THE year draws to an end, having passed in what appear to be 12 blinks of the eye. Even though 2022 brought the end of the pandemic, it was not an easy year for many reasons. And more so it seemed in Pakistan than the rest of the world, which also grappled with conflict and recession. But this is not about 2022, for week after week, or day after day, the unpleasantness that was 2022 has been recorded by all of us, in different ways.

So just for a bit of a break, I will attempt to turn critic, rather than political commentator (that is just about everyone in Pakistan, though I am among the minority which gets paid for it). And hence, I will attempt to review a podcast, which was truly among the most enjoyable I came across this year (Revolutions is a close second): Empire by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand.

Beginning with the East India Company and the end of the Mughal rule in the subcontinent, the two have talked, laughed and even cried their way to 1947 over 20 episodes before reluctantly (for them and more so for their listeners) calling an end to their travels through the subcontinent. But this is not to say the podcast is a chronological account of days past. That would be too simple a fare for these two.

Empire is more of a meandering, leisurely walk through a historical period, with detours and gentle rests and a pace which can be brisk or slow. There are unexpected daylong picnics and equally surprising deviations, which don’t jar because the subject and the discussion are worthwhile. In other words, don’t expect a cookie-cutter approach either to the episodes or to the manner in which they proceed.

The podcast ‘Empire’ is a walk through a historical era with detours and a pace that’s slow or brisk.

When the Queen died, the two ‘stopped’ regular transmission to do an episode on the legacy of the Empire, the discussion about it at present, the lack of awareness in Britain about it and the role of the royal family with historian David Olusoga — not for a moment did it seem out of place.

And more than anything else, what stayed in my head was Dalrymple’s story, as they discussed the difficulty of talking about history in the present day, of how Olusoga had come for a public talk with bodyguards.

Later in the series, the election of Rishi Sunak led to an episode where historian Mahmoud Mamdani joins the podcasters to talk about Indian migration to East Africa, Idi Amin and then the exodus of the South Asians to UK.

I suspect the podcast is such a great experience because Anand and Dalrymple are obviously enjoying every moment. The podcast is as much about them as it is about history — the Kohinoor diamond takes up four episodes because the two of them have co-authored a book on it and they have much to say. But to give them credit, the four episodes don’t seem too long because they know how to spin a tale which spans India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with London and Queen Victoria.

And along with their great rapport, the series shines because these two history buffs, with their journalistic background, know the importance of telling a story through characters rather than just narrating the wider arc. Jinnah and Gandhi get an episode each (with Ramachandra Guha and Ayesha Jalal as the guests) and the former allows the podcast to talk about the Muslim community, the Muslim League and partition. Similarly, Uddam Singh leads us to the Ghadar Movement, Gen Dwyer takes us to Jallianwallah Bagh, and Ranjit Singh’s son and Queen Victoria’s relationship turns into an exploration of Punjab, as well as British attitudes towards the Empire.

Adding to this is Anand’s penchant for bringing in quirky folklore or gossip — the moment when she asks Mamdani if Idi Amin’s dislike of Indians was due to his having fallen in love with the beautiful wife of an Indian businessman is pure gold!

And this is the series’ greatest strength as well as its weakness. The focus on people — and interesting people — sometimes prevents the series from delving too deeply into the details of events. For instance, the Cabinet Mission Plan is mentioned at the tail end in the two episodes where they have taken questions from the listeners (and this one came from Dalrymple’s son). Similarly, there is not much on the later socioeconomic changes. But this is nit-picking, for the period is obviously one that is more than just history for this listener from Pakistan.

But beyond all else, this podcast is important because every episode more or less underlines how relevant and personal history remains even now. And for this, Anand and Dalrymple are to be appreciated; they never let their listeners forget for a moment that all of this continues to impact our lives even today. I have already mentioned the Olusoga anecdote, highlighting how difficult it is perhaps for some to discuss race and colonialism in Britain.

The discussion about the East India Company or the Kohinoor is interspersed with references to the current debate about how museums in the West are filled with artefacts forcibly removed from colonised lands. The episode on Gandhi takes us through the changing debate on the leader of India and how the BJP and in particular the present prime minister view and refer to him. It is to their credit that they can weave the past and the present and the personal so effectively — the episode on partition is a case in point.

They have now moved on to the Ottoman Empire. And I look forward to it, especially because I wonder if it will be as easy to follow it as the one on the subcontinent was. But so far, I can say that these two raconteurs have met their match in Peter Frankopan.

The writer is a journalist.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2022