a good reading list for India
Jun 15th, 2006 | 03:03 PM
#21
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 194
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Scoop-Wallah by Justine Hardy is good. English journalist working on a Delhi daily newspaper.
Are You Experienced by William Sutcliffe is a lot of fun
Karma Cola by Gita Mehta
Heat and Dust and Esmond in India - both by Ruth Prawer Jhablava.
Travels on my Elephant and Queen of the Elephants both by Mark Shand (brother-in-law to Prince Charles)
I've just finished and loved Holy Cow which someone else has mentioned.
Are You Experienced by William Sutcliffe is a lot of fun
Karma Cola by Gita Mehta
Heat and Dust and Esmond in India - both by Ruth Prawer Jhablava.
Travels on my Elephant and Queen of the Elephants both by Mark Shand (brother-in-law to Prince Charles)
I've just finished and loved Holy Cow which someone else has mentioned.
Aug 21st, 2006 | 03:34 AM
#24
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 162
Likes: 0
Another one is
A Princess Remembers By Gayatri Devi It is a memoir of the Maharani of Jaipur and offers a wonderful insight into her fasinating life along with politics before and after British occupation.
The Holy Cow and other stories by Tarun Chopra was my bible. A small book that explains the Hindu culture, Gods, caste system, history art etc.
I also really enjoyed a million Mutinies.
Happy reading
Also thanks all I picked up a few titles I was not familiar with.
A Princess Remembers By Gayatri Devi It is a memoir of the Maharani of Jaipur and offers a wonderful insight into her fasinating life along with politics before and after British occupation.
The Holy Cow and other stories by Tarun Chopra was my bible. A small book that explains the Hindu culture, Gods, caste system, history art etc.
I also really enjoyed a million Mutinies.
Happy reading
Also thanks all I picked up a few titles I was not familiar with.
Aug 21st, 2006 | 04:29 AM
#26
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,077
Likes: 0
Many wonderful books already mentioned.
So I won't repeat except to say that IMHO the "Raj Quartet" is one of the great works of the 20th century. You will, as I did (back in 1975) learn all sorts of things you never knew - but you will also be deeply engaged by the story. It was also made into a 13 part TV series back in the 80s which still, again IMHO, has few competitors for the title "best ever TV drama".
You probably know all this.
One book that hasn't been mentioned is "May you be the Mother of a Hundred Sons". Read it too if you can.
And another vote for "A Fine Balance" and "God of Small Things". The point about these novels is that it really doesn't matter if they offend Agtoau's sensibilities - and it really doesn't matter if you have no intention of ever visiting India - they are just the most amazing reads!
So I won't repeat except to say that IMHO the "Raj Quartet" is one of the great works of the 20th century. You will, as I did (back in 1975) learn all sorts of things you never knew - but you will also be deeply engaged by the story. It was also made into a 13 part TV series back in the 80s which still, again IMHO, has few competitors for the title "best ever TV drama".
You probably know all this.
One book that hasn't been mentioned is "May you be the Mother of a Hundred Sons". Read it too if you can.
And another vote for "A Fine Balance" and "God of Small Things". The point about these novels is that it really doesn't matter if they offend Agtoau's sensibilities - and it really doesn't matter if you have no intention of ever visiting India - they are just the most amazing reads!
Aug 21st, 2006 | 04:54 AM
#27
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
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Well, quite the little argument agtoau has started. Some of my favorite books are below, several have already been mentioned. The book "May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons" is by Elisabeth Bumiller and by coincidence I am re-reading now; however it was written in 1986 and it is really seeming a bit dated now. I think rural life in India has changed quite a bit in the 20 years since she wrote this. I hit Indian bookstores on every trip and am always looking for an udated version of a book like hers (women in India), but have yet to find one.
If you are going to the golden triangle area of Rajasthan, than by all means try to read A Princess Remembers first, it should get agtaou's imprimatur as it is written by an actual Indian, albeit a privileged one. Tagore should be read as well, IMO. I read the Raj Quartet at least once a year, always hoping it will turn out differently....
Gayatri Devi, A Princess Remembers. This is the autobiography of the third and favorite wife of the late Maharajah of Jaipur. She was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. When Jackie Kennedy went to India in 1961 or so, she stayed with the Princess and in the pictures, Jackie looks dowdy compared to her. She was from a royal family in east India. She led a very interesting life, met all kinds of leaders. It is really fun to read her book while in Jaipur, esp if you stay at the Rambagh Palace, which was her home. It is kind of startling to look up for your reading and imagine what the palace look like, where the women's quarter was, etc This book may not be available outside of India, but you can definitely but it in India, esp in Jaipur.
Rabindranath Tagore, The Post Office; any collection of his poems. He was primarily a poet, but wrote some novels, the Post Office is his best known and is wonderful. He is very beloved in India, esp in Calcutta/Bengal where he is from.
Some others to consider:
Rudyard Kipling, Plain Tales from the Hills; Kim; Jungle Book; many other novels. Classic novels by the English author. Many are set in what is now Pakistan, but still interesting as the country and people of Rajasthan are similar, expect for their religion.
Non-Fiction
Mark Tully, No Full Stops in India; Heart of India. He was the BBC correspondent in India for about 20 years. Very interesting insight into Indian life and culture.
Anne Morrow, Maharajahs of India. This is from 1986 and may be out of print, again you may find it in Indian book shops. It gives fascinating details about the lives of the fabulously wealthy maharajas of India, who lost their power in and most of their wealth in 1974.
William Dalyrumple, City of Djinns, A Year in Delhi. Great stories about Delhi, he is a British travel writer.
Eric Newby, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush; Slowly Down the Ganges. The first is a hysterical and quite famous book about the author's misadventures in Pakistan. The second is a description of a trip along most of the Ganges river, very interesting.
Alexander Frater, Chasing the Monsoon. A great book if you will be in India around monsoon time, esp good for southern India. The author follows the monsoon from its initial breaking point in Kerala all the way up and thorough India. The book will give you an idea of how important the monsoon is to the culture and economy of India.
Anita Desai, Fasting Feasting; Baumgartner's Bombay, others. Ms Desai has written several books and short stories on different aspects of life in a modernizing India. I especially enjoyed Fasting Feasting, but I think any of her books would be interesting.
Travellers' Tales Guides: India. This company prints books which are excerpts of writings by many authors on the particular country. This book is a nice broad overview of authors' observations of India over the centuries. Travellers' Guides does similar books for most countries in Asia.
Jan Morris/James Morris. Jan Morris is far and away my favorite travel writer. Her writing has actually influenced the way and where I travel. She wrote a short piece called "The Travelling Craft" which may change the way you travel as well. Books that you might find interesting about India are
Stones of Empire : The Buildings of the Raj 1983
The Spectacle of Empire : Style, Effect and the Pax Britannica
Except for Pax Britannia, I have read all her other work, and keep going back to her. "Spectacle of Empire" is a quite a long series on British colonial history over the centuries, and does include India, so from that viewpoint it may be helpful to you. She has written books on many other places, her book on Hong Kong is excellent and a classic. (She wrote under James Morris until the early 1970s when she underwent a sex change, so you may find Spectacle of Empire" under James Morris.)
Totally agree on RK Narayanan, simply excellent writing, regardless of whether you ever have or will go to a small village in India. I have never been to a small town along the Mississippi in the 19th century, but I love Mark Twain....
Finally, if you read Suitable Boy, then please read Two Lives which is also by Vikram Seth. I think it is his very best book, extremely moving. But only marginally about India, so not necesasry reading for a trip to India.
If you are going to the golden triangle area of Rajasthan, than by all means try to read A Princess Remembers first, it should get agtaou's imprimatur as it is written by an actual Indian, albeit a privileged one. Tagore should be read as well, IMO. I read the Raj Quartet at least once a year, always hoping it will turn out differently....
Gayatri Devi, A Princess Remembers. This is the autobiography of the third and favorite wife of the late Maharajah of Jaipur. She was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. When Jackie Kennedy went to India in 1961 or so, she stayed with the Princess and in the pictures, Jackie looks dowdy compared to her. She was from a royal family in east India. She led a very interesting life, met all kinds of leaders. It is really fun to read her book while in Jaipur, esp if you stay at the Rambagh Palace, which was her home. It is kind of startling to look up for your reading and imagine what the palace look like, where the women's quarter was, etc This book may not be available outside of India, but you can definitely but it in India, esp in Jaipur.
Rabindranath Tagore, The Post Office; any collection of his poems. He was primarily a poet, but wrote some novels, the Post Office is his best known and is wonderful. He is very beloved in India, esp in Calcutta/Bengal where he is from.
Some others to consider:
Rudyard Kipling, Plain Tales from the Hills; Kim; Jungle Book; many other novels. Classic novels by the English author. Many are set in what is now Pakistan, but still interesting as the country and people of Rajasthan are similar, expect for their religion.
Non-Fiction
Mark Tully, No Full Stops in India; Heart of India. He was the BBC correspondent in India for about 20 years. Very interesting insight into Indian life and culture.
Anne Morrow, Maharajahs of India. This is from 1986 and may be out of print, again you may find it in Indian book shops. It gives fascinating details about the lives of the fabulously wealthy maharajas of India, who lost their power in and most of their wealth in 1974.
William Dalyrumple, City of Djinns, A Year in Delhi. Great stories about Delhi, he is a British travel writer.
Eric Newby, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush; Slowly Down the Ganges. The first is a hysterical and quite famous book about the author's misadventures in Pakistan. The second is a description of a trip along most of the Ganges river, very interesting.
Alexander Frater, Chasing the Monsoon. A great book if you will be in India around monsoon time, esp good for southern India. The author follows the monsoon from its initial breaking point in Kerala all the way up and thorough India. The book will give you an idea of how important the monsoon is to the culture and economy of India.
Anita Desai, Fasting Feasting; Baumgartner's Bombay, others. Ms Desai has written several books and short stories on different aspects of life in a modernizing India. I especially enjoyed Fasting Feasting, but I think any of her books would be interesting.
Travellers' Tales Guides: India. This company prints books which are excerpts of writings by many authors on the particular country. This book is a nice broad overview of authors' observations of India over the centuries. Travellers' Guides does similar books for most countries in Asia.
Jan Morris/James Morris. Jan Morris is far and away my favorite travel writer. Her writing has actually influenced the way and where I travel. She wrote a short piece called "The Travelling Craft" which may change the way you travel as well. Books that you might find interesting about India are
Stones of Empire : The Buildings of the Raj 1983
The Spectacle of Empire : Style, Effect and the Pax Britannica
Except for Pax Britannia, I have read all her other work, and keep going back to her. "Spectacle of Empire" is a quite a long series on British colonial history over the centuries, and does include India, so from that viewpoint it may be helpful to you. She has written books on many other places, her book on Hong Kong is excellent and a classic. (She wrote under James Morris until the early 1970s when she underwent a sex change, so you may find Spectacle of Empire" under James Morris.)
Totally agree on RK Narayanan, simply excellent writing, regardless of whether you ever have or will go to a small village in India. I have never been to a small town along the Mississippi in the 19th century, but I love Mark Twain....
Finally, if you read Suitable Boy, then please read Two Lives which is also by Vikram Seth. I think it is his very best book, extremely moving. But only marginally about India, so not necesasry reading for a trip to India.
Aug 22nd, 2006 | 03:23 AM
#28
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,077
Likes: 0
Cicerone,
Loved your post. Can always detect passion for books!! Agree about "Chasing the Monsoon" - brilliant.
And "No full stops in India" by Mark Tully - though it too was written a long time ago.
My best recommendation to book lovers when they are actually IN India is to check out the bookshops and second hand stores/pavement sellers.
It was there on the pavement that I bought a biography of Robert Clive written by an Indian who was, either at the time of writing, or afterwards, a professor at either Oxford or Cambridge.
I know I should remember the author's name cos it was a wonderful book - but I can't.
Cicerone - can you help? I would like to read it again but can't find it so far with various Google searches.
The author is/was a fairly well known name. Left wing in his views so it surprised me at the time that (a) he should choose to write a biography of Clive, and (b) that if you accept left wing = Indian Nationalist, that it was so favourable in the final analysis.
Chauduri, or Chaudry?
Ring any bells?
Loved your post. Can always detect passion for books!! Agree about "Chasing the Monsoon" - brilliant.
And "No full stops in India" by Mark Tully - though it too was written a long time ago.
My best recommendation to book lovers when they are actually IN India is to check out the bookshops and second hand stores/pavement sellers.
It was there on the pavement that I bought a biography of Robert Clive written by an Indian who was, either at the time of writing, or afterwards, a professor at either Oxford or Cambridge.
I know I should remember the author's name cos it was a wonderful book - but I can't.
Cicerone - can you help? I would like to read it again but can't find it so far with various Google searches.
The author is/was a fairly well known name. Left wing in his views so it surprised me at the time that (a) he should choose to write a biography of Clive, and (b) that if you accept left wing = Indian Nationalist, that it was so favourable in the final analysis.
Chauduri, or Chaudry?
Ring any bells?
Aug 22nd, 2006 | 07:07 PM
#30
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
fuzzylogic, the author I think you are talking about is Nirad Chaudhuri. The book is called "Clive of India; A Political and Psychological Essay." I found a website (see below) that indicates that it was published by Barrie & Jenkins, London, 1975. I went to Amazon.com and they sell it used and new for about $24 (see http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...F8&s=books)
I have not read it myself, but Jan Morris refers to it in her series on Indian history (see above).
A website on his other books is at http://www-stat.stanford.edu/~naras/ncc/engbooks.html
I have not read it myself, but Jan Morris refers to it in her series on Indian history (see above).
A website on his other books is at http://www-stat.stanford.edu/~naras/ncc/engbooks.html
Jan 26th, 2024 | 11:36 AM
#34
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,284
Likes: 0
I read The God of Small Things, and I don't think it will prepare you for traveling to India. I do think that reading about the Partition of 1947 will give you a lot of insight into the India of today. Plus it's a fascinating, fun, and exciting subject.
Jan 27th, 2024 | 09:51 PM
#35
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 12,943
Likes: 0
A Fine Balance is not an easy read, but it certainly explains a lot about India. A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush; Slowly Down the Ganges and Chasing the Monsoon were great reads, as well as Holy Cow. Another book about India that I enjoyed was Kept; An American House Husband in India. Funny memoir by Greg Buford, whose wife worked for the US foreign service in New Delhi.
