On the sidelines of the recently-concluded Dehradun Literature Festival, Sam Dalrymple sat down with mid-day to talk about his journey from an aspiring scientist to filmmaker to historian, and the rise of revisionism across the globe
Sam Dalrymple (left) at a monument for the Saya San rebellion in Burma. Dalrymple referred to the Partition of Burma in 1937 as the one that set the ball rolling for the division of the British Raj; (right) William Dalrymple (left) with Sam at an exhibition by his mother Olivia Fraser during the India Art Fair, Delhi in February 2025. Pics Courtesy/@travelsofsamwise on Instagram
History is hardly ever cool. Sam Dalrymple might just change it. The debutante author of Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia (HarperCollins) does not dress or talk like an academic. “We live in scary-ass times,” he quips at one point, getting the slang of a new generation pat down. Then again, Dalrymple never did aspire to be a historian. It was a happy accident.
He might as well have been a physicist. “I was originally planning to be a particle physicist. I did a student internship at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and applied for Physics and Philosophy as my degree. I did not get in,” he reveals. Stubborn, he decided to take a gap year in travel. “I worked in a bookshop, saved money, and studied Farsi in Purani Dilli. Then, my friends, Emma, Omi, and Sam decided to travel, and I joined them on a road trip to Kanyakumari. It changed my perception of the country,” he laughs. It put him on the path to study languages, including Sanskrit.
Guru Ram Rai Darbar in Dehradun
The wanderlust is a legacy that runs through his father, famous historian William Dalrymple, and mother, artist Olivia Fraser. They shaped his own understanding of history, he admits. “I actually began work on this book as a filmmaker working on Project Dastaan; a documentary project connecting people across borders divided through the Partition,” Dalrymple points out.
Even in Dehradun, the travelling bug nudges him to explore new places. Unlike the typical travel guide, he directs us to visit Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib close to Ghantaghar at the heart of the city. “It is a wonderful, frescoed-place of worship, filled with some stunning Mughal miniatures,” he explains. Needless to say, this writer did not miss out. In the heart of a bustling lane, the 17th Century gurudwara is a quiet oasis within. The chaubara in the middle is surrounded with domed structures that also carry wonderful floral motifs and Mughal miniatures telling the story of Baba Ram Rai, the eldest son of Guru Har Rai.
A Mughal miniature depicts a moment from the life of Bhai Bailaun at the Gurudwara
These discoveries have also made him popular among the Gen Z, who know him from his Substack handle, Travels of Samwise. The Tolkien-esque reference did not escape the attention of this fellow Tolkienite. “Huge fan. I invented the name when I was between school and University. It was to be the Insta handle, and my blog during my road trip with friends,” he laughs, adding, “It has spiralled slightly out of control. So much so that now, my entire business revolves around Substack, Instagram and photographs.”
The book itself is a project that took the course of over two years. “The only state mentioned in the book that I could not travel to was Yemen, owing to the civil war,” he shares.
A Mughal miniature artwork with its floral tapestry on an archway
The discoveries are as fascinating as surprising. From the possibilities of Yemen and Burma being a key part of India — ‘Hence, we have ‘Mere piya gaye Rangoon’, he says — to the Yemeni origins of the Hyderabadi haleem. More contentious than the Partition, we point out. “Yes,” he laughs, “but it represents the multiculturalism of Hyderabad as a global centre of trade.”
Details of these broken threads from Yemen to Hyderabad, Burma to Kolkata, or Delhi to Oman, are hardly remembered today. It is this ‘amnesia’ that he warns against. In an age when revised history is a tool for propaganda, oral history can retain truths, he suggests. “One of the primary reasons for polarisation across the world is social media. Yet, it is also the greatest platform for projecting these stories. Project Dastaan was only possible through people reaching out through social media. The very tools that are creating the scary world are also capable of liberating it,” he says.
One of the archways covered in floral motifs typical of Mughal aesthetic
Does that not leave history more vulnerable to revisionism in a world of tweaked algorithms and fake news, we ask. “I agree, and we need to resist this increasing exclusion of academics. Oral history is important, but you have to distinguish it from serious academic study. Nonetheless, I see it as assisting the process,” Dalrymple explains.
As for the next step of Artificial Intelligence, the young historian feels apprehensive. “It is uncharted territory. We are currently in the Wild West,” he signs off. Historically, an exciting time, nonetheless.
Log on to @travelsofsamwise on Instagram; Substack
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