Growing up, Debleena had two divergent dreams. One was to delve deep into the world of numbers and equations and to solve numerical problems. And the other was to dig into the world of stories, specially into stories of the past. That second dream saw her becoming an archaeologist and digging up civilizations that had been lost to the modern world, armed with just a spade. Of course, that stayed a dream.

But, in a strange way, adulthood and reality brought Debleena closer to her dreams than she had imagined possible. While her work on data-storytelling rooted her to her love for numbers, the books she has been writing on history, have helped her re-connect with her old love for history, armed with the keypad and research, instead of the spade.

With her current book, “The Trial of the Maharaja” Debleena has further explored her passion for history.

Published by Srishti Publishers and represented by The BookBakers, the book chronicles a fascinating period of time in history, the 1700’s with the setting being in Bengal. The context was a historical Supreme Court trial, which had far reaching implications not just on the nation, but the ripples of which were also felt in the UK.

Within this dramatic historical backdrop, her book etches out a poignant tale of human conflict - Maharaja Nanda Kumar’s lonely crusade against one of the most powerful Britishers of the time, Warren Hastings.

From invisible games of money behind the game of thrones to letters that held secrets and from an early morning duel to a newspaper dripping satire, the story blends superb narration, along with detailed characterization.

While a lot is known about the major battles of the time from the Battle of Plassey to the Battle of Buxar and the lives of the Nawabs and the Britishers who took center stage in these battles, the book holds up a window to a lesser known character’s strive for justice.

The author’s penchant for research is clear throughout the book. But along with the focus on research, a good blend of storytelling makes the story more engaging. Particularly, the first person voice of the main character as he would have imagined the dramatic events unfolding around him, makes one connect with the story more.

Though the story was set centuries earlier, the themes around justice, around calling for impeachments when there is abuse of power, of the invisible connections between money and power are as relevant now as they were then, making it a refreshing read.

This is the author’s third book. She had earlier written a whodunit crime novel called “A Marketplace for Murder,” which questions murder in the age of digital identities and a non-fiction book about one of India’s earliest Hollywood actors, Sabu, which has also been slated for a digital adaptation.

With this book, the author shows that she is no mood to stop writing on history. Staying with the same time period, she is delving into another fascinating story of that era, soon. And with her other writing interests in penning crime fiction and non-fiction books on Finance, we can expect more books to follow soon.

We definitely hope more such well-told books on history are in the offering.

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