India through the eyes of foreign novelists

Martinez

India through the eyes of foreign novelists

India has been a point of interest for the world since the beginning of civilization. Even before Christopher Columbus sailed out to look for India, the Indian subcontinent was doing spice trade with the Roman Empire. In today’s time, when the borders have thinned down, thanks to the internet, more and more people are getting aware of India’s rich heritage and culture.

With so many tourists chasing the spiritual offerings of this ancient land, India is bound to be relevant for ages to come. But the experiences in this Asian country are not your regular ones, as writer Henri Michaux once wrote, “In India there is nothing to see – everything to interpret.” So here is an ode to that great feast.

In Light of India – Octavio Paz

India through the eyes of foreign novelists

Renowned Mexican poet Octavio Paz was also a diplomat and soon after India’s independence, when the Mexican government planned to set up a mission in Delhi, Paz was posted in the city. In India, he met with the Bengali poets collectively known as the Hungry Generation, and even wrote a collection of poems from his days in India called, A Tale of Two Gardens. Upon learning of his posting in India, Paz writes in his book In Light of India, “Knowing that I was being sent to India consoled me a little: rituals, temples, cities whose names evoked strange tales, motley and multicolored crowds, women with feline grace and dark and shining eyes, saints, beggars.”

City of Joy – Dominique Lapierre

India through the eyes of foreign novelists

Celebrated author Dominique Lapierre went on to write the classic, City of Joy, which is based on Kolkata, erstwhile, Calcutta. Even though the geographical location of the city in question is only an area near the Howrah railway station, the title stuck with the city and became synonymous with a culture that is hard to grasp. The story revolves around a Polish priest, a rickshaw puller, and an American doctor. Some of the major themes are poverty, religion, and class division, among other things.

India: A Million Mutinies Now – V.S. Naipaul

India through the eyes of foreign novelists

V.S. Naipaul’s incredible and anecdotal travelogue on India, this one follows Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, and Delhi. Of course, Naipaul himself was of Indian origin, but was born in Trinidad-Tobago, and was a British citizen. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. The book was published in the year 1990, and presents stories of people he met during his travels across India. The novel’s interesting characteristic is that the author writes about the Indian way of life, and is a great piece of historical non-fiction, depicting the nation during that time.

The Himalayan Journals – JD Hooker

India through the eyes of foreign novelists

Joseph Dalton Hooker, an avid explorer travelled the Bengal, Sikkim, and Nepal Himalayas in search of new adventures. Hooker, who was mainly a British botanist, recorded the early days of Eastern India’s Himalayan regions, alongside Nepal. He travelled the Himalayas from 1847-1851, and during that time he travelled by an elephant to Mirzapur, and later took a boat to sail across the Ganges and reach Siliguri, now in West Bengal. He then took a pony up to the hills of Darjeeling, and Sikkim. Hooker even wrote to Darwin, telling him all about his findings in India.

Interestingly, Hooker had stayed at the bungalow of another British naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson in Darjeeling, and this bungalow was later sold along with the land, whereupon today St. Paul’s School, Darjeeling, stands. The bungalow still exists and is today known as the Rectory, residence of the school’s principal. It is perhaps the oldest building in Darjeeling.

A Passage to India – E.M. Forster

Novelist E.M. Forster’s phenomenal work, A Passage to India, is probably the most important novel written in India by a foreign author. The novel takes place in the British era and is a tale of friendship, gender, race, class, power, etc. It definitely shows the cultural nuances of the country and puts them beside British colonialism. The novel was published way back in 1924, and has even had a movie based on it, released in 1984. Needless to say that the author spent time in India. E.M. Forster was nominated for the Nobel Prize more than ten times in different years, but never won.

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