India In Mind
Pankaj Mishra, Editor
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2004 Vintage Books
ISBN: 0375727450

A compendium of fine writing by twenty-five writers on India.

Senior Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

The land of snakes & snake charmers. The Great Indian Rope Trick. Possibly these are the two things that come to mind while thinking abut India.

An ancient culture, a diverse culture -- with more than 24 languages, at the same time preserving a sort of unity in diversity, India has always been a fascination for the West & the Far East. From the Chinese travelers & scholars such as Fa-Hein & Hieun Tsang (Xuanzang) to the Greek scholars of the Alexander Era -- & from Columbus who set off for a journey to find India & accidentally reached America, to Vasco Da Gama, the first European to reach India, India has always been a mystery to the West.

So how do literary giants perceive India? What were their experiences in the “Holy Land of Ganges and the Himalayas”? What do they make of the customs & traditions of “Bharat”? In India In Mind acclaimed journalist & writer Pankaj Mishra has collected reflections, showcasing the talents of well-known writers.

J. R. Ackley recollects his experiences with an eccentric gay Indian Maharaja (from Hindoo Holiday) & Gore Vidal through the eyes of Cyrus (excerpted from Creation) explains his fascination with the legend of Buddha. However, India In Mind devotes more pages to excerpts from novels, rather than single short story pieces -- (notable exceptions being Notes Mailed at Nagercoil by Paul Bowles & Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell -- & in that sense -- it is difficult to enjoy the writings in full.

True, the anthology is a good collection, including works from authors like Naipaul, Ved Mehta & E. M. Forster (of A Passage To India fame); but there are some notable exceptions which prevent India In Mind becoming truly comprehensive.

Missing are the works of Ruskin Bond & Dom Moraes -- English writers who have lived in India for a long, long time; & modern award-winning classics such as Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie), God Of Small Things (Arundhati Roy), A Suitable Boy (Vikram Seth) or the works of Mulk Raj Anand, Khushwant Singh or Nirad C. Chaudhuri -- & any of the several poems by Rabhindranath Tagore, all would have enhanced the value of this collection.

A good potpourri -- well edited, but I wouldn't call it comprehensive.

More from Pankaj Mishra:
The Romantics: A Novel
An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World
Butter chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in small town India.
(03/13/05)

Narayan
2005©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org