Posts Tagged ‘Gandhi’

Gandhi statue in New York City

India, TBEX and New York City

This weekend I was in New York for TBEX 10, the travel bloggers conference. As I was walking to dinner with several colleagues, we unexpectedly came across a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a small garden in Union Square. I did a double-take. I have seen the same statue countless times in India, in the centre of Delhi, in small towns, on mountain ridges, at the seaside — basically, Gandhi is everywhere. His presence in India is palpable, though of course he has been gone for 62 years. For a moment, I felt transported to India or, at least, my idea of India. To me India represents both sights, sounds, tastes and smells — the kaleidoscopic circus of the senses — and a way of being in the world that is based on the belief that we are all part of the same universal life force — the Hindu ideal that underlies Gandhi’s worldview.

The next day I returned by myself, and touched his feet. I would never had made such a gesture before traveling in India.

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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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