Kohinoor: Oxford University Press launchs its latest publication
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KARACHI: (APP) Oxford University Press (OUP) Wednesday launched its latest publication - Kohinoor : The Story of the World's most Infamous Diamond.
The book is jointly written by acclaimed historian William Dalrymple and Anita Anand the radio and Television journalist in Britain. The author had in their credit books -City of Djinns, White Mughals, the last Mughals, Nine Lives, While Ms Anita had written Sophia: Princess, Suffragette and Revolutionary.
Revealing previously unknown moments in the Kohinoor's history, the book traces the history and unravels the mystery surrounding the worlds's most famous Diamond, using previously untranslated Sanskrit, Persian and Urdu sources.
The book launched held at a local hotel here featured a stimulating presentation in which William Dalrymple told the sweep of the early history of the Kohinoor as referenced in ancient indian texts, through its sightings during Mughal times, to its seizure by Nader Shah, and its possession by Ranjit Singh. Continuing with the journey of the prized gem, Ms Anita Anand gave an account of how the diamond was taken from the Sikh court and passed-on to the British crown.
Earlier, Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, OUP Pakistan, introduced the authors and said that the book is the story of a fasinating gem,accused of bringing misfortune to its owners, yet coveted and exalted by them.
"The Kohinoor it seems was a magnet for history, drawing it around itself endlessly, so that when you approach the gem, as in this book, you find yourself engulfed in a mesmerizing past", she remarked.
