Bio: Manu S. Pillai is the author of The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore (2015), Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji (2018), and most recently, The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History (2019). Formerly chief of staff to Dr Shashi Tharoor MP in his capacity as Chairman of the External Affairs Committee in the Indian parliament, he has in the past worked at the House of Lords in Britain with Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL, and with the BBC on their Incarnations history series, assisting Dr Sunil Khilnani. Written over six years and researched in three continents, Manu’s first book, The Ivory Throne won the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar. His other writings have appeared in The Hindu, Open Magazine, the Times of India, Hindustan Times, The New Statesman, Mint Lounge and other publications.