Chasing the Mountain of Light: Across India on the Trail of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond [Abridged, Audiobook, Box set, Illustrated, Large Print] [Paperback]

‘This is a book about gems that is also a gem of a book’
Sunday Times

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

In the beginning diamonds came from India. And the greatest of those ancient stones, the Koh-i-Noor, the Mountain of Light, cut a deep and bloody path across the history and legends of the country. Fought over, cursed and occasionally lost, from the mines of Golconda in the south to the mughal palaces of Agra and Delhi in the north, it finally reached the Sikhs in the Punjab, only to be seized by British agents eager to please the young Queen Victoria. It now lies in the Tower of London, its ownership still disputed. Kevin Rushby follows the trail of this great jewel through fascinating corners of India and crossing the path of dealers, smugglers and petty crooks. The historical characters are no less colourful, from the bloodthirsty tyrants who built mountains of human heads to the man-god Krishna. He unravels the religious symbolism and mysticism behind our passions for diamonds, on a journey that is humorous, informative and, as it progresses, more than a little dangerous.

Across India on the Trail of the Koh-I-Noor Diamond

Kevin Rushby pursues the dramatic career of the Koh-I-Noor, the most renowned diamond of India, through the relics of great kingdoms to the frozen heights of the Himalayas.

Kevin Rushby follows the trail of this great jewel on a journey that takes him to many fascinating corners of India and to the heart of Indian culture. Along the way he meets the dealers, smugglers and petty crooks who populate modern India's diamond trade, and finds that the depths of human greed and the heights of spiritual aspiration are both bound up in India' long association with diamonds.The historical characters are no less fascinating, from the bloodthirsty tyrants who built mountains for human heads, to the man-god Krishna – each contributes to the gradually forming picture of the story of the diamond, a story that permeates Rushby's own experience of modern India on a journey that becomes increasingly dangerous as it progresses.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Kevin Rushby taught English in Sudan, Malaysia and Yemen before becoming a full-time author and photographer.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.