Dr Uday Kulkarni is an author of five excellent books on 18th century Maratha history. He is an AFMC, Pune graduate and a retired navy surgeon. Dr Kulkarni started writing about Maratha history a decade back, while still practicing medicine.
His first book Solstice at Panipat, describing the 1761 Panipat War, released in 2011 on 250th anniversary of what perhaps is the most significant war in Indian history. He followed it with Bakhar of Panipat (2014), The Era of Baji Rao (2016) and James Wales: Artist & Antiquarian in the time of Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao (2019).
The Extraordinary Epoch of Nanasaheb Peshwa is his fifth book covering the life and times of Nanasaheb, appointed as Peshwa in 1740 by Chhatrapati Shahu, after the untimely death of Peshwa Baji Rao. This book is not a biography but rather describes the Maratha era leading up to the Panipat War and the year 1761 when Nanasaheb died.
In this discussion, we talk to Dr Kulkarni about this book, his passion for writing about Maratha history and the very intriguing 18th century India. He talks about how the British won over India from Marathas and not the Mughals - a little known fact of our turbulent past.
Amit Paranjape, the anchor for this conversation, is a Pune-based history buff and technology entrepreneur. Amit himself has deep knowledge of Maratha history and has helped Dr Kulkarni with the production process of his latest book. Amit also compered the book launch program, where Madhya Pradesh minister Smt Yashodhara Raje Scindia was the chief guest.