Announcing a New Book: An Unholy Drought (The Delhi Quartet, Book #2)

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Back in November 2021, my publisher, Speaking Tiger, released the first novel in my four-book The Delhi Quartet, a series of novels that will tell the stories of a group of interconnected families against a backdrop of 800 years of Delhi’s history. That book, The Garden of Heaven, was set in the early years of the Delhi Sultanat, beginning four years before Mohammad of Ghur attacked Delhi and wrested power from the ruling Rajputs. The Garden of Heaven spanned around 200 years, and its story was narrated by a woman, Shagufta. Shagufta, who tells the story of her ancestors to a wounded enemy soldier (one of the attacking army of Taimur), whom she has (against her better judgment) saved and succored.

Cut to 150 years later. 1556. A terrible drought grips the north Indian plains, even as a thirteen-year-old Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar tries to maintain a grip on the throne he has inherited after the sudden death of his father Humayun. There is uncertainty, instability—and death could be right round the corner.

In Delhi, an old calligrapher named Nadeem sets out to document the story of his family. Along with his teenaged grandson Mohsin, Nadeem chronicles their history, beginning with the tale of Daanish, the son of Shagufta (from The Garden of Heaven).

This is An Unholy Drought, the second book in The Delhi Quartet. It takes up shortly after where The Garden of Heaven left off, but it is, in its way, a book on its own: the characters aren’t the same, Delhi isn’t the same.

This is the Delhi of the Lodhis. Of Bahlol Lodhi, who after several swipes at the throne in Delhi, finally succeeds in capturing it. At the same time, a man named Qasim arrives in the city, in search of a prized family heirloom that was lost many years ago. While Qasim throws himself body and soul into his quest, his bride Aabida takes it upon herself to look after her family—by setting up, in a small way, a small business in embroidery and brocade.

By the time Bahlol Lodhi’s ambitious, hot-headed and bigoted son Sikandar Lodhi has ascended the throne, Aabida’s little venture has become one of Delhi’s biggest brocade workshops. But young Zubair, newly married and heir to the workshop, finds himself increasingly torn between familial duty and his dangerous love for an insurgent.

Years later, Zubair’s son Nadeem too faces a dilemma, another need to choose between duty and love—though in Nadeem’s case, that love is something quite different from that of Zubair’s.

An Unholy Drought is primarily the story of Daanish, Aabida, Qasim, Zubair, Nadeem and their family, immediate and extended; their friends and associates. Their trials and tribulations, their ups and downs. It is, however, equally the story of Delhi, its vicissitudes, its changing fortunes. Saiyyid gives way to Lodhi; Lodhi gives way to Mughal. Babar dies, Humayun finds himself exiled, Sher Shah Suri comes to the throne—and life for the commoners of Delhi goes on.

Real-life personalities make occasional appearances in the text here. There is, for instance, Bahlol Lodhi’s wife, the beautiful Bibi Ambha, daughter of a Hindu goldsmith. There is Bibi Ambha’s ambitious daughter-in-law, Dilawar Begum, mother to Ibrahim Lodhi. And there is Gulbadan Begum, daughter of Babar and writer of the Humayunnama.

I enjoyed writing An Unholy Drought; for the years I spent immersed in this book, I went through a sometimes-surreal experience of living in two worlds simultaneously. Or three, given that the book actually makes its way through two separate eras, one spanning the first few chaotic months after Akbar’s coronation, and the other stretching across pre-Mughal and early Mughal days.

I do hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. An Unholy Drought can be ordered through your local bookstore, or online: Speaking Tiger ship it across India, and of course stores like Amazon also stock it. If you are located outside India and would like it shipped to you, some Indian bookstores, such as Dogears, Bahrisons and Pagdandi, can send it to you.

24 thoughts on “Announcing a New Book: An Unholy Drought (The Delhi Quartet, Book #2)”

  1. Wow, it sounds like a wonderful saga. I am thinking about the research! Your interest in history (and knowledge, of course) is amazing. 

    Many congratulations! Madhulika Ji. I wish you all the best. 

    (I think this book can be read as a standalone book, or should one read the first book first?)

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    • Thank you so much, Tarang! You’re very kind, but my knowledge isn’t that much – it’s more the interest than anything else, which has egged me on to do enough research to be able to write something like this. :-)

      And yes, this can be read as a standalone book. It does have a connection to the previous book, but whatever is there is briefly explained, so even if you haven’t read The Garden of Heaven, you can still (fingers crossed!) enjoy this one.

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      • Finally got around to this book and found it a delightful read like the first one. Between the two I prefer the first but I think the characters in the second are better fleshed out. I was hoping by the end of the book they would find the frieze but your resolution is satisfactory too and definitely more realistic. Waiting for the next book in the series.

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        • … and I breathe a sigh of relief! Honestly, every time someone tells me they’ve bought my book or are going to read it, I have my heart in my mouth, dreading that they won’t like it.

          Thank you so much, Soumya. I am glad you liked this.

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  7. Fantastic news! I was just thinking last month about whether I should reach out to you and ask if there was an ETA for book 2. REALLY glad I didn’t, now. :)

    It’s a mark of how much I love your work that I have once again broken my “never buy from Amazon” rule, for only the second time in as many years. An Unholy Drought is now in my Kindle library, very much looking forward to starting on it soon

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    • Stuart, you’re so encouraging (and I need all the encouragement I can get – I’m so nervous, I can’t begin to explain). Thank you so very much, and I sincerely hope you will enjoy this book. Thanks for buying!

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  9. This is perfect timing…for me! I have just finished reading the “Garden of Heaven” and have enjoyed it so much. I was wondering when the second of the Delhi Quartet will be out, so I could again step into a new time-machine and be transported to another time-period in Delhi’s history!

    You have such a mastery over words, Madhu. Your language is rich and fluent and your detailed description of that period, the people and their surroundings, brings it all to life. I could hear the birds singing, feel the bumpy ride in a bullock cart, smell the flowers or the filth in a street, see the workers busy carving stone… It so lovely to imagine those times past, not from the rulers perspective but from the point of view of the “common” men and women.

    “…for the years I spent immersed in this book, I went through a sometimes-surreal experience of living in two worlds simultaneously.“

    If just reading the book can transport me to another time period, then I can very well imagine how researching it, developing the characters and writing them up over the years can make you live in an altogether different world!

    You know “Garden of Heaven” has also made me so much more curious about the Indian history that for the first time in years I have willingly picked up an academic history book! Understanding history is so crucial to understanding the present. So thank you!

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    • You are too, too sweet! Thank you so much – you have no idea what such encouraging words do, to make me keep writing. This really made my day, so thank you, again.

      I have willingly picked up an academic history book! 

      The good thing is, there are plenty of historians (and people who may not be trained historians but are passionate about history) who are writing very good narrative non-fiction on India’s history – extremely readable books! Among my favourites are Ira Mukhoty (her Daughters of the Sun, about the Mughal women, is especially recommended), TCA Raghavan, and my sister Swapna Liddle (and no, this comment isn’t a sneaky ploy to get her name in here) :D

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      • :-)

        Thank you for the recommendations Madhu! Especially for the Ira Mukhoty one. One of the things I was wondering when reading your book was about the status of women during different periods in Indian history. So I’m definitely interested in Daughters of the Sun. Another aspect I am interested in is the history of cuisines. Do you have any recommendations there?

        I had already ordered a book of your sister on historic walks of Delhi, a few months ago when we were planning to visit Delhi. Our trip then was cancelled at the last minute but the book is waiting for me in India, ready for my next visit! :-)

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