Adil Rustomjeea career in international development and markets, Adil Rustomjee discovered his life's work as a chronicler of India's stock markets.

The idea for the book came when he stumbled upon the BSE archives during the time he had an office in the exhange's building. These nuggets of history were just lying around, but a substantial account had yet to be written about an equity market that was over two centuries old.

Adil Rustomjee then made it his calling to narrate the market's past, outline its methods, and detail its participants. Born in Hyderabad, he attended the universities of Madras and Bombay, from which he graduated with degrees in commerce and management. He also holds graduate degrees in international relations from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and in business from Yale.

Besides taking a keen interest in financial markets, he is a student of military history and strategy.