The ?Age of Kali ?is the latest offering from the pen of William Dalrymple, the famous author specializing in the genre of travel writing. This genre of writing has always been a very powerful vehicle to know the perceptions of foreigners regarding a particular country.
Generally, it is expected the perception of the writer is uncolored and he should write as he has experienced it. The future students of history have valuable lessons to learn from these descriptions. You will readily remember the name of Huien Tsang, Marco Polo who still remains a valuable document for the students of history to understand the times better. I picked this book by this author as I am acquainted with his works, particularly his first one, ?In Xanadu??. This book was a particularly good one and it was a very enjoyable read. So expecting the same, I started of with this book.
This book is divided into six sections, description of his travels into Northern India, Rajasthan, Bombay and Bangalore, South India, Reunion islands and Pakistan.
He explains his title with a bit of Hindu Mythology by ascribing all the troubles in the world being due to the fact that this is the age of Kaliyug, the age when the evil in men is the dominant factor governing their stay in the world. The book predictably opens with Bihar. I need not describe what he must have written because every cliché regarding Bihar has been trotted out for the benefit of Western ears. The degradation of the caste system and the antics of Lallo Yadav have been depicted in a very incisive manner So I leave it to your imagination as to his description.
His next port of call is Lucknow; all the persons who meet the author have only one crib, independence has brought in decadence unparalleled in history. Every one has wonderful stories as to how nice things were when Nawabs ruled Lucknow and Lucknow was a seat of culture and nobility which is in now in a state of decay. I have only one thing to ask of the author that if Nawabs were really so good why is that no one is clamoring for their return except some old fossils who regard serfdom as an ideal worth experiencing.
He takes the cake when he reaches Rajasthan and promptly reaches Deorala, the site of the infamous Sati incident. He describes Rajasthan as some kind of a primitive civilization where burning young widows is some kind of a religious duty. We all know how much of this true. Why don?t westerners really realize that Sati as we know it is no longer practiced and this incident was a freak incident.
I thought his description of Bangalore would have something positive but no sir , he goes on to describe Bangalore as a place with poor roads , traffic jams , protests against Miss World competition , burning of the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet . There are times of course when he condescends to mention Bangalore?s successes in soft ware but it is dismissed in a few lines. His general theme of the book is the decay of India as a nation and how good it was when the British ruled us. I really don?t blame the author because this is what western audiences want to read about and our westernized elite will also lap it up so very promptly.
What about the decadence of the British? Mr. William Dalrymple should also remember that Britain was the super power in 1945 has now been reduced to being a lap dog of America; a book on this aspect is worth a consideration.
I remember what Mahatma Gandhi said about Katherine Mayo?s book ?Mother India that it was a gutter inspector?s report. I think that description would readily apply to this book as well.