Ira Mukhoty originally set out to research the French empire in India during the 18th century but found herself drawn instead to the fascinating world of Awadh’s nawabs and begums. Her book, The Lion and the Lily, delves into the history of this region and period through the prism of the global Franco-British wars. She delivered a talk on the subject at Sarmaya on 13 December 2024. Watch her earlier talk on the women of the Mughal empire here.
Ira is a best-selling writer of narrative history. She is the author of Akbar: The Great Mughal, Song of Draupadi: A Novel, Daughters of the Sun and Heroines. She writes rigorously researched narrative histories that are accessible to the lay reader.