India Books

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.
---

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.

Rama has created an outstanding book that actually rings true with me as an Indian marketer now working outside of India. Her insights are original and sharp and at the same time very, very useful to the practical marketer/ strategist. If there was a course on Marketing in India, I am sure this would be the ideal text book!

Gives great insights into indian consumer market. Bijapurkar makes interesting observations and backs them up with data. Overall a great read for someone interesting in setting up business in india.

This book is a very interesting study of the Indian consumer that only Indians can really appreciate. India is a land of contrasts so diverse that one may encounter a totally new local language and food habit every 200 miles. The world's largest democracy has finally woken up to find her rightful place in the global economy, and begun her journey towards market capitalism, thanks to the path breaking policy changes brought about by the Union Budget of 1991. Since then there has been no looking back, despite several changes in political leadership at the Central Government.

Coincidentally, I completed my MBA from India's premier business school, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, in 1991, where I did a course on Market Research taught by Prof Rama Bijapurkar.

Till 1991, the Indian consumer had virtually no choice but a few substandard products in most categories, thanks to the strong barriers to entry of foreign companies and restriction in local competition through a regime of industrial licencing.

The general belief at that time was that the average Indian consumer is hungry for cornflakes and thirsty for colas and there would be mad queues lining up to grab these products once introduced. In reality, two of the world's global leaders in these products are yet to break even since then. The Indian Consumer is content with hot "idlis" (my favorite) for breakfast, and proud to drink water from a earthen pot at home.

It was also believed for example that India's only (and state owned) Life Insurance Company will be in deep trouble once the foreign Insurance companies walk in with innovative "products" and technologies. The fact today is that the largest player remains the largest and most profitable with a reach into 640000 Indian villages that is its competition's envy. "We know India Better" says this India's most recognized brand.

Rama Bijapurkar is India's very well known and highly respected authority on the subject of India's consumer behavior. Her quantitative approach to arrive at accurate qualitative insights is not by adopting unavoidable and conventional statistical techniques, but an outcome of her deep understanding of and involvement in shaping corporate strategies for some of India's most respected brands. This book just is a brief summary of her rich experience.

Following a non jargon ( non MBA !) approach, Rama Bijapurkar explains several contexts of consumer India through many interesting day to day, real life examples.

An Indian with a post graduate degree and working as an officer in a bank with a salary of Rs 50000/- per month has a totally different lifestyle (and hence consumer behavior) compared to a high school dropout who owns a grocery store and earns the same amount. (The shopkeeper may never disclose his income especially to to the tax authorities, and in terms of official national statistics he may be earning less than a dollar a day, a very poor man!)

India earns lots of foreign exchange through NRI's (Non resident Indians) who send money home. We also have a unique local emerging class of consumer market of RNI's (Resident Non Indians) or the aspiring "green card wallas" who think that they are in India only temporarily, and awaiting their immediate opportunity to migrate, but try hard to emulate American lifestyle in India.

Somebody thought that India's belief in Astrology will significantly diminish, thanks to the computer and internet age. Welcome to India which today offers computerized horoscopes and predictions that are accessible through the web.

In short, there is no single India. Multinationals, instead of asking what their global strategies would yield in India, should be asking themselves what strategies they should be specifically adopting for India.

If, Force = Mass X Acceleration, even if India is moving slowly, its massive mass makes her a formidable global force, no marketer can afford to ignore. This book is an ideal guide to understand and tap this global force.

The title of my review is based on a recent Bollywood movie "Chak de India" meaning, "Go for it -India". As Indians know better, "We are like that only".

Professor, thank you for this wonderful book.

This is quite a remarkable book. The author methodically works through a confusing maze of data to present an understandable -- and practical -- summary of the current state of the Indian consumer. She deftly weaves hard and soft data, neither of which are complete without the other. I would recommend this book as the singular must read for any international consumer products or retailing professional trying to understand India.

This is a fantastic anthology of women's writings across a broad spectrum of Indian history - well chosen and edited, with an engaging and thoughtful introductory essay. I assign this book to provide some of the primary documents for my undergraduate Gender in South Asia course. Students, in particular, will find the text clear and easy to use. The only drawbacks of the work are the near absence of writings representing the Mughal period, the 18th century, and the early 19th century, but this is partly because women's writings from this period are difficult to locate or (and this is perhaps the greatest problem) pinned down in obscure books and journal articles by copyright restrictions. Nevertheless, this anthology will not disappoint, and is well worth the cost, providing excellent breadth of material and value for money.

This book was a major find for me, since I'm Indian-American and most fiction I read in college was by white male American and European authors. It's great to have a book like this one and its companion volume. Many of the pieces have never before been translated into English. For example, there is a version of the Ramayana, one of the major Indian epics, written by a Telugu woman, parts of which are translated here.

Women Writing in India is great for curling up with in the evenings, and is a wonderful resource (the ONLY resource, as far as I can tell) for Indian women writers through the ages. Buy it now!

I have ordered these books because I found them at a house I was visiting in Austin. An Indian couple generously invited me into their home to see these books after they found out I was interested in women's history. I was particularly impressed with the writings of the woman, Tarabai. She wrote a feminist treatise in 1873, excerpted in this anthology, which reminds me of a poem, Hombres Necios, written by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz in the seventeenth century. It also called to mind the work by Matilda Joslyn Gage in the U.S. a few years later, 1893--Woman, Church and State. Tarabai's words are so brilliant and inspiring. Fantastic! Our women's movement has a much longer history and a more global representation than I ever learned about in any of my schooling.

Virginia Woolf created the persona of Shakespeare's sister - an equally talented writer whose creativity was stifled under the rigid Elizabethan society. Her Indian counterpart could be called Tagore's sister. Actually, Rabindranath Tagore did have an older sister, Swarnakumari Devi, who became an accomplished writer and journalist in her lifetime. However, rather than being patronized so often, had she received the same encouragement and support as her younger brother, she may have reached an equivalent level of international acclaim today. Editors Tharu and Lalita's anthology is an excellent collection of works by women who throughout Indian history have rarely been encouraged express themselves. Male critics have often ignored women's writing or have been condescending. Until the 20th century, female literacy in India has seldom been advocated. This book captures the development of women as writers in India, from early 6th century Buddhist nuns to the social reformers of the 20th century. Devotional writing provided a safe outlet for the Indian woman, and the bhakti (devotion) movement began in south India in the 8th century, and moved north through Maharastra, Gujarat and Rajasthan by the 16th century. A bhakti poet could express her feelings under the guise of religion, surpassing caste and gender barriers. For example, romanticism and eroticism is acceptable through the lovers Lord Krishna and Radha. Another acceptable method was to invoke the inspiration of Krishna, as Tarigonda Venkamamba (19th century Telugu) did before she imagined Lord Vishnu as her husband. A woman of a low caste, normally forbidden to read the scriptures, could create her own religious songs by attributing it to divine inspiration. Atukuri Molla, from a Telugu artisan caste in the early 16th century, actually revised the Hindu epic, Ramayana. She produced 138 slokas (verses) in six sections within five days, and Molla Ramayanam depicts the story from Sita's point of view. Like most women writers, she was apologetic about herself, "I am no scholar . . . " and said divine powers had given her this voice. A particular mark of the bhakti writer is the ankita - the author's name embedded in the text. An example is Mirabai, a 16th century Gujarati and Hindi writer, whose songs and poems are legendary today. *"Mira is the servant of her beloved Giridhar (Krishna) And she cares nothing that people mock her." (p. 93) Although there are no reliable manuscripts, Mirabai's songs have survived thanks to their lyrics and strong rhythm. Tharu and Lalita have definitely broadened the scope of women's writing in India by embracing the folk song. India has a rich oral tradition of singing at weddings, lullabies, and during house and field work. There is also a stronger collection of songs about with intense statements about childbirth and mistreatment by in-laws and husbands. In this collection, the readers can witness the centuries of oppression, as told by the women in their own words. Rassundari Devi (19th century Bengal) wrote of her own life -- weeping as child bride, bearing and raising eleven children, running a household on an empty stomach at times, and secretly learning to read behind her kitchen stove. She writes: *"I kept the sheet in my left hand while I did the cooking and glanced at it through the sari, which was drawn over my face . . . Wasn't it a matter to be regretted, that I had to go through all this humiliation just because I was a woman? Shut up like a thief, even trying to learn was considered an offense . . . the little that I have learned is only because God did me the favor" (p. 202) These women struggled for a voice within their own households - confronting forced marriages, abuse and neglect by husbands and in laws, the denial of education and the ostracization of widows. There is an especially moving personal and anonymous account of the dehumanizing treatment of widows in the 19th century. If she only knew that a hundred years later, her words had survived. One of the most insightful stories was written by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (19th/20th century Bengali) whose essays on the rights of women have been compared to English feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. In "Sultana's Dream," she envisions a society in which men are restricted to the murdana (men's quarters), while women are free to rule the country, and excel in science and politics. She sharply and logically details the women's acquisition of power and how they utilized it to create a utopic society. This dialogue is indicative of Rokeya's wit: *"[Men's] brains are bigger and heavier than women's. Are they not?" "Yes, but what of that? An elephant also has got a bigger and heavier brain than a man has. Yet men can enchain elephants and employ them according their own wishes."(p. 347) There are 140 women writers from 13 languages in this collection and every one has a singular story deserving to be told. Many pieces have been unearthed for the first time, while others are now translated into English. This collection is most likely available at university bookstores.

This is the "standard introductory textbook" that is also a true joy to read for any layman who wants some accurate information on early India. At the time the book was first published (1954), Professor Basham was teaching at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London.Later he moved to the chair of Asian Civilisation, at the Australian National University, Canberra. His book remains a perennial despite his passing.

This is a classic work on pre-Muslim Indian history. The author's scholarship is evident on every page. While the preface specifically states that the book is intended mainly for a Western audience, South Asians especially should find this book salutary reading--it is an account of their history that is both objective and respectful, a healthy contrast to the unscientific views of history that are often put forth by right-wing politicians in India and Pakistan. The book is a little dated when it talks about the Indus valley civilization.

This Book is Great. Every page of it makes very insightful and intresting reading. It can hardly be bettered in the Subject its dealing with. But, I guess he may not be wholly impartial in his assessments and retains i guess some "Mlechha" attitude. I know the authors reputation and this might appear silly but at a few places he makes some sweeping statements which appear to be made without much proof.

Following are some such sweeping statements.

1. Comparing vedic culture to a culture that bears a generic likeness to that of 'Beowulf' who were semi-barbarians.

2.'and was somehow less advanced than that depicted in the Iliad.

3."BUT IN GENERAL THE MUSLIMS WERE REASONABLY TOLERANT "
Its tough to find any scholar agreeing with this view point. This is almost exclusively of AL BASHAM.

Lot more like this but believe me!.

Bashams scholarship is without peer, he is as comfortable translating tamil as he is in sanskrit, talks about vedic, jain and buddhist ideas with equal flair, passion and clarity.

The book presents ancient India; an idllyic society in an intellectual pursuit unparalled in any society made possible by a liberal and benign social and political environment.

His understanding of philosophy, religion, language and culture (art and prose) is just a pleasure. I am amazed to see the breadth in one person.

His timeline of history and how (only)Indian society has absorbed wave after wave or outsider and make them one in a melting pot is illuminating.

If you are intersted in understading Hindu's(or India); it's a must read, there is nothing as clearly written for an english reader as this.