The author recalls how, having first arrived in India 40 years ago in 1984, the first places he visited were the stupas at Sanchi and the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, guided by his original interest. (In pic: William Dalrymple. Pic/Ashish Raje)

The Golden Road (Bloomsbury), is his journey into unearthing a forgotten story of the ancient past. It’s a historian’s perspective on how Indian ideas — Indic philosophy, culture, and scientific discoveries — spread across the world through its sea and overland routes, and influenced other countries. (In pic: A chaityagriha at Bhaja caves near Pune)

Dalrymple offers a detailed study, first, of the early days of Buddhism and its rise in regions west of India during the period of Ashoka, and then, of its diffusion into various parts in Southeast and East Asia. (In pic: The façade of Cave 10 at Ajanta)

Ancient India lacks enough manuscripts, he shares. “Anyone who deals with ancient history has to scrape around at a much more varied set of sources.” For instance, we learn, Buddhism had no inscriptions. “It’s only with Ashoka [and his edicts] that we start to get epigraphic evidence of the religion.” This is fairly different from the work that the colonial period demands, where, he believes, one is truly spoiled for choice. (In pic: (Left) A mural of Buddha in Cave 10 at Ajanta; (right) illustrated figures of Ajanta Cave paintings)

Dalrymple believes that ancient China and Greece have been very good at telling their stories. But India has suffered in comparison with the two. “The Silk Road seems to be a very good example of how, for various reasons, a half-truth has become an established fact. Now the Silk Road (trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the rest of the world) certainly existed in the 13th Century when Marco Polo used it. But whether it existed in any tangible sense in the classical period is highly questionable.” (In pic: (Left) Stone elephant at the Pancha Rathas of Mahabalipuram; (right) Buddist rock-cut facade at Bedsa Caves near Pune)