The Tree Bears Witness: A Birbal Mystery About the Author Sharath Komarraju is an author of fiction and nonfiction based in Bengaluru, India. His best known work (to date) is the Hastinapur series, in which he speaks into the silences of the Mahabharata story through the voices of the epic’s many women characters. His first novel, Murder in Amaravati,  was longlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize, 2013. Once a software engineer, he now tells stories full-time. When he is not writing or reading, he can be found watching cricket on television, talking to his wife, or munching on the nearest chocolate bar.