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| June 5, 2000 | ||
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| Detourism An amble through the bylanes of an India that never quite makes it to the front pages By Malati Mathur THE OTHER This book offers little vignettes of Indian society -- ranging from the piquant through curious, peculiar, humorous and fantastic to the mysterious -- unusual people, customs, practices and beliefs culled from all the states that go into making up the Indian Union. Never before has the clich "unity in diversity" been so aptly epitomised. A compilation of some of the Offtrack columns published over the years by India today, the reports are well-written, the human element always in the forefront, the language concise and evocative, even poetic sometimes in its lucidity and brilliance. One of the plus points of this book is that each piece is a page or so long and hence extremely rushed-reader-friendly in that one can pick it up whenever one has a few minutes on hand and then take it up again later without having to bother about continuity. The excellent photographs augment the text and the glossiness of its finish is an added treat. Just one little nit-picking point. Has modesty become as outdated as the messenger pigeon? Self-praise has never been an endearing trait. Apart from which, it takes a little dexterity and contortion to give oneself a resounding pat on the back. But Aroon Purie, in his foreword, manages quite nicely, thank you. |
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India
has the habit of lying in ambush to spring a surprise on the unwary
stroller through cultures. Just when the traveller thinks he's seen it
all, heard it all, there comes along a story that stands all previous
conclusions and impressions on their collective head. The endearing, the
humorous, the sublimely compassionate, the concern for the environment,
the traditional vie with the appallingly superstitious, the pompous, the
modern strands in the mindset of the average Indian. And when one is
getting ready to throw one's hands up in despair at the smug, know-it-allness
of an asinine official, the interminably winding corridors of power and
bureaucracy, the sickening urban sprawl, one comes up smack against the
innocence and simplicity of those whose lives are a paean to self-reliance
and sheer, compelling labour, gaining fresh insights into life and its
myriad hues in the bargain.