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A review by shorshewitch
The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters by William Dalrymple
4.0
Detailed review coming up.
Edit: Full review
India is a country of such great culture and over centuries of invasions and fights for freedom, we as a country, have emerged as a powerful plethora of multitude of wonders. The Age of Kali is one such view of this country through Dalrymple's lens, as well as a short glimpse into the neighboring Pakistan.
Dalrymple is witty, humorous and I might just add, extremely brave. Encapsulating the essence that is India in a few 400 pages in the manner in which he has, takes a rare talent. The book is impeccably researched. The present is presented with the context of its past and even if you have very less idea of the vivid history, Dalrymple makes it fun and interesting in his own way.
The topics covered range from the political ascent of Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar, to Rajmata of Gwalior, Kingdom of Avadh, the sad story of Bhavri Devi in Rajasthan, caste wars and the practice of Sati Mata, the gradual progression of Bombay into a city of dreams, Bangalore's initial retaliation to foreign takeover in the form of protests against KFC and Miss World, Lucknow's immensely sad history and death of culture, to the Goddess Parashakti in the South. It then slowly takes us towards the story of the formation of LTTE in Sri Lanka and the invasion of Goa. The last 2 chapters are dedicated to Pakistan - specifically Imran Khan and Benazir Bhutto.
I am basically in awe of the writing and the fact that Dalrymple has such immaculate observational skills. Also, he presents the facts without any bias. Of course, inherently I could read between the lines and my own biases did crop up since the topic is so close to my heart - INDIA.
There is an incident where Dalrymple is observing the ritual of a newly married woman praying to a Goddess in the South and the temple only allowed women when the bride was praying. So Dalrymple held on till the time their prayers were done just to go and observe what were the prayers about. It is hilarious in some such places, where one can imagine Dalrymple hiding till the situation is clear and then going and satisfying his curiosity.
My particular favorite part was when Dalrymple describes Bombay. Oh! The nostalgia. The era of rap music that descended on Bombay through Baba Sehgal, the rise of Shobha De into the elite circles and the fact that Bombay as a metro has had this typical ability to hold on to its roots and yet progress in a manner in which only Bombay can - had me almost reminiscing the old Doordarshan days before Star took over with its cable connection.
My favorite passage however was the below, where Dalrymple takes us through some realities that India hasn't been able to shun thus far -
“They destroyed all the equipment, all the medicines. The Harijans – the people we used to call Untouchables – used to come a hundred miles for treatment.’ ‘But I thought Untouchability was outlawed at independence,’ I said. ‘Technically it was,’ replied Tyagi. ‘But do you know the saying “Dilli door ast”? It means “Delhi is far away.” The laws they pass in the Lok Sabha [Indian parliament] make little difference in these villages. Out here it will take much more than a change in the law to alleviate the lot of the Dalits [the oppressed castes, i.e. the former Untouchables].’ ‘But I still don’t understand why the Rajputs did this. What difference does it make to them if you educate the Untouchables?’ ‘The lower castes have always been the slaves of the higher castes,’ replied Tyagi. ‘They work in their fields for low wages, they sweep their streets, clean their clothes. If we educate them, who will do these dirty jobs?’ Dr Tyagi waved his hands at me in sudden exasperation: ‘Don’t you see?’ he said. ‘The Rajputs hate this place because it frees their slaves.’ ‘And what did you do,’ I asked, ‘while the Rajputs were beating the place up?’ Dr Tyagi made a slight gesture with his open palm: ‘I was just sitting,’ he said. ‘What could I do? I was thinking of Gandhiji. He was also beaten up – many times. He said you must welcome such attacks because it is only through confrontation that you can go forward. An institution like ours needs such incidents if it is to regenerate itself. It highlights the injustice the Harijans are facing.’ He paused, and smiled. ‘You yourself would not have come here if this had not happened to us.’ ‘What will you do now?’ I asked. ‘We will start again. The poor of this desert still need us.’ ‘And if the higher castes come for you again?’ ‘Then we will welcome them. They are also victims of their culture.”
My takeaway was immense pride in the country that India is and a reality-check of the country that it might become. This mixed feeling of gloom and bloom is what Dalrymple gave me through The Age of Kali.
If you are not really a non-fiction reader and yet you want to read stories of travels, I think Dalrymple is the author you got to check out for. The stories narrated are so vivid and interesting, not once would you feel you are reading non-fiction.
Edit: Full review
India is a country of such great culture and over centuries of invasions and fights for freedom, we as a country, have emerged as a powerful plethora of multitude of wonders. The Age of Kali is one such view of this country through Dalrymple's lens, as well as a short glimpse into the neighboring Pakistan.
Dalrymple is witty, humorous and I might just add, extremely brave. Encapsulating the essence that is India in a few 400 pages in the manner in which he has, takes a rare talent. The book is impeccably researched. The present is presented with the context of its past and even if you have very less idea of the vivid history, Dalrymple makes it fun and interesting in his own way.
The topics covered range from the political ascent of Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar, to Rajmata of Gwalior, Kingdom of Avadh, the sad story of Bhavri Devi in Rajasthan, caste wars and the practice of Sati Mata, the gradual progression of Bombay into a city of dreams, Bangalore's initial retaliation to foreign takeover in the form of protests against KFC and Miss World, Lucknow's immensely sad history and death of culture, to the Goddess Parashakti in the South. It then slowly takes us towards the story of the formation of LTTE in Sri Lanka and the invasion of Goa. The last 2 chapters are dedicated to Pakistan - specifically Imran Khan and Benazir Bhutto.
I am basically in awe of the writing and the fact that Dalrymple has such immaculate observational skills. Also, he presents the facts without any bias. Of course, inherently I could read between the lines and my own biases did crop up since the topic is so close to my heart - INDIA.
There is an incident where Dalrymple is observing the ritual of a newly married woman praying to a Goddess in the South and the temple only allowed women when the bride was praying. So Dalrymple held on till the time their prayers were done just to go and observe what were the prayers about. It is hilarious in some such places, where one can imagine Dalrymple hiding till the situation is clear and then going and satisfying his curiosity.
My particular favorite part was when Dalrymple describes Bombay. Oh! The nostalgia. The era of rap music that descended on Bombay through Baba Sehgal, the rise of Shobha De into the elite circles and the fact that Bombay as a metro has had this typical ability to hold on to its roots and yet progress in a manner in which only Bombay can - had me almost reminiscing the old Doordarshan days before Star took over with its cable connection.
My favorite passage however was the below, where Dalrymple takes us through some realities that India hasn't been able to shun thus far -
“They destroyed all the equipment, all the medicines. The Harijans – the people we used to call Untouchables – used to come a hundred miles for treatment.’ ‘But I thought Untouchability was outlawed at independence,’ I said. ‘Technically it was,’ replied Tyagi. ‘But do you know the saying “Dilli door ast”? It means “Delhi is far away.” The laws they pass in the Lok Sabha [Indian parliament] make little difference in these villages. Out here it will take much more than a change in the law to alleviate the lot of the Dalits [the oppressed castes, i.e. the former Untouchables].’ ‘But I still don’t understand why the Rajputs did this. What difference does it make to them if you educate the Untouchables?’ ‘The lower castes have always been the slaves of the higher castes,’ replied Tyagi. ‘They work in their fields for low wages, they sweep their streets, clean their clothes. If we educate them, who will do these dirty jobs?’ Dr Tyagi waved his hands at me in sudden exasperation: ‘Don’t you see?’ he said. ‘The Rajputs hate this place because it frees their slaves.’ ‘And what did you do,’ I asked, ‘while the Rajputs were beating the place up?’ Dr Tyagi made a slight gesture with his open palm: ‘I was just sitting,’ he said. ‘What could I do? I was thinking of Gandhiji. He was also beaten up – many times. He said you must welcome such attacks because it is only through confrontation that you can go forward. An institution like ours needs such incidents if it is to regenerate itself. It highlights the injustice the Harijans are facing.’ He paused, and smiled. ‘You yourself would not have come here if this had not happened to us.’ ‘What will you do now?’ I asked. ‘We will start again. The poor of this desert still need us.’ ‘And if the higher castes come for you again?’ ‘Then we will welcome them. They are also victims of their culture.”
My takeaway was immense pride in the country that India is and a reality-check of the country that it might become. This mixed feeling of gloom and bloom is what Dalrymple gave me through The Age of Kali.
If you are not really a non-fiction reader and yet you want to read stories of travels, I think Dalrymple is the author you got to check out for. The stories narrated are so vivid and interesting, not once would you feel you are reading non-fiction.