City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi

By: William Dalrymple

City of Djinns is a book about Delhi and its impressions left on young Mr Dalrymple. Djinns being, spirits of fire that inhabit the world with us, humans. In this book he traces the remains of the eight cities that were built on land known as Delhi. From Indraprastha to Lutyens Delhi, he peels back the layers from the most recent to the ancient. The narrative is an engaging mix of the day to day debacles of existence of a white man in Delhi (the landlady, the taxi driver, the maid --) interspersed with the historical and archeological findings. The book is livened by the interviews. The batty old British ladies-- living relics of the British occupation of India; The professor who teaches about the days of Mughals and their art; the folks who inhabit the periphery of the society - the Hijras, being most notable.
The book includes delightful illustrations of scenes from Delhi by Mr Dalrymple's wife. My Dalrymple’s pre-occupation with the Mughal period and the twilight (the period between fall of Mughals after Aurangzeb’s accession and British supremacy following 1857 revolt), leads to him spending more time on these periods than the other phases of Delhi. The older periods receive mere mentions, one seems to feel the running out of steam :).
They say, to be able to write well, you need an objective view of the subject. William Dalrymple defies that wisdom-- he loves Delhi and is no objective bystander. Perhaps it is this connection, this love for the city that makes this volume much closer to the city and elicits such emotion from the reader than the tomes published by learned researchers.

Inspite of the Gods: strange rise of Modern India

By: Edward Luce

10 pages into the book I was in tears. This is a description of the modern India. The bundle of contradictions that is India. The conflict between the potential and slow moving reality brings you to tears. Ed Luce focuses on the 2004 -2006 as the present but traces back the influence of British and Mughals and the rise of the Hindu nationalism. It is written with compassion and understanding. It is not another one of the many books that go into a trance about ancient Hindu culture and its spiritual heritage. He calls out all the problems- illiteracy, poverty, lack of infrastructure, inadequate health care, callus attitude towards the environment, high unemployment , rampant corruption the great dichotomy in the society as presented by the urban and rural segment to the political influence from Nehru and Bapu to Lallu and Manmohan.
Perhaps the most comprehensive and deeply felt descriptions of Modern India and the challenges facing it!

The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857

By : William Dalrymple


This books is third of a four book series by the author. Although I have not read 'City of Djinns' or the 'White Mughals' I found it easy to follow. Years of force fed history lessons about the Muhgal dynasty did help in setting the context.
It is a wordy book, and somewhat tedious to read, interspersed with 'quotes' which, though lend it an air of authenticity -- become an impediment to the reading process.
The book is titled - 'Last Mughal', but really it is about the last decade of Zafar's life with a blow by blow description of the 1857 rising in and around Delhi. The authors ambivalence about who to make the centerpiece of the book ( the mutiny or Zafar) makes it a somewhat rambly.
It is full of detailed depictions of the people around the Emperor, the City ( Delhi) and the siege and the fall of the city to the the 'Sepoy's' and ultimately the British. The description of the city and the culture before 1857 destroyed the city is amazing in the quality of research and attention to detail.
The book provides a different view into the cause of the mutiny, the rising 'evangelical' element of the British occupation which stoked the religious ire of Hindu's and Muslim's alike. What happened after in the next century with the widening chasm between Hindu's and Muslims in the country leading to partition and creation of Pakistan is there for all to see.

Nothing threatens the liberal and modern aspect of Islam so much as aggressive
Western Intrusion and interference in the East, Just as nothing so
dramatically radicalises the ordinary Muslim and feeds the power of the extremists: the
histories of Islamic fundamentalism and Western imperialism have,
after all , often been closely and dangerously, intertwined..

It is a new look into the battle, and an interesting insight into a society where Muslims ruled the predominantly Hindu Indian sub-continent.

Today, West and East again face each other uneasily across a divide that many
see as religious war ... Against this bleak dualism , there is much to value in
Zafar's peaceful and tolerant attitude to life; there is so much to regret in
the way that the British swept away and rooted out the late Mughal's Pluralistic
and philosophically composite civilization.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City

By : Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Interesting and a somewhat chilling account of what happened in Iraq. The book is written very well, reads like a story, author's wry sense of humor permeates the narrative. The details take over the tale, but the overall picture if one takes a step back to consider - is scary-- it really happened!
Reminds me of the adage- ' good intentions do not sanitize bad impact' and this was terrible impact!