Hi,
Through work recently I got to visit India for a couple of weeks. For the first time I got a bit of an understanding of what people mean when they talk about the 'contradictions' of the place. A huge mall right next door to a shanty town. Lovely, friendly people and then the caste system. Cows wondering along in the middle of a 3 lane highway :) Lots of memories from such a short visit.
While there I bought The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple to pass the time while also hoping to gain a little understanding of everything going on around me. And it is a brilliant read. It is a series of essays the author wrote over a few years in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. An often dark and disturbing book (it is not a romantic view of India), it still manages to convey the beauty of the place, along with the friendliness and (frustrating to a European eye) contradictions of the people. The depth of knowledge Dalrymple has on each subject he writes about is astonishing, and never boring, and reflects an obvious deep love and respect for the subcontinent. I recommend this book unreservedly. After reading this I fully intend reading more of William Dalrymple's work and have just ordered Nine Lives, will report back here when I've read it :)
Slán go fóil, Jim.
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