I have been reading The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple.
And its quite a fantastic book. For starters, it is a scholarly work with scores of references, lots of research and the best part is that it reads like an exciting novel.
It describes the Indian war of independence/sepoy mutiny from a decidedly Indian perspective. Dalrymple, as has been pointed out elsewhere makes for an important contribution to the history of the events of 1857 from the point of view of the common man in contemporary Delhi.
Something that never fails to astound me is that the schism that exists in the perspective of Indians versus that of the British, of the arrogance and the genuine belief on the part of the British that all that was being done was actually for the good of those who were ruled over. This attitude, I believe still lurks somewhere.
It is also extremely interesting to observe the parallels between the concept of Jehad now and then, the inherent lack of self confidence of the Indian mind, the need to be servile to people other than our own and the passion with which we impede the progress and power of our own.
Some thing truly never change.
I just wish it was cheaper and maybe in a soft cover.
Went to the function held to mark the death anniversary of a close relative, a good time to look back and take stock. And it was amusing to see that life was still the same, and the choices made were an experience but little else. I wonder what life has in store now.
Guess I had too much dinner, and its time to sleep over all that is gone.
And its quite a fantastic book. For starters, it is a scholarly work with scores of references, lots of research and the best part is that it reads like an exciting novel.
It describes the Indian war of independence/sepoy mutiny from a decidedly Indian perspective. Dalrymple, as has been pointed out elsewhere makes for an important contribution to the history of the events of 1857 from the point of view of the common man in contemporary Delhi.
Something that never fails to astound me is that the schism that exists in the perspective of Indians versus that of the British, of the arrogance and the genuine belief on the part of the British that all that was being done was actually for the good of those who were ruled over. This attitude, I believe still lurks somewhere.
It is also extremely interesting to observe the parallels between the concept of Jehad now and then, the inherent lack of self confidence of the Indian mind, the need to be servile to people other than our own and the passion with which we impede the progress and power of our own.
Some thing truly never change.
I just wish it was cheaper and maybe in a soft cover.
Went to the function held to mark the death anniversary of a close relative, a good time to look back and take stock. And it was amusing to see that life was still the same, and the choices made were an experience but little else. I wonder what life has in store now.
Guess I had too much dinner, and its time to sleep over all that is gone.
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