Title :
Subcontinental Drift
Author :
Murray Laurence
Publisher
: Aleph
ISBN :
978-93-83064-25-0
A book on
India by a foreigner. Actually so many books have been written by awestruck
foreigners on India that it has almost become a genre of books in itself.
An
Australian travel writer found his life changed post his first overseas trip to
Indonesia where his tryst with Asia began.
He first
travelled through the country in 1970s but the 'weird' land strangely and
mysteriously hypnotised him into returning to India over and over again as his
fascination for the strange land never left him.
The book
'Subcontinental Drift' is actually a collection of his travel stories which are
almost like his adventures in a wonderland where nothing is unexpected. He has
segregated his stories on the basic of timeline under three categories - a)
Young and At Large in India (The 1970s) b) Drifting (The 1980s to the end of
the 20th century) c) Condemned to India (The 21st Century). As he travelled
extensively through India, he could fathom deep to appreciate the uniqueness
and the basis of the age old beliefs which are reflected in his writings. The
fluidity with which he narrates his experiences is a pleasurable experience in
itself. His wonderful play with words keep the readers engaged till the last
page.
Having
read many such similar books, I just want to comment that what these authors
present is still just what appears on the surface because as our religious
scriptures describe the supreme power by - (Neti, neti) this is not it, this is
not it!, so is true about India too. It is no exaggeration to say that if there is any possible adjective for a
place, it may very well be true for India.
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