ask lj

[coraa]

I am searching for books on India -- history, religion, mythology, culture. General overviews would be great to start, since my background is woefully inadequate, but if you have any more specific books that you really love, I will not turn them down. (I realize that India is a big country with a long history, and I'm not being very specific, and that's mostly because I, er, don't know enough yet to be specific.)

I am looking primarily for nonfiction for these purposes, though if you have any great fiction to recommend, I will, again, not say no.

Books by Indian or Indian American authors are particularly desirable, but good books by non-Indians will work too.

Feel free to pass the request on.

Thanks!

Comments

[vom_marlowe]

Madhur Jaffrey's books are an absolute delight. She's an Indian author who writes cookbooks; many of her cook books include culture and history, as seen through food. She's an amazing writer.

[coraa]

Thank you! That is very helpful (and appealing -- I love cooking and cookbooks).

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

For something light, try KARMA COLA by Gehta Meta. Vignettes about the Western hippies in India.

[morganlf.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've read any non-fiction books on India, but my two favorite Indian authors are Jhumpa Lahiri and Michael Ondaatje.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I'd ask rachelmanija, who has lived there (she wrote about the experience in a fascinating memoir All the Fishes Come Home To Roost, and I'd also start by reading the Mahabarata.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

rparvaaz is an Indian woman on my f-list who could undoubtedly give you some good titles.

[zalena.livejournal.com]

Gita Mehta's River Sutra.

Also, an interesting overview of mythology is Ka by Roberto Calasso, but there's no reason you couldn't go to original source translations whether it's the Ramayana, Upanishads or what you will.

[sthaddeus.livejournal.com]

This may not be quite what you're looking for (since they're fiction written by non-Indians), but I've read Life of Pi by Yann Martel (very good) and River of Gods by Ian McDonald (so-so, but might be interesting).

[clairebaxter.livejournal.com]

I can't think of anything helpful to tell you, so I'll just say that after you read your actual Indian histories, you should read No God in Sight by Altaf Tyrewala. It is a series of connected vignettes, mostly in Mumbai.