7 July 1924. Sultana Daku, notorious leader of a gang of bhantu dacoits that terrorized
the towns and villages of the United Provinces, awaits Lt. Col.
Samuel Pearce’s arrival in Haldwani jail.
It is Sultana’s last night. In the morning he will be hanged.
Wrapped in a haze of charas and nostalgia,
the daku speaks all night as the Englishman listens.
He recounts tales of incredible feats and narrow escapes,
of the camaraderie he shared with his bhantu companions,
of his love for the nautanki dancer Phulkanwar,
and of the shocking betrayal that brought him to the gallows.
But even as Pearce and the reader are drawn into Sultana’s confession,
the contradictions that emerge reveal the daku’s own demons—his fears,
superstitions and ruthless excesses—and an unshakeable
belief in his criminal destiny that clashes
all too often with his secret longings and hopes.
Combining swashbuckling adventure with a moving story of human frailty and fortitude,
The Confession of Sultana Daku is a grand narrative that is as mesmerizing
as it is unsettling. Told with remarkable flair, passion and a rare sensitivity,
it seals Sujit Saraf’s reputation as a master storyteller.
Praise for The Peacock Throne (his previous book)
‘One of the best novels I have read this year…a novel
distinguished by the writer’s capacity to tell a powerful and ambitious story’
Tabish Khair,
New Statesman
‘An impressive achievement that will put Saraf
in the front rank of modern Indian authors.’
Waterstone’s Books Quarterly
‘Bleak and shocking as well as entertaining and comical, Sujit Saraf’s intelligent novel is a remarkable feat’—
The Sunday Express, UK
‘There have been very few novels about contemporary politics so far which have been
written with the same depth and verve . . . enjoyable, intricately woven’—
The Indian Express
‘This is an enormous novel in every sense . . . a canvas . . . with every face and voice beautifully distinct’—
The Times, London
‘Pure entertainment: gripping, provocative, funny and very readable. Saraf is a natural storyteller
whose deft interweaving of minutiae, drama and history combine to create a novel greater
than the sum of its characters and plot’—
Sydney Morning Herald
