Q. Tell us about the title of the book, A God in Every Stone.
A. This book is about archaeology and Peshawar’s history, which is interesting especially when it comes to the ancient past of Gandhara, thus the stones. Having grown up in Karachi, Peshawar felt like a distant place; it’s only after five novels that I felt ready to write about it. For 5,000 years, travellers to the subcontinent have crossed it, as it is the first place you reach on foot.

Kamila Shamsie has been a regular at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Pic/Fiona Fernandez

The other reason was that I wanted to write about Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his army of red shirts. I wanted to look at the contemporary history of the place, especially the stereotypes around Pathans. Bombs are dropped there everyday but the museum there still has the world’s greatest collection of Gandhara art.