India in Mind

India is certainly on many people's mind at the moment, what with the flattening of the world (due apologies to Tom Friedman). In a sense, the timing of this book is perfect. What captured my attention was the title of the book, but alas not all of the essays in this book captured my attention for at times my mind wandered off. This anthology on India is a vivid, multicolored collection of writings, musings, poems by 25 well-known writers ranging from Rudyard Kipling, George Orwell to Mark Twain and Gore Vidal. This book gives us a view of how India was perceived and written by each of these writers right from the 19th century to present day. The reactions that India revokes are "complex, ranging from awe and wonder to repulsion and rejection," as Pankaj Mishra describes in his introduction to this anthology. I enjoyed reading Mark Twain's chapter of India from his "Following the Equator," book. It is very clear from Twain's writings that he must have been a good listener, and a keen observer of people and customs for his description of the Parsee community in India is filled with interesting little details. I particularly enjoyed reading his description of the quaint India custom of getting a "bearer" or a manservant. Somerset Maugham's piece was a tad disappointing since it read more like a journal entry with descriptions of people and places like Goa, vina player, the priest and so on. However, I got some great insights and ideas on how to write and maintain a good travel journal. Thank you Mr. Maugham! It was Paul Bowles essay that I enjoyed reading the most and I could almost feel the heat, and the sweat pouring down my face when I read about his stay in a hotel room during a power failure. Bowles who is best known of "A Sheltered Sky," got into a bit of a soup when he wrongfully accused of being a spy. (Remember though that Bowles was traveling in India in 1963 during a highly traumatic period for India. India had just been invaded by China in 1962). Bowles traveled in India extensively and this current essay describes his stay in a remote corner of the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. It is always a pleasure to read Rudyard Kipling's writings on India, and this book has an excerpt from "Kim." After reading this book, it seemed like some things have remained the same in India. But, my sense is that will not last for long, given the inexorable pull of globalization on India and its society. This book is an interesting and kaleidoscopic introduction to India, and I am sure you will find some writings more interesting than others just the way I did. India has been sliced and diced and presented from various angles in this anthology.