A Fine Balance
by Rohinton Mistry
Set in 1975 in an unnamed Indian "city by the sea," this tender novel follows the intermingled fortunes of a Parsi widow, her boarder and two tailors. A Booker Prize finalist.
An Autobiography, Or the Story of My Experiments with Truth
by Mohandas K. Gandhi
There is no substitute for reading Gandhi in his own simple, direct prose. A highly recommended glimpse into the personality and life of this remarkable figure.
Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God
by Jonah Blank
Blank's entertaining portrait of contemporary India and Sri Lanka mixes reporting, anecdote and myth as he travels, sometimes in the footsteps of India's great hero Rama.
Birds of India
by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp
Thoroughly revised, with 73 new plates and many others updated or repainted, the second edition of the masterful Birds of India now features all maps and text opposite the plates for quicker and easier reference.
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
by William Dalrymple
Dalrymple infectiously interweaves his own experiences over a year in Delhi with the art, architecture, history and literature of the city.
Curry, A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors
by Lizzie Collingham
This cultural history with recipes is appetizingly organized as a menu (biryani, vindaloo, chai, etc.). Curry explores the origins and spread of Indian food and the interplay between Muslim, Hindu, Portuguese and British traditions on the Subcontinent.
Eyewitness Guide Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
by Anuradha Chaturvedi (Editor)
With chapters on Taj Mahal, Amber Fort Palace, Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Red Fort and dozens of other highlights for the traveler, this compact, gorgeously illustrated guide to Delhi and its environs features 900 color photographs, maps and site plans.
Following Fish
by Samanth Subramanian
This collection features nine stories set along the Indian coast. "Following Fish" explores various themes, including the use of fish to treat asthma in Hyderabad, the preparation and enjoyment of West Bengal's prized hilsa, and the ancient art of building fishing boats in Gujarat. Additionally, it delves into the fiery cuisine and unique atmosphere of Kerala's toddy shops, the food and lives of Mumbai's first inhabitants, the history of an old Catholic fishing community in Tamil Nadu, and the search for the world's fastest fish near Goa.
Gandhi
by Richard Attenborough
FILM
This film is based on the life and trials of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, an Indian activist who was the leader of the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Handmade in India
by M.P. Ranjan (Editor), Aditi Ranjan (Editor)
Featuring 3500 color photos and organized by region, this sumptuous album covers the diverse crafts of India with style and authority.
Hindu Art and Architecture
by George Michell
An excellent survey of Hindu art and architecture, explaining the meaning and construction of principal images and buildings, as well as the development of Hinduism and the corpus of myths that have influenced its artistic tradition.
In Spite of the Gods, The Strange Rise of Modern India
by Edward Luce
Luce tackles the challenges and reality of the world's largest democracy with insight and balance in this portrait of a nation in transition.
India
by Stanley Wolpert
Reflections on India - its religion and philosophy, its art, culture and politics - by the dean of the country’s American historians: beautifully written and provocative as well as evocative.
India Adventure Map
by National Geographic Society
The most detailed shaded relief map (at a scale of 1:2,100,000) of India available.
India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy
by Ramachandra Guha
A non-fiction book that covers the history of the India after it gained independence from the British in 1947. Moving between history and biography, this story provides fresh insights into the lives and public careers of those legendary and long-serving Prime Ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter, Indira Gandhi. The book gives vivid sketches of the major “provincial” leaders, but also writes with feeling and sensitivity about lesser-known Indians—peasants, tribals, women, workers, and untouchables.
India Becoming
by Akash Kapur
Kapur returns to the country of his birth for this reveals the rich tapestry of contemporary India as told through the lives of ordinary people.
India, A Sacred Geography
by Diana L. Eck
Professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at Harvard, Diana Eck turns her interest in temples and places of pilgrimage into a celebration of the diversity of popular religious traditions in India in this richly rewarding travelogue.
India, A Traveler's Literary Companion
by Chandrahas Choudhury (Editor)
Each of these 14 stories evokes place and landscape, providing an excellent introduction both to contemporary writers and to India's diverse cultures and history.
Ladies First
by Uraaz Bahl
FILM
Ladies First tells the story of Deepika Kumari who, born on the roadside to abject poverty in rural India, went in search of food, stumbled upon archery, and within 4 years became the number one archer in the world. Deepika's tumultuous path is documented to the Rio 2016 Olympics. This short documentary is a available on-line.
Land of the Seven Rivers, A Brief History of India's Geography
by Sanjeev Sanyal
The history of any country begins with its geography. Explore India and look at how the country’s history was shaped by, among other things, its rivers, mountains and cities. Traversing remote mountain passes, visiting ancient archaeological sites, crossing rivers in shaky boats, and researching old records and manuscripts, the author considers questions about Indian history that we rarely ask.
Lion
by Garth Davis
FILM
An Indian man who was separated from his mother at age 5 and adopted by an Australian couple returns home, determined to find his birth family
Malgudi Days
by R. K. Narayan
Wonderful tales from one of India's foremost writers about a fictional South Indian town, populated by quirky characters whose unique approaches to tradition and modernity are the stuff of great short stories.
May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons, A Journey Among the Women of India
by Elisabeth Bumiller
A wonderfully written and fascinating portrayal of Indian women from Bollywood stars to Indira Gandhi to prostitutes. It's an insightful portrait of the country as seen through the eyes of its women.
Midnight's Children
by Salman Rushdie
Crowned Best of the Booker in 2008, Rushdie's greatest novel is a madcap, comic take on the birth of modern India in all its splendid and unexpected manifestations.
Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition
by Nisid Hajari
A fast-moving and highly readable account of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 and its lasting legacy in today’s geopolitical tensions.
Monsoon
by Sturla Gunnarsson
FILM
Monsoon is more than a weather system in India, it is a way of life — “the soul of India.” This visual masterpiece takes you beyond the rains, into the stories of local people whose lives are deeply affected by the annual onslaught. From meteorologists to fisherman, gamblers to Bollywood film stars, their stories provide a poignant reflection on the economic, cultural, and spiritual power of monsoon.
Nine Lives, In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
by William Dalrymple
From Sufi dervish and Buddhist monk to outcast and temple worshiper: nine people, nine lives, all captured by Dalrymple as he journeys throughout India in search of remarkable individuals transformed by religion. At turns bemusing, dazzling and heart-wrenching, this is his first travel book in 15 years.
Slumdog Millionare
by Danny Boyle
FILM
Slumdog millionaire is the story of an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai who, with the whole nation watching, is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who wants to be a Millionaire?"
Taj Mahal
by Giles Tillotson, Mary Beard (Editor)
An enlightening pocket guide to the myth, meaning and legends of the celebrated tomb, "the queen of architecture."
The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy
This luminous, Booker-prize winning novel is part mystery, part family saga -- a tale of lost innocence set in Kerala during the tumult of the 1960s.
The Lunchbox
by Ritesh Batra
FILM
A young housewife and a lonely widower begin an unlikely correspondence when Mumbai's eerily reliable lunchbox delivery service makes a mistake.
The White Tiger, A Novel
by Aravind Adiga
Mordant, funny, angry, horrifying, this Booker Prize-winning tale of a village pauper turned success (and murderer) skewers the ambition, inequity and corruption of 21st-century India.
Travelers' Tales India
by James O'Reilly, Larry Habegger
A collection of 45 descriptive and thought-provoking short excerpts on Indian life and culture, including contributions from Rushdie, Naipaul and Dalrymple, plus some valuable excerpts from books long out of print.
