Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond.
VIEW EVENT DETAILSIn Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond, William Dalrymple and Anita Anand blow away the legends to reveal the diamond's true history- stranger, and more violent, than any fiction. They have used previously untranslated Sanskrit, Persian and Urdu sources, and the discoveries of modern gemologists who have used the latest technology to reconstruct its original form. The Koh-i-Noor is the world’s most famous diamond, but its history is shrouded in mystery: it may be made of the earth’s hardest substance, but it has always attracted a fog of mythology around it. Join the authors for an illustrated talk about their new discoveries, followed by a conversation with Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, Honorary Director, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai.
William Dalrymple is an acclaimed historian and bestselling author whose books include City of Djinns, White Mughals, The Last Mughal, Nine Lives and Return of a King. His many awards include the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, the Wolfson Prize for History, the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize, the Hemingway Prize, the Kapuscinski Prize, The Asia House Award for Asian Literature, and the Vodafone/Crossword Award for non-fiction
Anita Anand has been a radio and television journalist in Britain for over 20 years, presenting major programmes on BBC. Her first book, Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary is a highly acclaimed biography of the daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, last ruler of Punjab, who was forced to hand over the Kohinoor to the British after they annexed his kingdom in 1849.
Tasneem Zakaraia Mehta is an art historian, writer, curator, designer and cultural activist who has successfully pioneered the revival and restoration of several cultural sites in Mumbai. She conceptualized, curated, designed and implemented the restoration and revitalization of Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum which won UNESCO’s 2005 Asia Pacific ‘Award of Excellence’
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