The writers, Mark Tully and Patrick French, Pankaj Mishra and Professor Meghnad Desai chose their best books on India. They all try to encompass modern India’s cultural diversity and social complexity. There is some overlap. Mark Tully and Pankaj Mishra both chose Amartya Sen’s The Argumentative Indian to explain the deep (pre-colonial) roots of Indian democracy and Desai and French both chose India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha as the best introduction to understanding the recent history of the country. Sen’s book is also picked by William Dalrymple in his choice of books on India, Ancient and Modern.
Roy Moxham looks at Indian Journeys and Victor Mallet picks books on the Ganges and the Indus in his top five books on Asian Rivers.
Kaushik Basu chooses his top books on the Indian economy (and includes both The Argumentative Indian by Sen and India after Gandhi by Guha) and Brian Shoesmith chooses his best books on Indian Film. Vishakha Desai discusses the place of women in India in her best books on Asian women. Kushanava Choudhury chooses five books that inspired him as a novelist.
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1
Ib's Endless Search for Satisfaction
by Roshan Ali -
2
My Father's Garden
by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar -
3
Trial by Silence
by Perumal Murugan, translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan -
4
A Lonely Harvest
by Perumal Murugan, translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan -
5
The Far Field: A Novel
by Madhuri Vijay -
6
There's Gunpowder in the Air
by Manoranjan Byapari, translated by Arunava Sinha
The Best Indian Novels of 2019, recommended by Rana Dasgupta
The Best Indian Novels of 2019, recommended by Rana Dasgupta
India has a thriving literary community working in 22 official languages plus English, says Rana Dasgupta, the literary director of the JCB Prize: a major award for the best new novel by an Indian author. Here, he talks us through their 2019 shortlist.
The best books on Gandhi, recommended by Ramachandra Guha
Gandhi's peaceful resistance to British rule changed India and inspired freedom movements around the globe. But as well as being an inspiring leader, Gandhi was also a human being. Ramachandra Guha, author of a new two-part biography of Gandhi, introduces us to books that give a fuller picture of the man who came to be known as 'Mahatma' Gandhi.
The best books on The Indian Economy, recommended by Kaushik Basu
Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics at Cornell and former Chief Economist of the World Bank (2012-2016), says there’s a Gandhian way of evaluating society that takes account of both growth and inequality, and tells us why his job is an anthropologist’s dream come true. He picks the best books to understand India’s economy.
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1
Stray Thoughts on Indian Cricket
by J M Framjee Patel -
2
History of Indian Cricket
by Edward Docker -
3
Patrons, Players, and the Crowd: The Phenomenon of Indian Cricket
by Richard Cashman -
4
A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport
by Ramachandra Guha -
5
Migrant Races: Empire, Identity and K.S. Ranjitsinhji
by Satadru Sen
The best books on Indian Cricket, recommended by Prashant Kidambi
The best books on Indian Cricket, recommended by Prashant Kidambi
South Asia has become the beating heart of cricket, with wild enthusiasm for the game at every level of society. Historian Prashant Kidambi—whose book, Cricket Country, was shortlisted for the 2020 Wolfson History Prize—takes us through the history of cricket in India, from its traditional, colonial roots through to the colourful, frenetic national game of today.
The best books on Yoga, recommended by Liz Derow
Contrary to its popularization in Western culture, yoga isn’t just a form of fitness: its history is rooted in a long Hindu tradition shaped by great teachers in India. Here we have the best books for those who want to learn more about yoga, recommended by Liz Derow, a longtime practitioner and teacher of yoga in India and around the world.
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1
Slowly Down the Ganges
by Eric Newby -
2
Empires of the Indus: The Story of A River
by Alice Albinia -
3
The River's Tale: A Year in the Mekong
by Edward Gargan -
4
Black Dragon River: A Journey Down the Amur River Between Russia and China
by Dominic Ziegler -
5
Meltdown in Tibet: China's Reckless Destruction of Ecosystems from the Highlands of Tibet to the Deltas of Asia
by Michael Buckley
The best books on Asia’s Rivers, recommended by Victor Mallet
The best books on Asia’s Rivers, recommended by Victor Mallet
Human history has been founded on the banks of great rivers – but in the East they are increasingly the focus of bitter international and environmental dispute, says Victor Mallet, the journalist and author of River of Life, River of Death. Here he selects five brilliant books that profile Asia’s most celebrated waterways.