Master Mariner · Author · Observer
Pratap Singh Rathore writes fiction about faith, power, duty and the private moral choices that define us.
A life at sea. A long companionship with books. Stories rooted in consequence.
We often search for meaning in exceptional lives while overlooking the quiet decisions through which ordinary people reveal who they are.
— From the author's note to Dumb Man's Folly
The books
From the contradictions of contemporary life to the moral pressures of history.
Published · Short stories · 2026
Society has its wisdom. One man has his doubts.
Ten stories place questions of freedom, responsibility, equality, family and faith inside the lives of workers, parents, neighbours, officials and devotees. There are no convenient villains here—only ordinary people carrying contradictions of their own.
Upcoming
Two lives shaped by duty. One sacred city caught between them.
In 1626, a restless Rajput leaves home to become Sarada Giri, a warrior ascetic sworn to restraint, while the overlooked Mughal prince Aurangzeb learns to turn injury, faith and law into instruments of rule. Nearly four decades later, an imperial order makes them adversaries at the Vishwanath temple.
About the author
Capt. Pratap Singh Rathore has spent more than two decades at sea and now commands merchant vessels. Between voyages, he returns to Jaipur—the city of his birth and upbringing, and the place he continues to call home.
A devoted reader for over twenty years, he is particularly drawn to historical and philosophical fiction. Ayn Rand and Munshi Premchand are among his favourite authors: writers separated by tradition, yet united by their engagement with the individual, moral choice and society.
His interest in history extends beyond books to historical drama and documentary. Years at sea, a sustained curiosity about human choices and a long companionship with books have shaped the reflective sensibility he brings to his fiction.
He shares his life with his wife, Dr. Chitra Chandrawat, and their son, Rajyavardhan.
The writer's perspective
Life aboard merchant vessels makes responsibility tangible: decisions travel through people, systems and weather before returning as consequence.
Power often arrives quietly—in family roles, workplaces, belief and the common sense a society no longer thinks to question.
History matters not only for what happened, but for the pressures through which people explained their choices to themselves.
An argument wants to win. A story can let different people be right in different ways—and wrong for reasons we understand.
Contact
Pratap welcomes enquiries from readers, booksellers, publishers, event organisers and media.
