I was lucky to get several books by Indian authors or about India before we left. As the stuff from our house we shipped - including most of our books and dvds - has yet to arrive, these have been very welcome. The three that have made the biggest difference so far are:
An Indian Housewife's Cookbook, which although written for a British audience has a list of Indian - English spice names I couldn't have got through shopping without (supplemented with the odd online search). It also has recipes for unfamiliar vegetables, which I intend to embark on next week.
A Suitable Boy; I've loved Vikram Seth since I read The Golden Gate in sixth form, but I've never picked up Mum's copy of this book which is about 1500 pages and three inches thick. The length was a blessing week before last when I accidentally got a wee bout of food poisoning and self-housebound. As well as the interesting parallels around local elections (Uttar Pradesh and Maharastra go to the polls next week I think), communalism, more cheerful, even cheeky references to Jane Austen and various religious festivals, I also again sought out the food and descriptions of drinks for special occasions.
and...
Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, a delicious book of short stories elegaic, funny and full of the politics of partition and the history of India.
To add to the rest of my (limited but very high quality library), on Saturday afternoon I went to the National Gallery of Modern Art for Bangalore's first literary festival, Lekhana. Amidst poets, critics and journalists, I was particularly struck by several young novelists. Once I've obtained copies - not least of the one set in my part of town, will provide updates. The gallery was a appropriate venue - modern architecture, plenty of shade and different spaces. This picture doesn't do justice, but the only one I remembered to take on my phone (of poet Joshua Muyiwa):
An Indian Housewife's Cookbook, which although written for a British audience has a list of Indian - English spice names I couldn't have got through shopping without (supplemented with the odd online search). It also has recipes for unfamiliar vegetables, which I intend to embark on next week.
A Suitable Boy; I've loved Vikram Seth since I read The Golden Gate in sixth form, but I've never picked up Mum's copy of this book which is about 1500 pages and three inches thick. The length was a blessing week before last when I accidentally got a wee bout of food poisoning and self-housebound. As well as the interesting parallels around local elections (Uttar Pradesh and Maharastra go to the polls next week I think), communalism, more cheerful, even cheeky references to Jane Austen and various religious festivals, I also again sought out the food and descriptions of drinks for special occasions.
and...
Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, a delicious book of short stories elegaic, funny and full of the politics of partition and the history of India.
To add to the rest of my (limited but very high quality library), on Saturday afternoon I went to the National Gallery of Modern Art for Bangalore's first literary festival, Lekhana. Amidst poets, critics and journalists, I was particularly struck by several young novelists. Once I've obtained copies - not least of the one set in my part of town, will provide updates. The gallery was a appropriate venue - modern architecture, plenty of shade and different spaces. This picture doesn't do justice, but the only one I remembered to take on my phone (of poet Joshua Muyiwa):
No comments:
Post a Comment