Sultan Bahadur Shah ruled over Gujarat from 1526 to 1537. He had a brief but crowded life before he was murdered. At our Online Talk #BahadursLastDay, authors Ishrat Syed and Kalpana Swaminathan take us to Diu to the scene of his murder and reconstruct his last day. They discover clues even after 500 years that allow you to be judge of the murder trial. They also paint a portrait of what he was like - surprisingly like any young Indian today, confused and  angry at the injustice thrust upon him.

About the speakers

Ishrat Syed and Kalpana Swaminathan are surgeons who write together as Kalpish Ratna. Their nonfiction usually explores the connection between environmental change and disease such as ‘Uncertain Life and Sure Death,’ an exploration of epidemics in Mumbai from 1500-1900, ‘Room 000: Narratives of the Bombay Plague,’ ‘The Secret Life of Zika Virus,’ ‘FAT: The Body, Food and Obesity,’ ‘A Crown of Thorns: Covid -19 and Us’ and ‘Gastronama: the Indian Guide to Eating Right.’ They also write fiction. Their latest book ‘Bahadur’ is a nonfiction account of the life of Bahadur, the Shah of Gujarat from 1526 to 1537.