India Books

Wonderful explanation of the root cause of everyday problems with the use of short stories added with a sense of humor. And more importantly, the appropriate yet practical solutions. Smooth flow and easy to read.

Six Spices is a fine introduction to making tasty and healthful food in the aromatic style of India. You will have no problem finding any of the six spices: coriander, cumin, chile (dried and fresh), ginger, mustard seed and tumeric (fresh or powdered).

It looks a trifle suspicious when a successful book, to wit, "5 Spices 50 Dishes" is getting a perfect score here on Amazon, that another one rolls by, smelling quite close. Do we need this book?

To be sure, Kahate has a nice book in "5 & 50". It has good purpose and scope, namely to introduce the fundamentals of Indian cuisine. Indian food is the most complex in its preparation and execution that I have ever encountered, on average. It is not the most difficult in technique, but there are, again on average, more steps than any other cuisine I know. "5 Spices..." solves this barrier by introducing a simple approach to fundamentals.

So why Six? Maybe not if you already have 5. But here are my reasons to choose this one:

- Chilies are the sixth spice. Saluja includes just enough for those of us that love Indian hot
- Hardbound for close to the same price. This book is well made for decades of use. It lays flat on your
counter!
- Better organized. I like a section to tell me how to make food by seasoning in hot oil, and then the next
for clarified butter, a.k.a. ghee. Then powdered spice, then curry paste. Finally, a chapter looking to
more complete meals.
- More than "50" recipes, but thoughtfully so.

I have some minor aesthetic reasons as well. I like their publisher, Jones Books, in Madison, WI. I like not needing a named food photographer. I like the use of "Six" rather than "5 and 50" because numbers suggest or suppose other purposes, such as serial numbers and the like. All this is my small beer.

Buy both if you can. But get cooking with them.

I own a couple of hundred cookbooks. So I no longer judge cookbooks by the recipes I do not make, I look at what I do make (either for a special occasion or what is on the menu for a weeknight). And since we are now vegetarians, we look for vegetarian (preferably vegan) options. This cookbook scores on all three counts (although it is not a vegetarian cookbook much less vegan).

Six spices is slightly misleading. Mustard seed, cumin, asafetida, chili, coriander and turmeric are the official six. But dried ingredients like green mango powder and fresh ones like ginger and garlic are often lumped with the spices. No matter, many of the recipes are simple enough for a weeknight, yet the quality is good enough for company.

There are two bonuses to this book over other Indian cookbooks we have: first, it includes some South Indian classics not often found in the US (e.g., Lemon Rice which is very practical as it can be made ahead -- and is enjoyed by all). Second, this is an instructional book: it doesn't just give you recipes, it teaches you how to cook. And if you need to have a balanced meal for a weeknight, you can always improvise on one of the many fine vegetable dishes like carrot and pea curry and throw in tofu or paneer (plus bread or a simple rice like cumin rice) and give the family a delicious balanced meal with two pans.

We have several other Indian cookbooks we love. But this one gets the most use.

Sleeping in Caves: A Sixties Himalayan Memoir is the true story of a woman who dropped out of Berkeley in 1965 to travel to India and Nepal with her lover. Their time there becomes a seven year stay in which she expresses herself through painting, and learns the secrets, wonders, and sacred essence of a profoundly spiritual culture. A smattering of black-and-white photographs and essays illustrate the award-winning author's dazzling journey through a rich and rewarding culture, and a brief glossary will prove helpful to readers unfamiliar with Indian, Nepali, and Buddhist terms. A highly recommended window into quiet daily workings of another land as observered and experienced. by Marilyn Stablein.

I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend Sleeping in Caves. The writing is beautiful and sensuous, and reveals exactly enough but never too much. I particularly admire the structure of the book, how it is not chronological and yet the reader can follow the progression of the journey. I loved how each chapter begins with an entry from The Pillow Book of Dreams or the writer's journal. The dreams are a complete delight in themselves.

I gave the book to a friend for her 50th birthday and she read it eagerly. She has been studying Islam and grappling with extreme monotheism. She reports that the book gave her a refreshing vacation and a welcome reminder of the abundance and diversity of deity.

Beth Roy's account of how a dispute between two neighboring farmers - cow grazes neighbor's crop - turns into a family conflict, then a village conflict, then a religious-ethnic conflict, then embroils the surrounding villages and finally an entire region. She went there, she spoke with the people most directly involved, and she uncovered the underlying national and international issues here being played out on a village level. It takes great insight and empathy to accomplish what Beth Roy has done. This is such a good book.

This is an academic study of social conflict. The author investigated a previously unreported riot in what is today the country of Bangladesh, though at the time of the riot was East Pakistan. Her methodology was to talk in detail to persons involved to understand what happened, and perhaps more importantly, their interpretation of what happened. Initially, the book is easy and engaging reading as she describes how she learned of the riot, and how the riot reportedly occurred. She then proceeds to explain the conflict in terms of the broader scholarship of social conflict. Roy's analysis of the power relationships in the village, the precipitation of the riot, and the meaning of the riot to Hindus and Muslims provide is a refreshing balance of the perception of common villagers, and academic social conflict theory. For persons interested in the social relationships in South Asia, and social conflict broadly, this is a terrific book.

Well, this is a beautiful book about absolutely "SPECTACULAR INDIA." The book is a compilation of engrossong photographs of majestic architectural and natural treasures of India. India potrays immense beauty (cut the third-world country crap out). Where the ancient survives with the modern, this country if not more, is as unique and fascinating as any on Earth.

I have personally reviewed this book. Most journalists and photographers have exhibited shortsightedness by never being able to see beyond India's status as a third-world country. This has reinforced India's reputation in the Western world more in terms of what it was under British rule rather than the period before or after it. Of course this is not an accurate portrayal of the rich culture, heritage and diversity spanning thousands of years; and modernity of rapidly changing contemporary India.

"Spectacular India" is beautiful collection of 150 color photographs by some of India's finest photographers with accompanying text by prominent Indian experts. It makes an honest and successful attempt of portraying real India and does justice to the country and it's people. It gives a sense of what India was, what India is and where it is heading. Recipedelights.com gives it a "must-buy" rating for Tourists, armchair Indians and Indians away from home. The format and size of this delectable volume make it a perfect coffee-table book.

You have to have a Windows PC to use this CD ROM (no Macintosh support), but other than that, it is quite beautiful. This CD ROM contains hundreds of full color images of Buddhism from Tibet and other parts of Asia. There are literally hundreds of photos of buddhas, goddesses, and other icons and symbols of Tibetan culture. Other sacred symbols from around the world are also included. There are several self-running slide shows, some general background on Tibetan buddhism itself, as well as references in the bibliography. Images are designed for display on a computer screen, and you can save as PC background walpaper images. Not super-high resolution images, but they do look very good on screen. There are some .wav sound clips of Tibetan chanting, bells, singing bowls and other things. I found it great fun to play with actually. A very nice reference CD or meditation tool. I put the slide show on continous play and just let it go...

This is a cd rom, and I can understand why. There are so many beautiful images that you couldn't get them all in one book. It's also nice to be able to take it wherever you go. I use it when I'm in a meditative mood - turn on my favorite zen meditation music,and watch the images. It took me a minute to figure out how to open it, but it was worth it. Great job!

My son recvd. this book as a gift from his Granny and he couldn't put it down. He was laughing out loud and ended up reading it 3 times in 2 days. Now I have to see if there are other books by this author. . .

A wonderful, fun, exciting book for kids. Me and my daughter loved it and intend to buy the other book also.

This is an elegant book. It is at once philosophical, poetic, and visually stunning. The text and images beautifully complement each other. After reading this book, I not only appreciated the richness of the Parvati tradition, but also of the Hindu artistic and philosophical tradition. Never again will I look at work of Indian art as merely beautiful at a sensory level. Hindu art exists harmoniously within a cultural, philosophical, and literary context, as does this wonderful book.

Of the many Indian art books I would rate this the best as it not only is visual but poetic and philosophical at the same time. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading about this Indian goddess.

I can't say enough good things about this wonderful new translation of the Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga. Swami Chetanananda has done an extraordinary job with Swami Saradananda's classic. Many kudos as well to the Vedanta Society of St. Louis. This edition is well bound and filled with many many beautiful pictures, some of whom I have never seen before. Truly a wonderful blessing for the holidays, and one that I will use and treasure for many years to come.

"Sri Ramakrishna was one of the greatest of India's spiritual adepts of recent times. ...By assimilating the ... practices of different faiths into his own personal practice, he presented a powerful example of respect for other traditions, even while maintaining a deep fidelity to his own. His ... life remains a guide and inspiration to millions on their spiritual path."
So writes His Holiness the Dalai Lama, exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhists. The Dalai Lama is well-known in the United States; Ramakrishna is not. This biography, a faithful translation from the Indian Bengali, will serve as history's correction to all who take a devout and detailed pilgrimage through its pages.
The Hindu priest Ramakrishna (1836-1886) was, by many of his contemporaries as well as those who knew him only distantly in time and place, regarded as a living incarnation of God. At the least, he graces the company of saints. His message was one of
liberation -- from superstition, fear, and religious intolerance -- and of unity -- a unity of all creation as an expression of the holy.
In his brief 50 years of life, he attracted and inspired a generation of young Indians, led by Swami Vivekananda who went on with the other 15 original disciples to form the Ramakrishna Order and to spread its teachings through India, Europe, and the United States.
The life of Ramakrishna was first recorded by Swami Saradananda (1865-1927), and is now translated into English by Swami Chetanananda, minister of the Vedanta Society of St. Louis.
Swami Saradananda cared for Ramakrishna during his final illness and later became a monk in the new religious order. He was admirably situated to know the principals, to converse with them, and to record their reminiscences. He spoke with many who had known Ramakrishna from his humble birth in the little village of Kamarpukur, through his service in the Temple at Dakshineswar on the Ganges River, until his death of cancer near Calcutta in 1886.
Seven years in preparation, this translation of Ramakrishna's life story takes its place as the authentic, factual, descriptive, interpretive, and comprehensive biography of a spiritual giant. The book includes a biography of Swami Saradananda, a detailed listing of chapter contents, a chronology of Ramakrishna's life, a glossary, and an index. Over 100 illustrations, many in full color, bring to life the characters and locations of the book.
While Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play will undoubtedly serve as the scholarly resource on Ramakrishna for generations to come, it is a highly readable and engrossing story, well within the understanding of the average reader. Its 1,000-plus pages should not discourage anyone who seeks spiritual nourishment of the highest order.

This is a perfect choice for any young woman reader--a coming-of-age story set in India early in the last century. The atmosphere and social climate of colonial India are beautifully depicted . It's a story that works its way to a satisfying conclusion without being saccharine or simple-minded.
I couldn't put it down, and I'm on the other end of the age spectrum from young women readers. Well worth it.

I loved this story! It transported me out of the everyday and into a world of romance, set in the India of the British Raj. The intertwined stories of the heroine Rose, her friend, her sister, and the other characters kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen. The characters are so well-rounded and appealing; you really care about their fate.I was especially charmed by the children in the story. And I loved the setting--the beautiful scenes in Simla, and the Durbar festival complete with parading rajas and fireworks. The writing is so graceful and evocative, too. The author casts a magical spell that I didn't want to end!