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Jadu is twelve when his parents are burnt to death in front of his eyes,
innocent bystanders in the struggle for power between the East India
Company and the Nawab of Bengal. By a quirk of fate, he is drawn
into the whirlwind of events that follow, till at last he stands face to
face with the architect of his misfortune—Job Charnock himself.

Set in the later part of Aurangzeb’s reign, this work of historical
fiction charts the turbulent history of an insignificant hutment that
becomes one man’s unyielding obsession. It sets the stage for its
subsequent metamorphosis from a humble trading post into Calcutta,
the second-most important city in the British Empire.

In exploring the how, but more importantly the why of this coming
into being, it speaks of the motivations of the great and good and
the helplessness of the not so great, all of whom form the mise en
scène of the city’s birth. A poignant tale of the common folk, both
homegrown and foreign, who watch unheeded while destinies are
shaped by whims. Interwoven with verifiable historical events and
many notable characters from history, it is above all the story of one
innocent boy who navigates the maelstrom into which he is flung, and
emerges victorious and hopeful.

*Domestic Orders Only