Posts Tagged ‘Books’

Spiritual seekers, heroes and India lovers

I am way behind in writing reviews about the books I am reading. Ever since I got rid of my TV, I’ve been reading like a fiend — and I am expanding my lists to include books about transformational travel. For my previous lists, please read Another 10 books on India or 10 (more) books I love about India or Top 10 books on India thus far. (NOTE: Do not look for Shantaram, The White Tiger or Eat, Pray, Love. You will not find them. But you will see a comparison to Shantaram, number 9 below.)

The mass popularity of Eat, Pray, Love seems to suggest that author Elizabeth Gilbert was the first seeker ever to brave the rigours of travel in India in order to discover inner bliss at a spiritual retreat. To set the record straight, spiritual seekers have been going to India for many generations, perhaps many centuries. The Beatles went to India in 1968.  A Search in Secret India (on the list below) by Dr. Paul Brunton was published in 1935. Somerset Maugham’s masterpiece A Razor’s Edge is about a man who goes to India just after WW1. Mark Twain went to India in the 19th century. There is even speculation that Jesus trained as a yogi in India – and that’s where he learned to perform “miracles.” Read the rest of this entry »

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

The biggest question of our time is not do you believe in god; or is global warming real; it’s where do stand on Eat, Pray, Love? The book about Elizabeth Gilbert’s quest to find “everything” in Italy, India and Bali is a publishing phenomenon: it was an international bestseller with more than seven million copies sold worldwide; and in 2008, Time Magazine named Gilbert one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Today, July 18, is Elizabeth Gilbert’s birthday. She is 41. And I want to salute her.

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children listening to stories at Book Fair

The World Book Fair in Delhi is a highly anticipated event that sprawls across the huge Pragati Maidan fair grounds in central Delhi. There are publishers from all over the world, books in dozens of languages, reading events and books, thousands and thousands of books. It is a book lover’s paradise. My only problem was that it’s so huge, I could only do one section — the hall devoted to books in English (of course). Read the rest of this entry »

I am continuing to read lots of books on India or by Indian or South Asian writers. It helps that I only get a limited number of channels on my TV — a TV that is so old I can’t even attach a DVD player to it. So, most nights I am “forced” to read. Lucky me.

But before I start, I want to mention two books that you will not find on any of my lists, so stop looking:  Shantaram and The White Tiger. I just don’t think they deserve to be recommended.

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A while I ago, I wrote a blog post that listed my Top 10 Books on India (thus far). This is the second installment in my series, Books I love about India.

1. Kim by Rudyard Kipling. It’s a masterpiece. I read it with my jaw on the floor. I have been reading for, oh, 43 years, give or take, and I have never read a book that is so in the moment. You tramp along with Kim down the streets of Lahore, on the Grand Trunk Road, through Himalayan passes. Every sound, every smell, every gesture, every accent is evoked. The dust swirls around you, the smell of cooking food entices you, the fresh air of the mountains revives you. Kipling knew the road in India, and he knew how to capture it in words. And Kipling is not just a master of description — he is a master story-teller. Like India herself, this story is bold, complex, subtle and ambiguous. Though it is not an easy read, it is hugely rewarding. I will be reading it again soon.

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I am “borrowing” the title of this post from writer Paul William Roberts. It’s the name of his book about his travels in India and I think it just perfectly describes how I — and so many others — feel about India.

I haven’t been writing lately (holidays blah blah blah) , but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been immersing myself in my subject. Au contraire. I am leaving for my third trip to India in 17 days (January 30, 2009), and am completely immersed in figuring out my itinerary, getting ready, and getting excited. Also sending out as many query letters as I can, to newspapers and magazines and radio shows — hoping to write about my trip: a one-month train journey around India’s heartland.

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Just before the news broke about the terror attacks in Mumbai, I was going to write about my favourite Indian books and books about India. Ironically, one of my top picks is Maximum City by Suketu Mehta, an incredibly well-researched and well-written book about Bombay. Having recently read that book, I felt much more in-the-know about the city, and especially the local politics. Which are very tricky.

So, here are some of my favourite books on India, about India, by Indians …

1. Maximum City by Suketu Mehta. He’s like a cross between Charles Dickens and The New York Times. He’s a great investigative reporter, but his real strength is in telling a story and making the characters come alive. If you have any interest at all in Bombay / Mumbai, read this book.

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Don’t you just hate “top 10″ lists? I probably have 10 top reasons why I hate them, but that’s not what this post is about ….

I am actually writing this in response to an online article I read called something like the 10 most spiritually influential books on the Brave New Traveler website. I was excited when I read the title and crestfallen when I read the article. The titles were populist at best, cheesy at worst. And then, of course, there’s the age-old existentialist question: most spiritually influential to who?

Personally, I would only hazard to list the 10 most spiritually influential books to moi. So, in no discernible order and without further ado, here goes:*

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Karmabhoomi, definition: the land of your destiny.

I came across this most excellent word while reading Maximum City by Suketu Mehta. The book is about Bombay (Mumbai) and the word is used by a (real) character, a 17-year-old poet who lives on the footpath. He left his village to live hard in sin city because Bombay inspires him. He’s a gentle soul living a brutal life and finding beauty in the daily struggles of a bursting megalopolis.

“Why do you live here,” Suketu understandably wonders. “Because this is my karmabhoomi,” our hero replies. “The land of my destiny.”

I know exactly how he feels. Except he has more courage than me. I feel that India is the land of my karmabhoomi – but I have not yet left my comfortable life in the middle-class bubble of North America to go and live my destiny.

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