A More Extensive Book List Of Indian Reading?

capt_mahajan

off the top of my head..


Besides Gandhi and Nehru, who wrote extensively during that time

Premchand's translations. Not particularly about the British though.

A flight of Pigeons by Ruskin bond. (made into a movie, Junoon), both well made... of the period around the 1857 mutiny

Tamas (book by Bhisham Sahni) and a movie by Nihalani.. excellent, about the partition.

I consider Ruskin Bond Indian, like I consider Rushdie, Lahiri, Naipaul and Nirad Choudhuri foreigners

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unclelach

Nirad Chaudhuri (1897-1999) is the obvious Indian major writer who wrote of his own times under (late) colonialism.

Chaudhuri's autobiography published in two parts, "The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian" and "Thy Hand Great Anarch" describes his childhood and youth in Bengal followed by his life in Delhi as a radio journalist. Well on in life, Chaudhuri moved permanently to England.

Chaudhuri for the most part was an anglophile and wrote in the occupier's language, English. Perhaps for these reasons he is sometimes viewed with disfavour in his native land.

During an exceptionally long life Chaudhuri produced many works most of which are still in print eg from Oxford India.

My own reading of Chaudhuri has scarcely passed beyond his autobiography but his distinctive and readable English make him a joy.

capt_mahajan

Rahi Masoom Reza's : Aadha Gaon (actually 'half village', but Gillian Wright's English translation is titled 'a divided village')

tongoka

Thanks Lou for a great list, just printed it off so i can work my way through them.

unclelach

M M Kaye (1908-2004) was Indian born and as well as having strong connections with British India spent a deal of her childhood and life as a young adult in India.

M M Kaye was a prolific author of fiction but I have read only some of her non-fiction, in particular her three part autobiography, "The Sun in the Morning", "Golden Afternoon" and "Enchanted Evening". These books are outstanding in that they are written by someone with a great love of India and her people even though from a privileged perspective.

kmalik

Lou,

You might want to add: The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor by W.M. Jr Thackston to your list. It is on my list, but have yet to get to it. Would love to hear from someone who has read it. He was, of course, the most influential figure in the Indo-Islamic history and a rather impressive man - warrior and a poet.

momo

India by V. S. Naipaul it's a great one.

I also liked A River Sutra by Gita Mehta. Gita seems to have some classics about India such as Karma Cola or Raj, though I haven't read them. Rabindranath Tagore's poems and stories are a pleasant read too.

Now I'm reading The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor which is a nice one too, and The Circle of Reason by Amitav Ghosh it's waiting its turn on the bedside table, but I still can't tell you how good is it.

Lou Wilson

There is an updated list of books (as of April 19th 2007) on India at the beginning of this thread - Lou Wilson

noflylist

Lou did you mean Abdul Gafur Khan as 'Badshah Khan'? He is also known as Sarhad Gandhi

capt_mahajan

Excellent read, though a little dry sometimes. However much I dislike the exploitation of ordinary Indians by rulers of all kinds, it is a fascinating account from a different perspective.

'Clive', by Robert Harvey, is another one. Not as grand in scope or narration as Baburnama, but gives an account of an extremenly influential and powerful man.

LunavadaLad

"The Last Nizam" by John Zubrzycki is a great account of the Nizam's of Hyderabad.
"Strangers in my Sleeper" by Peter Riordan is a great book on travelling in India Pakistan and Bangladesh by train.

Wayne

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girlone

Some more for your list - great idea by the way!

Manju Kapoor - Home; Difficult Daughters; A Married Woman

Three good novels, interesting social issues presented.

The Bookseller of Kabul (can't remember the author at the moment!) is good too if we are branching out to Afghanistan.

G1

Lou Wilson

New book A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini author of Kite Runner info at http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Splen.../dp/1594489505

Lou Wilson

Have you you read The Afgan by Frederick Forsyth Author of The Day of the Jackal
Read about - Link to Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Afghan-Frederi...1784256&sr=8-1

Also the daughter ( I don't which one he has three) of Marshall McLuhan* has made a documentary of Ghaffar Khan also Badshah Khan ? He is also known as Sarhad Gandhi. He was a friend of Ghandi in the non violent approach. Lived in Frontier India/Afganistan now Pakistan
More about Ghaffar Khan at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badshah_Khan

I have no idea where it is being aired. I only know through a friend who worked on the project

*Marshall McLuhan is best known for coining the term "Global Village" and such catch phrases as such catch phrases as "The media is the message".

Diana

Wonderful thread. Love finding so many new titles.

I too read several books at a time. My tastes are quite eclectic.

Of India related books I've recently finished "Serving Crazy with Curry" - by Amulya Malladi It was a fun read but not great.
Am reading:
Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri (How do you pronounce Jhumpa?...like Jump-uh?)

Non-India Fiction:

Ill Wind - Rachel Caine (a wild ride, very Whedonesque tale)
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - Gregory Maguire

Non-India Non-Fiction:

Strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings -- Diane Klein, Ruth Cook, and Anne Marie Richardson-Gibbs

Non-Fiction India related:

Malayalam Self-Taught -- T.N. Menon (ok, ok, so I'm desperate!)

So titles for the list (if not already listed):

Fiction:

The Death of Vishnu: A Novel

The Death of Vishnu: A Novel by Manil Suri (I LOVED this book! Wish Mr. Suri would write more!)
The Inheritance of Loss - Desai
Cracking India: A Novel by Bapsi Sidhwa

Non-Fiction:

The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us

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