After penning books on diverse topics like food, travel, health, happiness, beauty, power of mind, Mughal history, Saddam Hussein, Indian army and a lot more, author Tanushree Podder is back with her third fiction novel Escape From Harem. The book is a glimpse into the mysterious world of the royal harem during the reign of Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan.
“History has always inspired me. And the lesser-known world of concubines is very intriguing. Since not much has been written about the friendship, hatred, jealousy and politics in the corridors of the harem, I had to rely a lot on my imagination while writing the book. Since one can’t go wrong with history, I kept going back to my research to make sure that all the dates and timings were accurate,” says the author.
Since she did not want it to be a boring and pedantic read, she decided to unfold the tale from the perspective of a concubine, Zeenat. Though Zeenat is just 15 years old and is taken to the bed of emperor Jahangir only four times, she secretly wishes to become one of his concubines and enjoy all the perks that come with it. “Contrary to the belief that emperors used to take care of all their concubines, many were left on their own once the king lost interest in them,” says Tanushree.
The book also deals with Nur Jahan’s strong say in the state affairs, Shah Jahan’s tough route to gaining the throne, the making of Taj Mahal and politics and hatred in the world of the Mughals.
“I have done a lot of research for the book. But research genre is almost dying in India,” rues Tanushree. She spent a long time researching Mughal history for her first fiction book Nur Jahan’s Daughter, which revolved around Laadi — a much ignored and reluctant princess who was forced to live a life dictated by her ambitious mother. Though the author insists that Escape From Harem is not a sequel to her first book, she says she can write about 5-6 books based on the research work for her first book. However, she insists that after this book she plans not to write on Mughals anytime sooner.
“I get bored easily. Probably that’s the reason why I have touched upon so many different topics. I like to move from one subject to another to keep up my interest. I will next work on a sequel to Boots, Belts, Berets but for now I am going to travel for a while,” confesses Tanushree.
Travelling has been an inseparable part of Tanushree’s life. Born in Delhi she grew up in different parts of the country since her father was in transferable government job. “And now since I am married to an army officer, I again end up travelling with him,” adds Tanushree, who left her job as an HR to take up writing. “Writing relaxes me. When America had invaded Iraq, I was furious. And the only thing that I can do when I am furious is to write,” she says. This anger of hers resulted in the book The Death of a Dictator: The Story Of Saddam Hussein in 2008.
However, Tanushree adds that she herself never goes back to read her books. “Every time I pick up something I wrote about five years back, I end up feeling that I could have done it much better now. That’s why I hardly ever read my own books,” she smiles.