India Books

This book is wonderful! The Pakistani movie Umrao Jan Ada (starring Rani) is also wonderful although slightly different. A new telenovel had been produced by a private pakistani channel which pretty much follows the book. If you want to but a new copy of the book try www.786books.com (for either the English or Urdu edition).

A courtesans life told as no other than Ruswa could tell it. He uses the very flower of the urdu language to his advantage. It is the passion, pleasue and glory of mughal India and her incomparable courtesans.

This book brings the times of that era gone by, to vivid life...
The scenarios, the lifestyle, the little things like a poetry recital in moonlight is so revealing...so realistic...it opens up that time period to modern eyes, which can't fail to appreciate it. What i particularly liked other than the story itself, was the intro to ruswa...it gives insights into his motivations/inspirations...and you can then fully understand the story and how far to actually take it as fact...The translated poetry is pleasure itself...and it's a very touching book, especially the start...It pulled at me in a mysterious way, evoking strong feelings of something akin to bittersweetness..some dusty memories...my grandmother brought up (almost) in that time period told me stories of how it used to be and this is a leap back to those stories/memories...It's a great book...which will pull you in.

Umrao Jan Ada is perhaps one of the most enigmatic, and forgotten female figures in South Asian literature. To date, the question of her existence, her beauty, her scholarly abilities and her poetic gifts remain a mystery. The book is an account of Umrao's life, documented by a close friend and supposedly dictated by Umrao. While the novel offers no twists and turns shuttling the reader into a "what happens next?" frenzy, it is a remarkable and very effective attempt to capture the essense of what it meant to be a courtesan in royal india. The novel weaves Umrao's story with a delicate sprinkiling of poetry, royal societal dynamics, as well as an indepth glance at a long since forgotten profession. I highly reccommend this novel to any enthusiast of Royal India, Indian poetry, and South Asian studies in general. For poetry enthusiasts, and for those readers who are well versed in Urdu, the Urdu version of this book is remarkable.

This is a truly touching book about two women overcoming their pasts and loving each other. As a child, Macy has a crazy mother who runs away for a few days with the butcher whenever things get tough around the house. Macy and her first love, Maybelline discover their love for each other. Macy lives through the loss of her first love by living in her house and taking care of her while attending nursing school.
Dotty grows up in a house with her abusive father and horrid older twin brother and sister, Bell and Ray. Macy runs away after a fiery car crash involving her brother and sister on the day after her sixteenth birthday. She starts to work at the motel she stays at and meets Lila, a woman who sleeps off her peppermint schnapps and painkiller everyday, on the bus there. The two become friends of a sort, with Dotty looking after the ever-drugged Lila. At the amusement park nearby Lila is on a roller coaster car that is flung off the tracks into the sea, and drowns.
The two women meet while Dotty is painting the house Macy lives in, and falls off the ladder, shattering her hip. Macy the nurse helps her through her hospital stay, and moves into her house afterwards to help. They are forced to learn that their lives intertwine when Dotty's twin brother and sister come looking for her...
A very compelling read. I could'nt put it down, and I'm definitely looking forward to another from Amy Schutzer.

Macy and Dorothy are very different, yet very much alike. After Dorothy suffers a crippling accident the two embark on a journey that will involve them coming to grips with their pasts, in order to have a future. The writing is taunt, and the situations and characters evocative. However, there are lots of dark situations her, and more than a little violence,which leads me to believe this novel isn't for everyone.

When Dotty falls from a ladder, she is brought into the hospital where Macy works. Macy lives at the house Dotty was painting. Macy becomes Dotty's nurse after she leaves the hospital, and the two embark on a love affair. The past histories of both women creep back into their lives and threaten to destroy what's being born. Schutzer's circular and nonlinear story is full of potent writing and moving descriptions of the past pain and vivid silences both women have endured. And the surprise connection between Dotty and Macy is beautifully crafted. Schutzer's style reminded me a bit of Scott Heim, but not as dark. Any reader who's a fan of such emotionally charged works as Emma Donoghue's "Hood" and Alison Green's "Half-moon Scar" will adore this novel. This is one of my favorite novels of 2000!

This lyrical, beautifully wrought love story between two women, Dotty and Macy, kept me involved long after I'd read the last page. They are trying to make a true, meaningful connection for the first time in their lives, after escaping homes tainted by abuse, mental illness, and catastrophe. Macy (who has taken on the role of home nurse and lover, a role fraught with peril) feeds Dotty just a few too many pain pills. As the issues between Dotty and Macy come to a head, they confront their pasts. This was my favorite part of the novel, a lovely suspense fed not by "What comes next" but by "What happened? Who are these people?" To me, it's the difference between eating a homemade chocolate cake, where you savor every bit, and rushing through a Hostess cupcake because you're late for work. Their pasts unfold as unique mosaics combined with the perfect amount of the surreal. As they confront their pasts, they confront their issues in the present through a deep, almost Jungian exploration of their inner selves. The novel asks hard-to-answer questions. Can they possibly break the patterns they've established to form an equal partnership, make a true connection? But that question is the universal question--can we break free from our pasts?--and so I keep coming back to it, months after having finished the book. I strongly recommend this novel.

Love to look at pictures of this misterious culture and enjoy imagining their lives before the English arrival. Highly recommend it.

A truly enchanting book. After reading it I was on the Internet for hours, researching all the various people whose pictures were in it. Highly, highly recommended.

..from a surreal era of Indian history. It was a totally ostentatious and absolutely over the top lifestyle. The pockets of the sub-continent that were these states of princely India were to a degree remnants of the Mughal Empire. It truly must have been a painstaking process to put together all the photographs. But what a collection! Going through this book really takes you back in time, some superb rarely seen photographs. Some of the photographs are from private collections and national archives.

This is an extraordinary book, with fantastic pictures, some very famous, other belonging to princely familly collections, never seen before.Much better than most of the others on the same subject.

I highly recomend it for anyone interested on Imperial India and the maharajas

Revealing look at an Indian in America. Funny stories about cultural differences. This would be a good book for school summer reading because it teaches the value of hard work and good humor.

Similar to J. Robert Oppenheimer, Director of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and Manhattan Project, Dr. Gill was unique in that he transcended the continuum of leadership from leadership within a specific academic domain to a macro, international recognition. This should not be surprising because of Dr. Gill's close association with the likes of Dr. Oppenheimer and Dr. E. Fermi, the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1938. Dr. Oppenheimer asked Dr. Gill to present a paper at the California Institute of Technology at a symposium organized to celebrate the 80th birthday of Prof. R.A. Millikan, winner of the 1928 Physics Nobel Prize. The parallels between Dr. Gill and Dr. Oppenheimer do not stop at academia; both men were instrumental in nuclear consulting with their respective chief of states. Pandit Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, and a close friend of Dr. Gill, called upon Dr. Gill for nuclear arms advice.

Piara Singh Gill or "Pi," his nickname, has written a nicely detailed book in which he elucidates his struggles as a boy, his journey to America, and his work with the field of cosmic ray physics. Dr. Gill studied and worked under eminent professors such as Professor Compton. Dr. Gill was a nobel-caliber physicist, and this would have been realized by the masses had he have stayed in America, however, he returned to India to help his mother country.

Dr. Gill was a key figure during the middle of the 20th century enmeshed in Indian political and scientific dynamics. Prime Minister Nehru frequently asked Dr. Gill for advice; they used to have breakfast together. Science in India is synonymous with this father of Indian Science: Professor Gill.

I recommend this book because it shows that hard work certainly pays off! A must read for all immigrants and all people who believe in the American Dream!

It is a very nice biography of someone growing up in rural India and making a success of their life as a scientist. Dr. Gill gave back to his country a place in academic excellence in Physics. He had to constantly push against the odd forces of newly independent India, but achieved recognition for his efforts.

Fabulous book. Takes me to my grandmother's kitchen. Well written, clear, simple, beautiful photos. I have two grown girls and it is the best present I have got them. Living in America, we miss the Indian kitchen, their flavours and taste and what a great way to pass on that experience to the next generation, thank you Viji and keep it coming!

The author has made recipes simpler. Shortened recipes and measured cooking times. The reason Viji's books are so interesting is because they act as a record of the recipes of a Tamil Brahmin food, resurrecting old favourites as well as keeping traditional everyday cooking alive. At a time when a sort of pan Indian cooking is invading every kitchen -- rice, dal, paneer, garam masala -- books of this sort are important to preserve the identity of a culture. For identity is inextricably tied up with food habits.

Samayal, for instance, her best-selling book so far, lists 12 kinds of rice, including vaangi bath (brinjal rice) and maangai sadham (raw mango rice). Besides a variety of gravies, vegetables, curries and pachadies, she even gives eight recipes for rasam, and a list of `tiffin' items.

This book has quickly become one of my most used cookbooks. The book contains a wide variety of easy to cook recipes, including many tasty sambars, rasams, curries, and side dishes. There is nothing fancy about the book and I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed when I removed it from the box. However, the disappointment turned to delight when I tried the recipes. Everything I cooked was delicious and well enjoyed by my family. The recipes were fairly easy to prepare, used a manageable number of ingredients, and cooked fairly quickly. Most recipes use a combination of red lentils, coconut and/or tamarind, giving them the distictive and familiar south indian taste. If you are interested in learning south indian cooking, I suggest you give this book a try.

My wife recently got this book and finds it to be very helpful. The cooking (and I am one of the prime beneficiaries) had improved perceptibly and has a lot of added variety. The author is very approachable by email, clarifies doubts (e.g., "cup" is equivalent to American teacup, types of onions, tomatoes to use) and offers suggestions for new recipes. It doesnt get better than that.

My wife also *highly* recommends the book on Tamil festival cooking by the same author.
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She has seen the other book mentioned by Amazon (Dakshin) which she feels is relatively "complicated" as the recipes use many ingredients.

A very accessible book, supplemented by numerous illustrations. It presents Buddhism's start and its spread through time and countries, and the variegated transmutations it underwent in the process. Brief, yet clear distinction between the various transmutations of Buddhism are also provided.

At the end of the book are a list of well-known Buddhism gurus, a list of important Buddhist sites acorss the world, useful addresses(by each variety of Buddhism!), and a helpful glossary.

An informative read for students of Buddhism.

While obviously not a definitive text, Tom Lowenstein's "The Vision of the Buddha" is to me a good beginners guide to the history and practice of Buddhism. The life of Buddha is well described, as are the various schools of Buddhism from original Mahayana to Theravada and from Pure Land to Soto Zen, each with its own distinct practices. The author also includes discussions of related and/or contemporary religions- Taoism, Shinto, Confucianism- as well as the historical context. The book is very well illustrated and a pleasure to read. I gave a copy to the local Soto Zen Center and they were very pleased with it.

Of all the world's major religions, Buddhism is nearly unique because it functions without a definition of "God" or "gods." To most Buddhists the question of the existence of God or gods is unanswerable and therefore not relevant to the practice (although gods- including Hindu deities- do show up in many Buddhist myths, they are not usually meant to be literal). For this reason Buddhism is often classified not as a religion, but as a philosophy. It has in recent years increased in the West to become a serious practice much beyond the Beat Generation and New Age practitioners. In addition, therapists, some businesses and even some Christian groups have taken up meditation as a useful technique. This book is a very good starting place for anyone wanting to understand what Buddhism is all about.

Tom Lowenstein's "The Vision of the Buddha" is arguably one of the most accessible books on the subject. Moreover, he not only brings Buddhism and its development to presence for the novice user - he brings in a whole set of other issues making it a very comprehensive book. I highly recommend it. This is a handsomely illustrated and, as previously mentioned, extensive book on Buddhism. Lowenstein bring Buddhism to life with over 200 illustrations. Included in the 200 illustrations are pieces relating to art, archeological artifacts and examples of architecture. Lowenstein also includes pictures of rituals and practices that go a long way to explain as it accompanies his superb text. "The Vision of the Buddha" explores important concepts, sensitively explores living values and ways of life as well as the religious and psycho-social angles of the dogma and, inevitably its connection to modern-day Western society.

As a pedagogical tool, this book is second to none. The Buddha's instruction and the prominent tenets of Buddhist philosophy are described in depth. More importantly, this book follows the spread of Buddhism from its Indian roots to Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and Tibet. Each area or country has a chapter set aside for it - which makes it really easy to understand. Moreover, it allows the author to explore in some detail the uniqueness of Buddhism and its development in discrete spaces. The really neat thing about this book - aside from its length - is that frequently difficult doctrine is clearly drawn out in clear and simple language - without sacrificing its authority and seriousness. Harkening back to the book as a pedagogical tool, the book includes a reference section at the back that includes a guide to the most important Buddhist sites, a section on present-day Buddhist masters, a comprehensive glossary, as well as a list of Buddhist groups for further exploration.

In short, this book is an excellent introduction to the subject for a novice; as well as providing an in-depth overview of Buddhism for the knowledgeable reader who would like to increase the breadth and depth of their understanding of this very old and venerated path.

Miguel Llora

This book makes an interesting and worthy read for someone who knows little about Buddhism but is interested in knowing more. Mr Lowenstein outlines the life of the Buddha and the major traditions that have grown out of His teachings in an easy to follow, however very brief, format. The book is easy to read and very well illustrated, I don't think there are many other books that serve the capacity of being a "beginners" guide to Buddhism that are so enjoyable to read. Another helpful aspect in the book is that when Buddhist terms are repeated a reference always follows to help you find the explaination of the word (instead of assuming you have instantly remembered the meaning!) The illustrations really help bring the vitality and differences in Buddhist tradition to light. However I think anyone with more than a little knowledge of Buddhism would find this book somewhat frustrating in it's lack of detail as it really is a basic overview. I would recommend this book to beginners as an excellent source with which to get started understanding Buddhism.

ITMB maps are excellent. We have purchased ITMB maps on several previous occasions for various countries... and have never been disappointed in their accuracy and ease of reading. I look forward to getting to use my India map this summer!

I brought this map mainly to put it up on the wall - but its not designed for that. The map is on both sides of the paper - divided by regions. Its water-proof and does not tear easily - so its great if you want to use it as a driving guide.

i WAS IN iNDIA WITH A GROUP IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR AND I WANTED TO MAP OUT JUST WHARE WE WERE DURING THE TRIP.
THE MAP WAS VERY USEFUL IN HELPING ME SEE JUST HOW FAR AND HOW MANY MILES WE TRAVELED IN 15 DAYS.
THE MAP IS CLEAR AND VERY WELL LAID OUT
KEN

This map is great because it can be stuffed into a backpack and sweat and rain will not damage it. The detail is good, and the information helpful.

Jac Weller continues his admiration of Sir Arthur Wesley (later Wellsley and Duke of Wellington). Here we take a step back in time to Wesley's earlier career in India. For many this will have little known territory. Those who have read the Sharpe novels may have some idea of the period in question, and they will certainly get the historical background for those novels here.

Wesley certainly learned his trade in India. Much of what he learned here in terms of supply, organization and diplomacy would stand him in well in the campaigns of Spain and Portugal, and of course Waterloo. In terms of tactics readers might see some differences. In the sub-continent our hero aspired to an aggressive stance. The trick to defeating large cavalry type armies whether Mysore or Mahratta was aggression. Wesley always believed that these unweildy masses should be attacked whenever possible with the smaller, disciplined and more maneaverable Anglo-Indian forces. This is a different form of generalship than what we would see in the Peninsular and Waterloo. Again, Wesley was a supurb tactician, and adaptable. He was always learning and researching better methods of supply, intelligence, etc. This combined with his brilliance and coolness under fire certainly made him one of the best generals of the Napoleanic period.

One tactic which the reader will see employed later was his distribution of artillery among his infantry units. The guns were never massed as the Mahrattas preferred, or indeed the French. One marvels how at Assaye the 78th Highlanders were able to frontally attack all those guns. The key was speed and elan, combined with excellent and flexible generalship. India would see Wesley's ability to be everywhere on the battlefield. Because of Orrick's mistake at Assaye he would never truly trust others to carry out his orders. It was here where he developed that personal mega-detail style of generalship that won all his later battles. He was also fortunate never to receive any wounds, even though at Assaye he had two horses shot out from under him! Also, his steady horsemanship and ability to conduct extensive recces on his own or with a small staff was something many generals of the period never took too seriously.

Jac Weller describes how the Wellsely's, Arthur and his two brothers, vastly improved the British position in India. In fact they did too good a job as the conservative East India Company grew tired of their rapid advances with additional expenses. The Wesley's introduced a notion of good government over the growing empire in India, an idea that had profound influence in that nation's future development under British rule. Jac Weller may come across to some as a colonialist, but many of his arguments make sense within the concept of the time. India's peasants were no doubt better off under the British than their own petty and often murderous rulers. Mysore and the Mahratta kingdoms were certainly not about improving the lot of their own people, and there was no notion of a greater India at that time. The work of the Wellsleys would play no small part in developing a greater nationalist outlook in India.

Be warned, Jac Weller is very pro-British. The Iron Duke is his hero, and there is little that he can do wrong. Judgeing from what was accomplished here one tends to agree with that. Still, this is a fine work with many fascinating details, and wonderful tactical descriptions of battle. No one describes Napoleanic warfare better than Weller. Though an older book, no one has come out with anything better since so I strongly recommend this work, especially if you have read his other two works on Wellington in the Peninsular and of course at Waterloo. All that he later accomplished there was first worked out in India. There are also good maps and an appendix on the army's and weapons. A classic work.

Jac Weller's "Wellington in India" is a highly readable study of Arthur Wellesley's formative military experiences in India, and one of remarkably few books devoted to the topic. The book in battlefield level detail sketches the future Duke's 1797-1805 campaigning against a variety of native opponents. The battlefield narratives are closely informed by Weller's understanding the terrain, based on having walked all the principal battlefields. In addition, Weller lays out the complex political environment in which the young Wellesley operated. What emerges from this portrait is a young, ambitious, and professional officer who operates with increasing confidence and success in a challenging battlefield and political environment. From his experiences in India comes the future Duke's understanding of the importance of logistics, intelligence, planning, and the careful deployment of well-trained troops on the battlefield. Wellesley's long apprenticeship in India and later in the Peninsular War of 1808-1814 made him a master of battlefield tactics and operational-level planning, skills that would serve him well in the decisive battle of Waterloo in 1815 against Napoleon. This book is highly recommended to the serious student of Wellington's military career and of the Napoleonic era.

Jac Weller's Wellington in India is a truly excellent book. It is very readable and flows extremely well. It is one of the few books of its kind that I've read literally cover-to-cover - forward, preface, body, and appendixes - everything. The detail of the book is also exceptional. He tells the reader why and how Wellington achieved his successes not just when.

When Wellington's name is mentioned, people tend to think first of Waterloo, then of the Peninsulars Wars. It is easy to forget that he got his start in India, and that is the period which Jac Weller covers so well in this book. This was a completely different kind of warfare than that fought in Europe, and Wellington (or Wellesley, as he was then) had to contend not only with far superior forces, but also with the climate, which caused Europeans to die like flies. Two things above all should be remembered: first, that when Wellington was asked what his greatest victory was, he said not Waterloo, but Assaye; and second, Weller's three books about Wellington's campaigns were named by Bernard Cornwell as the best source material for his Sharpe series.

Like Lahiri did with displaced Bengali families, Jones does with Catholics in Santa Clara (read Santa Cruz) in bombay. Through many tiny but deep and loosely interconnected stories, Jones draws the lives of a people for many generations. How she has achieved the kind of insight into the tiniest of details i do not know, but i was struck by the nuances that only a person with keen observation would notice. A fascinating read for anyone, particularly Indians abroad.

This is a book of very beautifully written stories that happened in an unfamiliar place. The stories are very personally, yet very restraint. I picked up the book without any expectation, but found myself completely absorbed in these short journeys.
I highly recommend the book. I look forward to Nalini's next stories.

a beautiful, synesthetic series of interlaced tales of 3 generations of an extended Christian Indian family as Bombay is turning into Mumbai and some of them are turning into Americans. Sings like a garden in spring.

Nalina Jones' intertwined stories are, first of all, about something interesting: the lives of an extended family in an Indian town where Catholicism is the dominant religion. Secondly, she "connects" stories in beautifully natural, organic ways, rather than simply trying to make a collection collect. Thirdly, her stories trace the ways that small actions and traits of character affect family members, and shape children. Indeed, her treatment of children is superlative: she respects their seriousness even as they make childish mistakes, and they bear serious consequences. I smiled often as I read these stories, because the portraits are tender and quixotic, but I also often caught my breath when I recognized where a story was going.
Writers could learn a lot just by studying Jones' epert use of scenes. She is so skilled at manipulating point of view, psychic distance, and pace, you don't notice how often she is tweaking the "rules" of contemporary fiction (especially the idea that you can't switch POV, which she does beautifully). Above all, these are stories of character, of flawed, loving, intelligent people navigating changes in their society and even movements to the U.S. Readers who like Indian literature will love this book, but so will people who just plain love good stories about sympathetic characters caught up in their own "small" lives.

I really enjoy this book. Of course the subject matter is tragic, and the pictures and text reflect the terrible political actions that have created this situation. Mr. Harrison's photographs with the Ultra-Large Format camera are beautiful. Printing is very high quality. Glad I own this book.

I had the pleasure of seeing a preview copy of this book. It isa must read as we move toward understanding what it might mean for thefuture in making China richer and more powerful through trade.

This book puts a gentle face on a very brave people who have suffered not only the largest land grab of the 20th century through the bloody invasion by China (Tibet is the size of Europe) but have suffered a genocide by the Chinese that is the most widely ignored in history.

This is a beautiful book and worth the price. Add to your reading list "Tears Of Blood" by Mary Craig and "In Exile From the Land Of Snows" by John Avedon.

China will be one of the 3 big stories of the next century if we make it richer and more powerful. This book is as important as it is a beautiful undertaking. Congratulations to Mr. Harrison END

In Whispered Prayers: Portraits And Prose Of Tibetans In Exile, Stephen Harrison showcases the inner experiences of being a Tibetan refugee through a moving narration combined with exquisite photography. This wonderful exhibition is a worthy and valued contribution is further enhanced with a foreword by His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Whispered Prayers will be read with deep engagement by students of Buddhism, of Tibetan history, and all who seek an enlightenment path through perilous and stressful times.

This book is a must see and read. Stephen Harrison truly captures the personal side of Tibetans in Exile. As you read the stories behind the Tibetans portrayed in the photographs, it's as if you are in the background while Stephen Harrison interviews these most courageous Tibetan people. The portrait photography is wonderfully presented in a landscape format providing for a personal backdrop behind the emotion and suffering of each Tibetan portrayed. This is a one of a kind presentation providing a first-time moving experience each and everytime you open the book.