Interview | Nikhil Gulati on his new graphic novel, The People of the Indus
The Hindu“History is one way of telling stories, just like myth, fiction or oral storytelling.” The words of speculative fiction author Ursula K Le Guin caution readers as they embark on Nikhil Gulati and Jonathan Mark Kenoyer’s journey through the Indus Valley. “I kept thinking, ‘I don’t see any path!’,” laughs Gulati, “Just bricks and dirt.” Then, the caretaker pointed out the dockyard and the sight of the 13-foot-deep, brick-lined pool struck a nerve. “Once you start connecting the dots, looking at what was happening in Lothal and Dholavira and Chanhudaro, some really cool things start coming out, which I guess nobody has really sat down and written about in a popular medium.” On completing his MBA, Gulati moved to Hyderabad, where he was inspired to create Shepherd’s Hill: The Rise and Fall of Golconda, detailing the history of the Golconda Fort. “He was really helpful in hunting down excavation reports and journal articles that were hard to find.” The book has been five years in the making, and Gulati says the graphic novel format allowed him to express historical details in a way that written language can’t.
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