Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Book Review: City of Djinns
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William DalrympleMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
William Dalrymple is a gem of a writer, is my conclusion after reading his second book, City of Djinns. His dedication to the subject and the effort put in each book through research is remarkable. It is remarkable because even a common Indian like me didn't fail to gain new insights about the capital of my own country. There are few non-fictions which make me feel deeply attached to the story-teller/telling. Dalrymple beautifully makes transitions between the story of his personal experience and the nation's history which makes you cling to the book.
There are these small hidden facts and thoughts which bedazzle the reader. One such case for me was the fact highlighted by a character who was interviewed by the author. "Whoever has built a new city in Delhi has always lost it:the Pandava brethren, Prithviraj Chauhan, Feroz Shah Tughluk, Shah Jehan. They built new cities and they lost them." British were no exception.What is notable for most seizes across the world, stands true for India as well, that all conquests and rulers have gone through the bell-curve. Dalrymple spends majority of his time investigating and remembering the period after Delhi became susceptible to invasions. A large portion of the book delves into the Mughal and the British conquest of India. The reader who is aware of the Indian history will get curious about India before the foreign raids and that Dalrymple says is not so documented except the holy books which are still in the hearts and the minds of modern India, Mahabharata and within it Bhagvad Gita. I wish he had uncovered more of the pre-conquest period as I realize India as generally said was not under foreign rule only for 200 years. India had been susceptible to foreign conquest and rule since 1192, the time when the last Hindu ruler was vacated from modern India's capital.
With this, my curiosity to read more of Dalrymple is retained as another book of his, Nine Lives waits in my shelf.
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Monday, January 21, 2013
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Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Book Review: From the Holy Mountain
From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East by William DalrympleMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
William Dalrymple is a brilliant and sincere author, who puts in a lot of effort to research before he writes a book and that is very evident in From the Holy Mountain.
The book itself is a treasure with great insight into Middle East and Arab. Dalrymple makes his journey through what was known as the Byzantine empire. Some may think this book to be prejudiced towards religion but this serves as an excellent history and travel book as well.
The amount of knowledge that I have gained about the history of three predominant sections - Christains, Muslims and Jews through this book is immense. I knew about Jerusalem being the main center for both Christians and Jews but never knew that Christainity is actually a religion which took birth and developed there as well. Today when we talk about Christian nations we mostly think of US, Europe, who would have thought that it all originated in Arab nations which are viewed as Muslim nations.
It's a pity that most of the religions in the world are influenced by each other and have similarities between each other yet we are increasingly getting separated by religion even in this modern world. None of the religions are at peace with each other. There are constant wars to destroy each others' heritage rather than develop our own. The real victims are those whose lives got caught forever in such war. There are people in places like Beirut who have been seeing violence right from birth and are still witnessing them at an old age. What a life it is where you live constantly in the fear of death rather than living life itself.
Completely impressed by Dalrymple's writing and researching style I have now picked up another book of his "City of Djinns" as a near future read.
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
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Monday, December 10, 2012
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