Book Corner

With baited breath, so to speak, I am awaiting the release of William Dalrymple's latest labor of love, titled "The Last Mughal: The Eclipse of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857 ". In their infinite wisdom, the publishers decided to wait until March 2007 to market the book in the U.S., while U.K. readers were able to get it well before year end 2006. Personally, I fail to see the logic and strictly from a commercial standpoint, the missed Christmas marketing opportunity.
However, if the "Last Mughal" is even remotely as excellent as Dalrymple's "White Mughals", it will have been well worth the wait.

"White Mughals" is the last of his books on my shelves. His other India-centered books are neatly arranged near it. "The Age of Kali" is as delightful as it is a somber collection of short essays about modern India. Dalrymple has a special affection for the country that seeps through his observations, even when he touches upon subjects difficult to deal with from a human standpoint.

While staying in Delhi for several months, I bought his "City of Djinns" from a pavement bookseller. What propitious timing this purchase proved to be! I felt a bit like Heinrich Schliemann, when he used Homer's Odyssey to find the treasures of Troy. City of Djinns helped me peel away the layers that have accumulated over Delhi over the centuries. Exploring neighborhoods like Chandni Chowk over and over again, I used his description and my imagination to see the splendor that used to be - surely not an easy feat, as anyone would attest who is familiar with Chandni Chowk. It happens to be one of my favorite quarters in Delhi (something my husband usually finds difficult to fathom), in spite of the terrific congestion. It is home to various trades and wholesale businesses. There, I found shops filled with the most marvellous hand made paper, printers of greeting cards; a shop filled with the most amazing array of art supply hidden inside its dark and inaccessible belly (the customers stay on the street, shielded from the wares by a counter behind which half a dozen helpers find anything one needs to paint, in any shade). Not to forget the silk merchants and one little hole in the wall juice shop with arguably the best fresh fruit juice this side of Marrakech (I know another good one there!)

Enough musings - Dalrymple's books have that effect. Here is his website:

http://www.williamdalrymple.uk.com/Pages/Books.html