Abraham Eraly

Abraham Eraly (15 August 1934 — 8 April 2015) was an Indian writer of history, a teacher, and the founder of Chennai-based magazine Aside.

Abraham Eraly
Abraham Eraly
Abraham Eraly
Native name
അബ്രഹാം എരളി
Born(1934-08-15)15 August 1934[1]
Ayyampalli, Kerala
Died8 April 2015(2015-04-08) (aged 80)
Pondicherry
NationalityIndian
Alma materMadras Christian College[2]
GenresHistory, Fiction
SubjectIndian history
Notable worksThe Mughal Throne: The Saga of India's Great Emperors
SpouseSita Eraly[2]
ChildrenSatish Eraly[2]
Website
Penguin India

Early life

Abraham Eraly was born in the village of Ayyampalli in Ernakulam district, Kerala on 15 August 1934.[1] He studied history at a college in Ernakulam and followed it up with a postgraduate degree in the same subject at Madras Christian College in Chennai.[1] He became a professor of history at MCC in 1971.[1]

Bored with the monotony of teaching,[3] Eraly resigned his professorship in 1977 and founded the Chennai-based magazine Aside, India's first English-language city magazine. Following financial difficulties, it closed in 1997.[4]

Literary career

Eraly's earliest publications were poems and short stories.[5]

Abraham Early in an interview with journalist and author, talks to Shreekumar Varma says:

History is about life. You can't invent even the minutest fact, but there is scope for visualising what had happened.[5]

His historical writing career started while at Madras Christian College.[1] Dissatisfied with the material he used to teach history, he began to write a series of books on Indian history.[5] The Gem in the Lotus covered its earliest period, while The Last Spring continued the narration to the end of the Mughal Empire. Eraly's style of historical story-telling made him particularly approachable for non-historians but could also be used as a reliable source on the Mughal period in India.[6]

Later life

In 2011, Eraly moved to Pondicherry, where he lived in Sarathambal Nagar.[1]

Abraham Eraly died at the JIPMER hospital on 8 April 2015, following a paralytic attack.[1]

Bibliography

Non-fiction
  • The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate, 2014, Penguin UK, ISBN 935118658X
  • The First Spring: The Golden Age of India, 2011, Penguin Books India, ISBN 0670084786
  • Gem In The Lotus: The Seeding Of Indian Civilisation, 2002, Penguin UK, ISBN 935118014X
  • The Last Spring: The Lives and Times of Great Mughals, 2000, Penguin UK, ISBN 9351181286

Many of his books were divided and re-published under different names leading to multiple titles. The Last Spring: The Lives and Times of Great Mughals was re-published in two parts: The Last Spring Part I (alternatively known as The Mughal Throne and Emperors Of The Peacock Throne) and The Last Spring Part II (alternatively known as The Mughal World).

Fiction

References
  1. S., Ramanathan (14 April 2015). "An Incomplete Spring: The Life and Death of Abraham Eraly". The News Minute.
  2. "Abraham Eraly dead". The Hindu. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  3. Muthiah, S. (20 April 2015). "An author who deserved better". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  4. Venkatraman, Janaki (1 January 2004). "A Voice from Aside". In Lakshmi, C. S. (ed.). The Unhurried City: Writings on Chennai. Penguin Books India. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-14-303026-3.
  5. Varma, Shreekumar (17 May 2001). "Pages from his story". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015.
  6. Imtiaz, Ahmad (2010). "Sectional President's Address: Cultural Interests and Contributions of the Mughal Nobility". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 71: 192–212.
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