Aasma-I-Noor: The Cursed Jewel by Sudipta Sen Gupta [Paperback]

This is a gripping historical mystery and adventure thriller built around the legend of the lost Aasma-i-Noor, a legendary red diamond said to be even more remarkable—and more cursed—than the Koh-i-Noor and Darya-i-Noor. Mined in the Kollur mines of Golconda, the diamond has a violent history and was deliberately concealed from historical records and collective memory.

Centuries later, the search for the lost jewel begins independently in London and Calcutta. A British research scholar discovers references to the diamond in documents associated with Robert Clive, while an Indian historian, descended from a Raja connected to Clive, possesses another link to its mysterious past.

Their investigation draws them into the turbulent history of eighteenth-century Bengal, particularly the Battle of Plassey (1757), the fall of Siraj-ud-Daulah, Mir Jafar's betrayal and Robert Clive's legacy. As the two unlikely investigators follow a trail of cryptic clues and historical secrets, they encounter deliberate misdirection and a dangerous adversary determined to stop them.

The novel combines lost-treasure hunting, colonial history, conspiracy, mystery and adventure, moving between the past and present in a quest to uncover the fate of a legendary jewel.