The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of the New India - Siddartha Deb

To be sure, India is one of the easiest places in the world to see the dichotomy of society into rich and poor.
This book wanders around this dichotomy in a pondering and not so orderly fashion. Aside from pointing out the differences, I could not find much of a point to this book.

That is not to say it isn't interesting. Deb introduces you to charaters so colorful, they sound like fiction. They are probably not the average people a westerner would run into, which makes them fascinating to me.

Verdict: Read it - good time pass.

Dreaming in Hindi - Katherine Russell Rich

This book appealed to me due to my seemingly never ending quest to speak passable Hindi. Admittedly, I haven't been all that disciplined.

Rich goes to India on a midlife quest to master Hindi. She does, by the end of the book, reach passable Hindi. I was rather confused by this book as she seems to wander around with stories that don't seem to have much to do with her quest for the language. She also seems apathetic about the whole thing by the end of the book and admits in the post script to not using it often again, leaving me to wonder what the point of her trip was all together. Rich doesn't have any profound revelations (that she shares) about her time in India. What she does share in depth is much of the etymology of learning Hindi and how language experts view acquiring a new language.

Verdict: Meh. It was an interesting read, but don't look for any humorous anecdotes or revelations about life in India. Learning any new language is challenging - with or without expert opinions.

Sold - Patricia McCormick

Sold is the story of a 13 year old Nepali girl named Lakshmi. The narrative opens with a description of life in her villiage, how difficult it is for her family to feed everyone, and the male worship that is an overwhelming force in her part of the world. Lakshmi's stepfather is worshiped to the point where even though he openly talks of selling her and bets away all his money, and her mother still tells her to be thankful that they have a man looking after them.

Lakshmi feels the pressure to help earn money for her family and agrees to go and work. Her stepfather instead sells her to a trafficker without telling her and she ends up in an unnamed city in a brothel. Her transition from care free child to exploited woman is short and brutal. It is made clear that even those who escape their "debt" to the madam and are allowed to leave will never be welcomed back by their family and diseases are neither avoided nor rare.

At the end of the book, Lakshmi is rescued from the brothel by a man from an NGO. It leaves you feeling both glad she got out, and ashamed that so many will not.

Verdict: Read it. Sexual slavery and trafficking is a problem that spans the whole world and needs the attention of everyone.

Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars - Sonia Faleiro

In this book, Sonia Faleiro goes in search of information on the underworld of Mumbai Dance Bars and the girls that dance in them. She comes across some very colorful, yet tragic personalities.

Far from respectable, yet not as disregarded as prostitutes, dance bar girls often walk a very fine "sugar daddy" line that is never stable nor secure and very easily slides into prostitution. Echoing some of the other less fortunate parts of different societies, getting a glimpse into the mentality of people who didn't come from money and find themselves with some of it is fascinating. There is no thought to saving, no thought to making smart decisions, should the girl have the ability to. Most girls got into the dance business from sexual abuse at home/in their village and strike out looking for a better life and more work. What she walks into is a seedy, crime infested, insecure life that she finds herself resigned to. It's tragic and fascinating at the same time.

Verdict: Read it if you have a soft spot for people forced to do their best in bad situations, especially if you have a tender for women doing the best they can while being utterly exploited. 

Do You Suppose it's the East Wind - Muhammad Umar Memon

This book is a collection of stories that started in Urdu - a language that is a mix of Hindi and Arabic and used by the Muslim world across India. Urdu has it's own colloquialisms and culture that I was fascinated to explore.

I don't know if I walked away with an increased understanding of either one, but it was still an interesting collection of stories.

Verdict: Read it.

Stranger to History - Aatish Taseer

Aatish Taseer takes the reader on an abridged tour of the middle east in an effort to understand the religion and culture of his estranged father. Taseer has an interesting viewpoint in that his mother grew up in a Sikh family. A man searching not only for the identity and support of his father, but also for a culture in a house that has always had two.

Of course it didn't really bring him closer to his Muslim Pakistani father even if it did help him understand himself, which is generally how these things go.

That being said, it's an interesting view into the different subtypes of Islam. I think it may interest a Muslim more than non Muslim, but it's still interesting to read.


Verdict: Read it.

If it's Not Forever It's Not Love - Durjoy Datta

I couldn't remember ordering this (I'm not a huge fan of sap), but it came, so I read it anyhow. For a sappy story, it was a good one.

The plot line starts after a bomb blast. A young guy finds a torched diary. Thinking that someone's family may want to know what happened to the victim, he and his girlfriend go on a round about journey of India to find them. In the end, there are some great twists to the plot, and even a great sense of how love gets over many, many things.

Verdict: Read it, even if you don't like sap.

I Accuse - Jarnail Singh

Moving the intolerance train right along, I accuse is about the anti-Sikh violence that occurred upon Indira Gandhi's death by her Sikh body guard.

This book underlines all that is uncontrolled and savage about India. The author outlines many stories of when people went to the police for protection from the mob, they were chased off and told they did not warrant protection. A chilling thought.

Once again, people who had been part of communities for generations were singled out for brutalities that most of us cannot imagine.

I'm going to file this under one of the books that needs to be read so that people can work to avoid having it happen again. I find it especially disturbing when people turn on their own countrymen.

Verdict: Not an easy read from an atrocities point of view, but should not be forgotten.

The Intolerant Indian - Gautam Adhikari

As per my penchant for learning about Indian culture, I was curious about the author's premise.

Gautam Adhikari explores some of the history that has resulted in many Indians becoming xenophobic and overly concerned with religion in order to exclude others. The author explores fanaticism without resorting to the usual suspects or blaming one party over the other.

He also explores how religion has, and continues to shape politics. There is an idea floating around that Indians are extremely tolerant because India hosts a society that is comprised of multiple types of people with different religions, creeds, and outlooks. Unfortunately, he solidly debunks this myth.

Verdict: I wouldn't recommend this for someone who hasn't had any real time exposure to life in India. It's a hot confusing mess to understand, even for people who have had exposure. If you are interested/have had exposure, it's a very interesting read on India's view on itself and in relation to the world. The level of intolerance will shock and possibly sicken you. 

100 Great Modern Lives - John Canning

So I like reading about interesting and or inspiring people. This book seemed to offer me lots of interesting people to read on.

The modern part of this is a little misleading - there are some people who lived quite some time ago. I suppose John Canning was going for modern era - my mistake.

I really enjoyed this week as even well known characters (think Thomas Edison) came even more alive for me as the author delved into personal lives as well as societal contributions. There were musicians, inventors, artists, etc.

The only downside was that this is a THICK book, it will take you a while to read if you find it in the library and have other things going on in life.

Verdict: Read it. Great people tend to inspire others to improve their lives and expand their minds.

Becky

Blood Brothers - MJ Akbar

I'm not quite sure why I picked up this book, but I'm glad I did. I tend to favor family saga stories that span for a few generations and cover the culture of different countries. This is one such book.

Blood Brothers focuses on a Hindu orphan who wanders into a small village outside of Calcutta and is taken in by a Muslim family that owns a tea stall. The boy eventually converts and builds his own successful business and home in the village. His own children's lives and current events are included.

The time period for this book is during the Partition of India and Pakistan, which was a notoriously difficult time for India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Neighbors that had always lived side by side with respect found themselves swept up in waves of suspicion, bigotry, and violence.

It serves as a very sad reminder of how changing tides of opinion can sway even the longest acquaintances.

This book is definitely worth the time. You'll learn about Bangladesh and some of the hatred that haunts different communities to this day.

Verdict: Read it!

Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson

This book is about Greg Mortenson and his work in Pakistan. He has helped establish schools and social organizations in a secluded section of a nation that is in dire need. It's a fascinating story of one person's determination and how things are done in Pakistan.

If you feel that one person can't make any differences, you need to read this book.

Verdict: Read it.

Postmaster : Selected Stories - Rabindranath Tagore

This was my first exposure to Tagore and it was an interesting one.

Tagore is a Bengali. With all my exposure to Indian culture, this was fun as Bengal is like a cousin - similar, but with marked differences.

Tagore has the typical Indian/Bengali pathos in this collection of stories. It hangs over every story like a dark cloud. It never really rains, but you keep expecting it to. For all of the talk about Tagore getting down to details of simple village life, I found that conspicuously absent from this book. He grew up and writes from a zaminder (landlord in a feudal sense) point of view that has nothing to do with normal folks.

Tagore does, however, have a gift for story telling and description. After reading this book, I rather wish I could go visit Bengal, even though it would not be the same Bengal that Tagore knew, just as the India I'm visiting now is not the one my husband reminisces about.

Verdict: If you have any interest in India, read it and revel in the differences if you can find them.

Freedom's Child : Growing Up During Satyagraha - Chandralekha Mehta

This book was written by Jawaharlal Nehru's niece about growing up during India's freedom fight.

It reads like a history chronicle for family members, which I didn't care for all that much - at times I felt like I was peeping in on family moments that weren't mine to see.

However, it was very interesting to see how a family lived during that time period, and one that was heavily invested and involved in freeing India.

Verdict: Read if you'd like a look into family life during India's struggle for independence.

Foccault's Pendulum - Umberto Echo

In the interest of disclosure - I didn't finish this book.

Daddy G has been tormenting me for a few years now to read this book and assuring me that I wouldn't understand a damn line of it. He was right folks.

What the hell is going on in this book? Anyone? Buehller? Anyone know what's going on in this book? I haven't been so confused by simple English since Rushdie and Satanic Verses.

I had to shelve this after 2 chapters, but I fully intend to return to it though after I look up the cliff notes for this book. That is quite an admission coming from me, but a necessary one. Wow.

BPO-Sutra: True Stories From India's BPO & Call Centers - Mokhasi Sudhindra

This book was entertaining. It's a collection of short anecdotes from people who work in call centers in India. If you've ever wondered how it would be to work in one, this is for you.

I did find this book a little high on the obnoxious "get out of work any way possible" factor of those just out of college, but I also admired quick thinking and strategy employed in a dog-eat-dog environment.

Working with the public is tough. Working in telemarketing is even tougher. Working for a call center in India is crazy because people don't like that even more than regular telemarketers. Hats off to the folks who do it, I enjoyed your stories.

Verdict: Not all that deep, but a good time pass read.

Love Will Follow : Why The Indian Marriage Is Burning - Shaifali Sandhya

Hello Bibliophiles! (Book Lovers for the non-vocabulary blessed)

My apologies for yet another long absence. I have been reading, but I've also been rather sucked into teaching piano lessons, so I've not kept up with my writing. Hopefully I can get back on my horse.

So. Love will Follow.

I picked this book for some rather obvious reasons. The first and foremost is that I married an Indian. Indian marriages are a bit different than western ones, and my hybrid marriage is a beast unto itself. I have always been fascinated by the differences in arranged marriages and love marriage (and every permutation between) and how the outcome of these options is affected by the Indian societal structure.

This book was a fascinating glimpse into Indian marriages. The author's premise was that Indian marriages are burning for a variety of reasons, but mainly that people are both evolving away from traditional mindsets (see non - traditional/non-arranged arranged marriages) and people's tendancy to be more educated and more willing to walk away from situations that were not satisfactory. The story was written from a mainly North Indian point of view, and all of the personal stories were from families in the north of India, which was disappointing for me because there is quite a difference in North Indians and South Indians. For the uninitiated/uninformed, this book makes Indian marriage seem like a dismal institution - which is basically not all that far off from the truth in the fact that not only is India a Patriarchal society with life for all women being very difficult, personal satisfaction/needs are generally placed way lower than those of the group (family or societal), especially for women.

The author gives the impression that divorces are happening on a mass scale. In reality, when the book was written in 2007, only .07% of marriages ended in divorce. Chew on that for a minute. In a nation of how many billion people, .07% still doesn't add up to that many. True, Indian's traditionally did not get divorced, so any increase is noticeable. However, saying that Indian marriages are burning down is a bit alarmist and not all that true.

As the author herself pointed out, societal pressure to stay married is still enormous. While India has been shooting towards modernity, people's mindsets have not changed all that much. A vast majority of people are still extremely old fashioned and conservative at heart.

What I did find interesting (and indeed, extremely depressing) was the author's look at what was making Indian marriages so difficult to maintain. I found the author had many valid points in this regard. However, I feel those factors have always been a part of Indian society and are not to blame for breaking marriages, but more along the lines with weakness in Indian society in general.

As a westerner, I cannot agree that people should not have modern outlooks and personal needs just because divorce may occur. As a matter of fact, I think divorce is a positive step in direction for women in India. Not divorce itself, but the comfort level of a women to go after what she wants and not take/put up with anything and everything someone else wants. Indian life is hard on women, even the economically comfortable/modern ones. Women here never really escape what society and family expects of them. Feeling comfortable enough to know her own mind and make her own decision would be a huge step for a woman here.

Unfortunately, India's problem with women will be ongoing for a long, long time. Mindsets do not change overnight - or over decades for that matter - and India's track record with women is abysmal. Divorce numbers may continue to climb, but it will still not be in a positive fashion. It takes an incredibly strong person to buck tradition and society and hold his or her head high as they walk alone. In India, most of the cases would result in social isolation and an overpowering sense of guilt for most women, which they most likely will not find worth the divorce anyhow.

I wish I would have read this book before I married my husband. I don't regret my marriage one bit, but had I read it before I met him, I may have walked into a difficult situation much more prepared. Love doesn't conquer all, which of course I wouldn't have believed at that age anyhow. When you go into a partnership with a person who's society has a long and complicated history, it's a difficult path to walk. I do hope India can work on it's issues, but I'm positive it won't happen in my generation or even my daughter's.

Verdict: If you are interested in Indian arranged marriage or Indian society's view on marriages and women, this is an eye opener. It's a heavy and at times depressing read, but eye opening. Read it, but keep in mind that .07% doesn't mean marriage is burning completely any time soon.