE RETURNS TO HIS FIRST LOVE—PHOTOGRAPHY—AND REVEALS WHY AFTER 30 YEARS OF TRAVEL INDIA STILL SURPRISES HIM.
Three years ago William Dalrymple began travelling across India to chart the ruin of the Mughal empire and the rise of the East India Company. Following in the steps of Mughal emperor Shah Alam, the central character of his book The Anarchy, Dalrymple visited battlefields, mosques, ruins, palaces and barracks across Srinagar, Srirangapatna, Jaipur, Lucknow, Lahore, Kolkata and elsewhere. He also explored the art and culture of the period. The journeys resulted in “The Historian’s Eye”, an exhibition of black-and-white photos shot on a cell phone that opened in Mumbai in April and will travel to other cities including Delhi and Chennai in the coming months.
Scottish-born and Delhi-based Dalrymple has written on travel (In Xanadu, From the Holy Mountain) and history (White Mughals, The Last Mughal) but his early passion was photography.
Condensed and edited excerpts from an interview about his teenage hobby, travelling in India and why visiting sites is the key to his kind of history writing:
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT HOW YOU GOT INTO PHOTOGRAPHY?
This story is from the May 2018 edition of National Geographic Traveller India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2018 edition of National Geographic Traveller India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Best Of The World 2023
Travel inspiration is everywhere. The question is where to go next. Here's our annual list of enlightened destinations for the year aheadplaces filled with wonder, rewarding to travellers of all ages, and supportive of local communities and ecosystems. Framed by five categories (Community, Nature, Culture, Family, Adventure), these destinations are under the radar, ahead of the curve, and ready for you to start exploring.
Α ΗΟΜΕ IN THE HILLS
Skyview by Empyrean is a onestop destination for adventure and leisure in Jammu
ENTER THE PICTURE POSTCARD
A stylish luxury hotel in Thimphu's northern outskirts is where illustrious Bhutanese and travellers alike are finding their happy place
48 Hours : Seattle Leads The Way
The jewel of the Pacific Northwest is one of America’s greenest and grooviest culture capitals
BIG BINGE: DUBAI FOR THE JET-SETTING GOURMAND
Delightful degustation menus, French brasseries with art-inspired menus and Japanese diners excelling at nostalgia—the Dubai Food Festival 2022 justified the city’s status as one of the world’s premier food capitals
CULTURE COOL - UNDER THE EMIRATI SUN
Home to one of the world’s grandest mosques, an exciting emerging arts district on Saadiyat Island and an entertainment hub promising genuine thrills, Abu Dhabi has arrived in the league of extraordinary family destinations
ONLY IN OTTAWA
ACTIVE ADVENTURES, BUZZY BREWERIES AND NEIGHBOURHOODS THRIVING WITH BARS AND BOUTIQUES— CANADA'S BIJOU CAPITAL HAS PLENTY TO DISCOVER BEYOND THE HALLS OF PARLIAMENT
OF FRENCH FINESSE
QUENELLE DE BROCHET IS A REGIONAL LEGACY DISH HAILING FROM LYON. THE OVAL, POACHED PIKE DUMPLINGS ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN INVENTED BY A PASTRY CHEF TO REGULATE FISH OVERPOPULATION
Coorg: A WILD ROAST
Back in another timber den of Karnataka, native wildlife and humble stories surprise Suhas Dwarkanath as he sips on a bold cup of robusta.
DIVING INTO RAS AL KHAIMAH
THE U.A.E'S NORTHERNMOST EMIRATE IS ALL ABOUT ENJOYING NATURAL TREASURES, FROM SOARING OVER THE AL-HAJAR MOUNTAINS ON THE WORLD'S LONGEST ZIPLINE TO PERUSING PRECIOUS PEARLS BY THE SEASHORE
