Written by: Anusree KC3 min readJul 11, 2026 08:00 AM IST First published on: Jul 11, 2026 at 08:00 AM ISTAmish Tripathi has written about Shiva, Ram, ancient kingdoms and forgotten gods. But the hardest part about his new book wasn’t digging deep into India’s history but how to present it. Dhruv-Tara & The Great Indian History Quiz is a children’s book. “Historical research was not a problem since I have always read a lot of historical non-fiction. The research went into how to write children’s books, because when you are writing in a genre you haven’t read in 45 years, you need to revisit some old books, just to get your mind into that genre,” says Tripathi.The book, which will hit the stands on July 27, is the first of a seven-book middle-grade adventure series. It follows Dhruv Trivedi and Tara Dhoba, two rival students at a Mumbai school, who are forced to team up for India’s biggest contest: ‘The Great Indian History Quiz.’AdvertisementThere are two things that have nagged Tripathi for years: History is boring, and that it is often presented, especially to children, from a “colonial gaze.” The book was an attempt to address both. “Our historians not only did not decolonise our history but also made it so boring that most students simply don’t want to explore the subject,” says the author of The Immortals of Meluha. He cites Bhāskarāchārya, the mathematician who taught maths through Sanskrit poetry, as proof that it doesn’t have to be that way. “Can we not make history interesting in the garb of an adventure?” To that end, he has made the chapters fast-paced and used Gen Z slang.Also Read | Why the Cholas were one of the world’s most powerful empires: Amish Tripathi explainsTripathi is also convinced that curiosity in itself needs defending. He says, “If there’s a skill our kids need today in the age of AI, it’s curiosity. Phone, social media, free data — that is numbing the brain.” It’s a big part of why Dhruv and Tara keep asking questions.Tripathi was also certain that he wanted to frame India’s history of invasions not through a religious but an economic lens. “British rule is not called the Christian invasion, but Turkish rule is called the Islamic invasion — this was a colonial interpretation,” he says, adding that the book leans more into discovery than simply challenging the stories.AdvertisementWriting the book was rewarding for Tripathi also because it let him “discover the child within him.” Recalling a scene where Dhruv is fidgeting in a swivel chair, while waiting for a teacher, he says, “That’s the kind of thing I would have done as a boy.”