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The Crimson Throne
Tells tales of India during the Mughal era, viewed from the contrasting mindsets of European aides to the two leading princes, Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. Niccalao Manucci and Francois Bernier offer insights into the minds of their respective princes into the same event, give the reader a wide perspective on how history is actually shaped by every day events of its times.
Once again, looking at India's history through new prisms.
Once again, looking at India's history through new prisms.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
253 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
7 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Sudhir Kakar
56 books84 followersSudhir Kakar is a psychoanalyst and writer who lives in Goa, India.
Kakar took his Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Gujarat University, his Master’s degree (Diplom-Kaufmann) in business economics from Mannheim in Germany and his doctorate in economics from Vienna before beginning his training in psychoanalysis at the Sigmund-Freud Institute in Frankfurt, Germany in 1971. Between 1966 and 1971, Sudhir Kakar was a Lecturer in General Education at Harvard University, Research Associate at Harvard Business School and Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
After returning to India in 1975 , Dr. Kakar set up a practice as a psychoanalyst in Delhi where he was also the Head of Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology. He has been 40th Anniversary Senior Fellow at the Centre for Study of World Religions at Harvard (2001-02), a visiting professor at the universities of Chicago (1989-93), McGill (1976-77), Melbourne (1981), Hawaii (1998) and Vienna (1974-75), INSEAD, France (1994-2013). He has been a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute of Advanced Study), Berlin, Centre for Advanced Study of Humanities, University of Cologne and is Honorary Professor, GITAM University, Visakhapatnam.
A leading figure in the fields of cultural psychology and the psychology of religion, as well as a novelist, Dr. Kakar’s person and work have been profiled in The New York Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Neue Zuricher Zeitung, Die Zeit and Le Nouvel Observateur, which listed him as one of the world's 25 major thinkers while the German weekly Die Zeit portrayed Sudhir Kakar as one of the 21 important thinkers for the 21st century. Dr. Kakar's many honors include the Kardiner Award of Columbia University, Boyer Prize for Psychological Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association, Germany ’s Goethe Medal, Rockefeller Residency, McArthur Fellowship Bhabha, Nehru and ICSSR National Fellowships and Distinguished Service Award of Indo-American Psychiatric Association. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Board of Sigmund Freud Archives in the Library of Congress, Washington and the Academie Universelle des Culture, France. In February 2012, he was conferred the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the country's highest civilian order.
Sudhir Kakar’s twenty books of non-fiction and six of fiction, include The Inner World (now in its 16th printing since its first publication in 1978), Shamans, Mystics and Doctors , (with J.M. Ross ) Tales of Love, Sex and Danger,Intimate Relations, The Analyst and the Mystic, The Colors of Violence,Culture and Psyche, (with K.Kakar) The Indians: Portrait of a People, (with Wendy Doniger), a new translation of the Kamasutra for Oxford world Classics, Mad and Divine: Spirit and Psyche in the Modern world and Young Tagore: The makings of a genius. His fifth novel, The Devil Take Love will be published by Penguin-Viking in August 2015.
Sudhir with Katharina Poggendorf Kakar
Sudhir Kakar is married to Katharina, a writer and a scholar of comparative religions and artist. He has two children, a son Rahul who is in financial services, and a daughter Shveta, a lawyer, both in New York.
Kakar took his Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Gujarat University, his Master’s degree (Diplom-Kaufmann) in business economics from Mannheim in Germany and his doctorate in economics from Vienna before beginning his training in psychoanalysis at the Sigmund-Freud Institute in Frankfurt, Germany in 1971. Between 1966 and 1971, Sudhir Kakar was a Lecturer in General Education at Harvard University, Research Associate at Harvard Business School and Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
After returning to India in 1975 , Dr. Kakar set up a practice as a psychoanalyst in Delhi where he was also the Head of Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology. He has been 40th Anniversary Senior Fellow at the Centre for Study of World Religions at Harvard (2001-02), a visiting professor at the universities of Chicago (1989-93), McGill (1976-77), Melbourne (1981), Hawaii (1998) and Vienna (1974-75), INSEAD, France (1994-2013). He has been a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute of Advanced Study), Berlin, Centre for Advanced Study of Humanities, University of Cologne and is Honorary Professor, GITAM University, Visakhapatnam.
A leading figure in the fields of cultural psychology and the psychology of religion, as well as a novelist, Dr. Kakar’s person and work have been profiled in The New York Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Neue Zuricher Zeitung, Die Zeit and Le Nouvel Observateur, which listed him as one of the world's 25 major thinkers while the German weekly Die Zeit portrayed Sudhir Kakar as one of the 21 important thinkers for the 21st century. Dr. Kakar's many honors include the Kardiner Award of Columbia University, Boyer Prize for Psychological Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association, Germany ’s Goethe Medal, Rockefeller Residency, McArthur Fellowship Bhabha, Nehru and ICSSR National Fellowships and Distinguished Service Award of Indo-American Psychiatric Association. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Board of Sigmund Freud Archives in the Library of Congress, Washington and the Academie Universelle des Culture, France. In February 2012, he was conferred the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the country's highest civilian order.
Sudhir Kakar’s twenty books of non-fiction and six of fiction, include The Inner World (now in its 16th printing since its first publication in 1978), Shamans, Mystics and Doctors , (with J.M. Ross ) Tales of Love, Sex and Danger,Intimate Relations, The Analyst and the Mystic, The Colors of Violence,Culture and Psyche, (with K.Kakar) The Indians: Portrait of a People, (with Wendy Doniger), a new translation of the Kamasutra for Oxford world Classics, Mad and Divine: Spirit and Psyche in the Modern world and Young Tagore: The makings of a genius. His fifth novel, The Devil Take Love will be published by Penguin-Viking in August 2015.
Sudhir with Katharina Poggendorf Kakar
Sudhir Kakar is married to Katharina, a writer and a scholar of comparative religions and artist. He has two children, a son Rahul who is in financial services, and a daughter Shveta, a lawyer, both in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 24, 2020
This is a very engaging book, especially interesting to those interested in Indian 17th century history during the era of Shah Jahan and his children --Jahanara, Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad. Although this book claims to be historical fiction, the author draws upon the texts of two true-to-life Europeans who travelled to the Mogul Empire during that period, had personal contacts with royals in the Mughal court, and produced and published writings about their experiences and impressions--perhaps with a European bias. Loved the book, could not put it down!
January 15, 2026
সুধীর কাকর আদতে মনোবিজ্ঞানী হলেও, তিনি কিছু উপন্যাসও লিখেছেন। তাঁর নাম শুনে থাকলেও, তাঁর কোনো লেখা আগে আমি পড়িনি। এই বইটা পেয়ে গেলাম পাড়ার লাইব্রেরীতে। বিষয়বস্তু বেশ আকর্ষণীয়।
শাহজাহানের আমলে ভারতে দুজন পর্যটক এসেছিলেন- ইতালি থেকে নিকোলাও মানুচ্চি এবং ফ্রান্স থেকে ফ্রাঁসোয়াঁ বার্ণিয়ার। দুজনেই বেশ উৎকৃষ্ট মানের ভ্রমণকাহিনি লিখে গেছেন ভাবীকালের জন্য, যদিও পেশায় দুজনেই ছিলেন ডাক্তার।
সুধীরবাবু এই দুজনের লেখা থেকে গড়ে তুলেছেন এই উপন্যাসটি। প্রথম শুরু করেছেন মানুচ্চির লেখা দিয়ে, পরের অধ্যায়ে বার্ণিয়ার, তারপর আবার মানুচ্চি - এরকম করে উপন্যাসটি এগিয়েছে। ডাক্তার হিসেবে দুজনেরই হারেমে প্রবেশের অধিকার ছিল, যার ফলে প্রাসাদের একদম ভেতরের ঘটনাবলীও লিপিবদ্ধ করে গেছেন দুজনে, এবং পড়ে মনে হয়েছে, ঘটনাগুলো যথেষ্টই বিশ্বাসযোগ্য।
তুলনামূলকভাবে, বার্ণিয়ার ভারতীয়দের পছন্দ করতেন না বেশী। মানুচ্চি সেদিক দিয়ে ছিলেন বেশ উদার। বার্ণিয়ার অনেক বেশি সিরিয়াস - তিনি অবশ্য মানুচ্চির থেকে বয়েসে বেশ খানিকটা বড় ছিলেন, মানুচ্চি সেই তুলনায় অনেক বেশী রঙিন এবং খোলামেলা।
সবমিলিয়ে, বেশ ভাল লাগলো উপন্যাসটি পড়ে। সুধীরবাবুর অন্য উপন্যাসগুলিও পড়ে ফেলতে হবে।
শাহজাহানের আমলে ভারতে দুজন পর্যটক এসেছিলেন- ইতালি থেকে নিকোলাও মানুচ্চি এবং ফ্রান্স থেকে ফ্রাঁসোয়াঁ বার্ণিয়ার। দুজনেই বেশ উৎকৃষ্ট মানের ভ্রমণকাহিনি লিখে গেছেন ভাবীকালের জন্য, যদিও পেশায় দুজনেই ছিলেন ডাক্তার।
সুধীরবাবু এই দুজনের লেখা থেকে গড়ে তুলেছেন এই উপন্যাসটি। প্রথম শুরু করেছেন মানুচ্চির লেখা দিয়ে, পরের অধ্যায়ে বার্ণিয়ার, তারপর আবার মানুচ্চি - এরকম করে উপন্যাসটি এগিয়েছে। ডাক্তার হিসেবে দুজনেরই হারেমে প্রবেশের অধিকার ছিল, যার ফলে প্রাসাদের একদম ভেতরের ঘটনাবলীও লিপিবদ্ধ করে গেছেন দুজনে, এবং পড়ে মনে হয়েছে, ঘটনাগুলো যথেষ্টই বিশ্বাসযোগ্য।
তুলনামূলকভাবে, বার্ণিয়ার ভারতীয়দের পছন্দ করতেন না বেশী। মানুচ্চি সেদিক দিয়ে ছিলেন বেশ উদার। বার্ণিয়ার অনেক বেশি সিরিয়াস - তিনি অবশ্য মানুচ্চির থেকে বয়েসে বেশ খানিকটা বড় ছিলেন, মানুচ্চি সেই তুলনায় অনেক বেশী রঙিন এবং খোলামেলা।
সবমিলিয়ে, বেশ ভাল লাগলো উপন্যাসটি পড়ে। সুধীরবাবুর অন্য উপন্যাসগুলিও পড়ে ফেলতে হবে।
May 30, 2023
"The Crimson Throne" by Sudhir Kakar is a captivating fine read. Haven't read him before but he seemed like a good simple read in terms of language. This is a fiction on power, desire, and human relationships in the Mughal royal court setting. Kakar narrates the rise of the power hungry Aurangazeb and the impact it has on the personal and political dynamics of the Mughal Royal Family.
"If you would be king, never leave a wounded prince alive."
"If you would be king, never leave a wounded prince alive."
July 20, 2020
Brilliant idea to show XVII century India through the eyes of two very different European but incredibly disappointing execution. The book could easily do without a hundred pages because Mr. Kakar takes forever to get to the point!
February 7, 2022
A balanced picture of last days of Shah Jahan is depicted in this novel by two antagonistic narrators. The novel is written in a very simple language which makes it really sweet and readable. You won't regret reading it, if you are into historical fiction.
May 10, 2017
Good insight to the state of the Mughal politics and how ugly the fight for the throne can be.
August 20, 2015
Historic fiction is my favourite genre, so I was quite excited to come across a novel on historic characters who have been largely overlooked. While the premise, of the power struggle between Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb during the waning years of Shah Jahans reign as seen through two different European perspectives, is very interesting, the writing tends to ramble a bit. I do understand that this novel is as much, if not more, about Manucci and Bernier as it is about Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. However, through the first one third of the book, I kept wishing they'd get to the Mughal court and it's scheming and plotting. After the initial slow start, it gets more interesting, but I can't help feeling that the book tried covering too too much ground and never really managed to give one the sense of a certain time and place in history, something that I feel is key to good historic fiction.
September 3, 2016
This is an interesting book, set at the end of the reign of Shah Jahan, and the coming of Aurangzeb. Told through the eyes of two Europeans, it gives different versions and perspectives of the events as they unfolded.
Shah Jahan is cast/ portrayed as a crafty old man, which he undoubtedly was. Different views on Aurangzeb, and this is largely true historically.
The European prejudices come through easily, however, he does portray the Indians as being a bit too incredulous.
I don't agree that the decadence had already set into the Empire. In my view the real implosion started in the middle of Aurangzeb's reign.
However, this is an interesting tale, well told.
Shah Jahan is cast/ portrayed as a crafty old man, which he undoubtedly was. Different views on Aurangzeb, and this is largely true historically.
The European prejudices come through easily, however, he does portray the Indians as being a bit too incredulous.
I don't agree that the decadence had already set into the Empire. In my view the real implosion started in the middle of Aurangzeb's reign.
However, this is an interesting tale, well told.
August 5, 2014
I was slightly disappointed by the book. Currently living in India and very interested in history in general I was looking forward to this account of one of India's most known rulers. The book is written from the point of view of 2 European doctors and the first half of the book is taken up by their stories and observations of India with no advancement to the key story what so ever. Only in the second half the pace picks up and I got a real and very well narrated sense of what was happening in those days of the fight for the throne of India.
May 22, 2016
Went in with little expectation. However, the style of story-telling and the author's keen sense of detail make this a fascinating read. These elements hold a special place in a plot that revolves around the Mughal empire at the height of its rule - colourful lives residing in ornate palaces, the glorious start to a way with raging armies and the gruesome end, are all portrayed in fine fashion.
November 15, 2010
an absolutely brilliant book, loved how Kakar has shown us the battle for the peacock throne through the eyes of two frenchmen that were a part of the moghul court in that period. One who was with Aurangzeb and the other with Dara Sukoh, it keeps you hooked through out.
April 22, 2013
When I started reading the book, I thought that the entire history given by the author could be covered in 10 pages
As I read it further, History seemed so real. I will probably remember much about that Aurangzeb era and the Mughal era as compared to cramming during my class 10 exams.
Nice stuff.
As I read it further, History seemed so real. I will probably remember much about that Aurangzeb era and the Mughal era as compared to cramming during my class 10 exams.
Nice stuff.
March 10, 2011
Brilliant concept and entertaining to see the period through the eyes of foreigners on 2 different sides. A bit slow but worth it in the end.
May 28, 2014
A very well written account of the battle for the Mughal throne from two differing European perspectives.
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September 30, 2012Awesome book ... Just loved the way story is unfolded through eyes of a Frenchman & an Italian . Brilliant
July 18, 2013
What a masterful weaving of history & fiction!!
August 15, 2020
For those who want to know about the Mughal period in India, a different perspective. Well done.
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August 22, 2013Good evocation of a turbulent time in Indian history as seen by foreign visitors
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews