A Million Mutinies Now – V.S Naipaul
Vidhiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001, wrote A Million Mutinies Now as the concluding part of his trilogy on India from where his ancestors had migrated to Trinidad in the late 1800s. In this passionate portrait of a society, and a country, and a diaspora of various cultures he returns to India, a nation in turmoil, still fighting for identity and renewed hope.
Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts
The author who had been a prisoner in Australia had fled to India and lived incognito for 10 years.
Shantaram is a semi-autobiographical account of his life in India and how it affected him as a person. Filmmaker Mira Nair was to make a film on the book featuring Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan, but the project never took off.In May 2013, the Mumbai Mirror reported that Warner Bros. has negotiated to retain the film rights until 2015, fuelling speculation that a film adaptation of Shantaram is still in the works.
No Full stops in India – Mark Tully
The love story between this BBC correspondent and India is half a century long and still going strong.
Published in 1992, it is an account of his travels through the country and his reflections on India. It is told through everyday stories which has a comfortable, colloquial flow, in character with the author’s calling.
Q&A – Vikas Swarup
The novel behind the multiple oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, tells the story of how a so-called ignorant boy from the biggest slums in Mumbai goes on to become the a millionaire in a TV quiz show. It speaks about the contrasts which exist in the urban landscape of metropolitan India.
country, and a diaspora of various cultures he returns to India, a nation in turmoil, still fighting for identity and renewed hope.
A Passage to India – E.M Forster
A Passage to India (1924) is a novel by English author E. M. Forster.
It is set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English literature by the Modern Library and is considered to be one of the most beautiful accounts describing pre-Independence India.
Nine Lives – William Dalrymple
Acclaimed Historian William Dalrymple on his travels through India had met with people from all religions and marvelled at the cultural diversity and infinite philosophies of the land. So, when he put together his experiences in this book on nine indians and their different religions it struck a chord with one and all. A must read for anybody who hails from or has an interest in the magical world of India.
Steve Mccurry – India
Written by Steve Mccurry, world-acclaimed photographer.
He is a true lover of India’s diversity has put together a collection of his best images. His recently released book, humbly named ‘India’ is testament to 30 years of travelling the country through the wondrous panorama of colors, cultures and people that is, India.
Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found – Suketu Mehta
This Pulitzer Prize finalist for 2005 is a chronicle of India’s most vibrant metropolis, Mumbai.
It attempts to comments on the extremities of life in Mumbai. From the street poet to the ‘super-rich’ to the right-wing nationalist party worker, the book attempts to equate the differences within the ‘the biggest, fastest, richest city in India’.
Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
Journalist and novelist, Elizabeth Gilbert describes her novel as ‘a travelogue in spiritual seeking’ and that describes it perfectly. What does a young woman who has lost meaning in life do, to keep on living? She travels around the world. Her travels takes her from Spain to India and then Indonesia in search of inner peace and freedom from anxiety.
Delhi – Khuswant Singh
Often considered his magnum opus, about the book Khuswant Singh had quoted, ‘It took me 25 years to piece together this story spanning several centuries of history, and my only aim was to get (my readers) to know Delhi and love it as much as I do.’ Khushwant Singh, who passed away at 99 in March last year, will always be remembered as one of India’s most prolific and best-loved writers and Delhi, a most beautiful account of his beloved city.
Happy Reading 🙂
