THE AGE OF KALI: TRAVELS AND ENCOUNTERS IN INDIA PDF, EPUB, EBOOK William Dalrymple | 416 pages | 21 Jun 1999 | HarperCollins Publishers | 9780006547754 | English | London, United Kingdom The Age of Kali: Travels and Encounters in India PDF Book Sort order. The book is about the age of Kali - destruction, corruption and general dismay. Also, he presents the facts without any bias. More Details In Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. This chapter on Vrindavan discusses the lives of widows who retire there and corruption in the systems for providing aid to widows. So Dalrymple held on till the time their prayers were done just to go and observe what were the prayers about. Trivia About The Age of Kali Venugopal, a retired engineer of the Kerala State Electricity Board , takes the author on a tour of Chottanikkara where they discuss the motives of people's worship of Parashakti. Dalrymple is witty, humorous and I might just add, extremely brave. In that case, we can't You know the saying: There's no time like the present The best and critical Indian travelogue to me is Naipaul's "India - a million mutinies" set in Imprint: Audiobook Published:. This chapter on Patna includes discussions of the 13 February massacre of high caste people by low caste people in Barra, Bihar; the arrest and political style of Anand Mohan Singh ; violence in Patna; and a profile of and interview with Laloo Prasad Yadav. I grew up in India in the 90s and will highly recommend it for all those who would like to have a snapshot of what it was like in those days. The people he interviews, the places he visits and the picture he paints is to reinforce HIS idea of India. I love doing this - reading a commentary long after the age has passed. I felt his biases did not help in portraying Benazir's character - as he had done so successfully with many other female protagonists such as Rajmata Scindia of Gwalior and even gossip queen Shobha De! The book is not a travelogue ,but it also includes his encounters with people from different walks and different circumstances.. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was twenty-two. The book's theme is trouble in the Indian subcontinent and the Hindu belief in a time called the Kali Yuga when many problems will come to exist in the world. The chapter is guided by an interview with Mir Moazam Husain, grandson of Fakrool Mulk, who was Deputy Prime Minister of the Nizam's last government in Hyderabad and a building enthusiast. Having just finished reading it , twenty years after the book came out, I feel the author should stick to writing about history and not contemporary events and expose his biases. Go through the index page It covers most of the corners of India. The Age of Kali: Travels and Encounters in India Writer The peace-force are Hindus and Ts are Hindus. Read more I felt his biases did not help in portraying Benazir's character - as he had done so successfully with many other female protagonists such as Rajmata Scindia of Gwalior and even gossip queen Shobha De! Didn't we? I read this book just after my secondary final exams some 10 years back, though William Darlymple is one of my favorite authors, the book did not impress me a it did back then. As someone who is considered an expert on India and and everything Indian and is very vocal about the politics in India, I was expecting a balanced and maybe even a true good to be true sort of experiences. What would be ridiculous is if he decides he 'loves' this 'wonderful' country for what the book describes. An eye-opening read, fascinating just like India and Pakistan. The Age of Kali is the work of an excellent journalist on all that is going wrong with the subcontinent in modern times though it was written about 10 years ago, many of the observations remain horrifyingly true. Jan 21, Tim rated it it was ok. Venugopal, a retired engineer of the Kerala State Electricity Board , takes the author on a tour of Chottanikkara where they discuss the motives of people's worship of Parashakti. Age of Kalyug is a post independent India's modern face. His view is an informed one, based on profound historic knowledge and he transmits this knowledge in an entertaining, very readable way. I have to say I am extremely disappointed. Age of Kali is India at its depressing best? Dalrymple's love for the subcontinent comes across in every page, which makes its chronicles of political corruption, ethnic violence and social disintegration all the more poignant. The new elite having a language barrier discriminating the local vernacular populace. Pakistan was a part of India but then Sri lanka has been independent way too early even through mythology of project save Sita in Ramayana so then why was it all brought together.. This chapter includes a discussion of the culture of 19th-century Lucknow ; the general decline of Lucknow; the poet Mir Taqi Mir ; the palace Dilkusha ; and the Tawaif courtesan subculture. Not so much because of the writing style, or the content but because of lack of purpose. I must say I had to reset my expectations while reading this book. Still, a good read especially if u like Dalrymple. Only the Sinhalese, the Goan are beautiful and of course fair-skinned. Whether he is talking about Benazir Bhutto he was not impressed , the caste wars between Brahmins and various Harijans , the continuing practice of sati suttee, or widow burning , gang rape, or the decline of the Old India, he is always interesting. I started reading what I thought would be an unprejudiced holistic third-person view of India, unaffected by patriotic sentiments, yet aided by a depth of understanding of the subcontinent and its culture. Retrieved 20 October Very often, I find myself bored after the first fifty pages of a non-fiction book because lots of authors tend to be repetitive or their writing is just not good - this book is a sample of very different articles from various areas of India and Pakistan and Dalrymple is a brilliant writer who made tears spring up in my eyes when reading about the fate of widows abandoned by their families and the trains full of dead bodies arriving in Lahore train station after the partit Journalism at its best! But towards the end, when the action shifts to Jaffna of the late 80s, NWFP of the early 90s and Imran Khan during his heydays t Written over a period of 10 years, the essays of this collection range from travel writing to interviews to cultural journalism. I am basically in awe of the writing and the fact that Dalrymple has such immaculate observational skills. But we lived in 90s. According to the well-known historian. Never the less it makes for an intriguing read with all the anecdotes he has been able to collect over his journey. Particular focus is given to the female contingent, the Freedom Birds, the youth, the rank systems, and their military camps. The same goes for Pakistan and Sri Lanka. I bought this book at the Jaipur Literature festival in Boulder. Anay Bhalerao Certified Buyer. But the essays on Bangalore and Mumbai seem totally out of place. The chapter gives the story of the Brahmin student Rajiv Goswami 's self-immolation in response to V. Aug 03, Munzi B rated it did not like it. The author is a true blue journalist and each chapter is better than the next. In the last part where author travels to Pakistan, he has simply presented the picture as it is refr The Age of Kali epitomizes the role of media in a democracy and sets a great example for news reporting. Apr 15, Srikanth rated it liked it Shelves: travelogues. More filters. For someone who keeps himself well aware- This book is perfectly useless, only meant for western audiences. Yet it is India that Dalrymple continues to return to in his travels, a William Dalrymple has proved himself to be one of the most perceptive and enjoyable travel writers of the s. In final chapters of reunion Darlymple moves to Srilanka and Pakistan The first one in is when Khan is a star player on the Pakistan national cricket team and the second is when Khan founds the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Return to Book Page. I know I will be able to read the "Nine Lives" again but not this one. May 24, Varsha rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction. The Age of Kali: Travels and Encounters in India Reviews What struck me about this book was that there was not a single positive remark on India or any of the other countries discussed. View 1 comment. I am basically in awe of the writing and the fact that Dalrymple has such immaculate observational skills. The book fails to give a comprehensive picture of a place. Hussain Zaidi. Bala Certified Buyer. This is not the first William Dalrymple book about India that I have read, and I sincerely hope it won't be the last. Oct 18, Nicholas rated it it was ok. Dalrymple's love for the subcontinent, and his feel for its diverse cultural identity, comes across in every page, which makes its chronicles of political corruption, ethnic violence, and social disintegration all the more poignant.