Q: Not everyone writes, nor can everyone write. Tell us what inspired you to pick up a pen and start writing, along with a brief introduction of yourself.

A: Professionally, I’m a lawyer and a businessman. I worked for Johnson & Johnson for 34 years; currently, I serve on the board of several companies – among others, as Vice Chairman of one of Belgium’s leading investment companies. 

As far as my hobbies are concerned, I jog 4-5 times per week, and I very much enjoy traveling. But above all, I’m a book person. I love to read; my library has thousands of books in nine languages, predominantly on art, history, law, philosophy, and religion.

Ever since I was young, I dreamed about writing a book myself someday. Preferably, a historical novel, in the genre of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius, or Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memories of Hadrian (Les mémoires d’Hadrien). 

But it took me many years before I came across the right subject and the right protagonist – until I discovered Akbar the Great.

The more I studied the life of this remarkable man, the more my mind was made up: I wanted to tell his story. And, to the extent possible, I wanted to tell that story from his perspective. 

The result is Akbar’s Farewell, a historical novel painstakingly researched, with lots of footnotes, and including an in-depth, non-fiction historical annex. 

Admittedly, Akbar’s Farewell is and remains a novel: it is a romanced attempt by a twenty-first-century Western European to read into the mind of a 16th-century Indian monarch. An incomplete one, admittedly. An imperfect one, undoubtedly. But an honest one, most definitely. 

And, if I say so myself, I really think Akbar would have loved it.

Q: As one correctly said, every writer has their own reasons for writing—whom they write for and why. How has the feedback from your readership been regarding the book under discussion?

A: I am pleased to say my book got excellent reviews: people called it enchanting, fascinating, full of invaluable insight, a book you wouldn’t want to miss, etc. But there have been a few comments I’m particularly proud of: 

• One was an interview with the Mayor of the Belgian university city of Leuven, who called it one of the five books that changed my life; 
• Another was the review in Times of India, which called my book an outstanding and deep act of empathy – extremely balanced, historically accurate, and engaging; 
• The third was a blog, in which my book was compared to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, the ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy.

Perhaps the greatest (implicit) compliment of them all was that in 2015, Hay House India asked me to write a non-fiction history of the entire Mughal dynasty, The Great Mughals, and their India. 

Q: Our readers would be interested in learning more about your work. Could you elaborate on the story behind this book?

A: My work at J&J brought me many times to Asia, predominantly India, China, and Japan, and I began reading voraciously about Indian culture and history. I became fascinated with the figure of Akbar the Great (1543-1605), Padshah of Hindustan, the true founder of the Mughal empire and undoubtedly the greatest of the so-called Great Mughals. Not only was he the most powerful and wealthiest monarch of his time, but without any doubt, the most enlightened one. In an age when Europe was aflame with religious wars and violent persecution, he abolished all discriminatory taxes against non-Muslims and became a firm proponent of universal tolerance and freedom of worship, forbidding only practices that he considered to be inhuman, such as child marriage and the forcible burning of widows. It was one of the very first attempts in history to create a neutral, ‘secular’ state, where the monarch obligates himself to treat all his subjects equally, regardless of their religion.

Despite the moral reservations one may and probably should have vis-à-vis Akbar’s imperialism, it is impossible to deny that he was a competent and just ruler who sincerely desired the welfare of all his subjects. His tolerance in religious matters, which he pushed through despite stiff opposition and at great personal risk, was truly exceptional, and that alone merits him a place among the greatest rulers in history. 

The more I read about this remarkable man, the more my mind was made up: I wanted to tell his story. And, to the extent possible, I wanted to tell that story from his perspective. I wanted to write a book in the genre of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius, or Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memories of Hadrian (Les mémoires d’Hadrien). The result was Akbar’s Farewell, a fictional autobiography, a series of posthumous letters of Akbar to his only surviving son and successor, Prince Salim, the later Emperor Jahangir.

Q: The writing process is unique to each writer. After all, it is dynamic. What is your writing process?

A: I always write very early in the morning – that’s when my creativity is at its best. Mornings are for creative writing, and afternoons and evenings are for editing.

Q: Writer’s block is often discussed. Has it ever affected you? If so, when and how did you deal with it?

A: Of course, it has – more often than not! In my case, the best remedy against it is a long walk, an hour or two – that’s when new ideas tend to pop up.

Q: “Fiction is the reality of the fiction we live.” What is your take on that statement?

A: It’s a mistake to think that “fiction” and “truth” are opposites. 

Whether Hamlet, Achilles, and all the other characters of human literature or mythology are fictional or not is beside the point. The important thing is these characters, and their adventures show us eternal truths about the human condition. That’s why there will always be a public for the plays of William Shakespeare and Sophocles; that’s why the Mahabharata and Homer’s Iliad are as alive today as they were over 2500 years ago.

And, as I have written in Akbar’s Farewell, the reverse is true as well. In a sense, our life is a story, too. It’s up to us to decide what will be written in the book of our life. As Stephen Covey wrote in his best-selling management book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, imagine you are dead; people are gathered around your coffin, and they are talking about you. What you would like them to say about you that’s how you should lead your life. 

In Hindu terms, the book of our life, with all our deeds and even our every thought, is the good and bad karma we create for ourselves.

Q: Three decades ago, one could sit and read fiction without much concern for facts. Today, readers are obsessed with accuracy due to their information-driven mindsets, often making it difficult for them to fully enjoy a piece of fiction. In your opinion, how has this overwhelming access to information impacted readers’ literary appreciation?

A: Speaking for myself: the vast majority of the books I read are non-fiction – I rarely read novels. That being said, it’s a serious mistake to think that fiction is opposed to truth. Great literature is true: it shows us the reality of the human condition, and quite often much more directly, immediately, than any non-fiction treatise.

Q: What are your thoughts on the de-digitalization of books and its impact on readers, literature, and overall human well-being, which literature ultimately aims to enhance?

A: Personally, I use my computer to inform myself, and I read books (preferably real, printed books) to learn new things. 

Q: Would you mind giving us a hint about your future work?

A: One project I’m working on is a historical novel on the life and times of Nur Jahan and her daughter – bridging the period between Akbar’s death and Aurangzeb’s accession to the throne. 

Q: Any parting words?

A: I would urge everyone – people in the Indian Subcontinent and elsewhere – to read my Great Mughals and Their India.

First of all, because Mughal history happens to be a great story, it abounds with all the ingredients of classical drama: ambition and frustration, triumph and despair, grandeur and decline, love and hate, loyalty and betrayal.

Secondly, and even more importantly, Mughal history is extremely relevant to today’s world. Let’s not forget that Akbar built his invincible empire on the basis of his alliance with the powerful Rajputs of Amber, whom he respected as his next of kin – in other words, Akbar’s empire was built on a truly united India, where all people had equal rights. His government included leading Hindu ministers, among whom Raja Birbal, his confidant; Todar Mal, his brilliant treasurer; and Raja Man Singh, the powerful Rajput general who fought and won dozens of wars for him.

In contrast, with the death of Akbar’s great-grandson Aurangzeb, the Mughal empire simply ceased to exist as an effective force – the result of decades of mismanagement, misguided bigotry, and religious apartheid. The great and once invincible Mughal empire disintegrated rapidly; Marathas, Sikhs, Afghans, and Europeans fought over the spoils – leading, in the end, to the British Raj.

British mismanagement, in turn, led to Indian independence and partition – but that’s another story.

By Dhanuka Dickwella