Zil-I-Ullah, The Shadow of God. Insan-i-Kamil, the Most Perfect Man. Akbar. The undisputed heartthrob of Indian history, and most recently, the object de l'amour of Bihzad, The Little Master, superlative artist, tortured genius and humble protagonist of the time machine that is Kunal Basu's second novel, The Miniaturist. With pure Persian ancestry, raised under the tutelage of his father, the chief artist of Akbar's imperial workshop who hopes that his "Persian flower" may take firm root in Mughal Hindustan, Bihzad is deprived of any education but that pertaining to painting. Not allowed to study the Koran lest its words distract him from perceiving the world in images, the illiterate Bihzad becomes as much a work of art as his miniatures.

THE MINIATURIST By Kunal Basu Penguin Price: Rs 250 Pages: 245

As the boy grows into a man, the narrative evokes in startling visual, the time of unparalleled wealth and grandeur of the Mughal empire in Hindustan, its accompanying greed, rapacity and astonishing cruelty to man and beast. While Akbar is weighed in gold and silver in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, boiling oil sets aflame drunken elephants and prisoner's eyes are put out with hot irons. Meanwhile vivid secret paintings of Bihzad's "shameless" love are stolen and exposed.

He is banished from Hindustan by royal decree and is forced to wander the world alone, hitching rides on caravans through hostile and dangerous terrain full of robbers and warlords, dust storms and disease.

While The Miniaturist is a wonderful picaresque and a classic coming-of-age extravaganza, it is more than that. Despite the homophobic provisions of the law of the time, the narrative suggests the celebration of homosexual love, particularly in the Sufi tradition, and while it is a historical joyride, it is also a timeless discourse on the nature of art-its function and its meaning in a mercenary world. "Everywhere he went, in the markets and the rest houses, he heard the same tales over and over: treachery and might. Greed and surrender ... He worried about artists condemned to find beauty in an ugly world." Named after the artist Kamal-al-din Bihzad-"the jewel of Tabriz and Herat"-Bihzad is forcefully precipitated into purity and idealism, only to be destroyed by reality: markets and merchants, not love and beauty, make the world go around.

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As a penniless exile against all odds, Bihzad, whose "gift is his curse", reaches Hazari, a desert kingdom at the foot of the Hindukush, nestled among Arabia, Persia and Hindustan. Here he is taken in and protected by an old acquaintance, Halil Khan, the discarded head eunuch of Akbar's harem. From then on, till the very end of the novel, everywhere he goes, Bihzad is rescued by the generosity of strangers and intensity of his friendships and while we watch Akbar's famous transition from warrior to mystic and Mughal artists overtake their Persian masters, Bihzad learns that the world is not so bad after all. "A friend's embrace is sweeter than a century of prayer," say the wandering saints, and at the end of the novel as the pardoned artist stands vigil over the dying emperor, it is hard not to proclaim: Rumi has found his Shams. This novel is a delicious 16th century blend of the Mongols, Turks, Persians, Afghans, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Sufis, wine, opium, friendship, lust and love with a fascinating homoerotic bouquet. A heady brew, definitely worth the calories.

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In Good Company

HISTORIC PASSION: Kunal Basu The comprehensive companion has 60 scholars from across disciplines debating on the major themes and concerns of social sciences in India. From an elaborate opening essay by Andre Beteille that traces the development of sociology, it goes on to analyse various institutions-its codes and categories, practices and policies. Divided into nine sections, the essays discuss how religion and rituals, caste and culture, family, kinship, education, law and politics have emerged. The questions are elementary and pertinent: What are their defining traits? How are they constructed and how have they been modified? The answers are analytical and up-to-date. What emerges is the most contemporary critique of our social issues and relations. True to the strident post-colonial scenario, the stereotypes are debunked and new discourses are found. Society in a flux throws up new organisations as well as schools of thought. The two volumes turn out to be the best scholarly companion in understanding how interdisciplinary studies are redefining the boundaries of sociology.