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/lit/ - Literature

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3893367 No.3893367 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/.

I am pretty depressed about being made to move to India. Somebody recommend good books about the place.

Pic unrelated, I just clicked something to post.

Should I read V. S. Naipaul?

>> No.3893374

Siddhartha isn't bad. If you want something a little more mainstream but that's a good insight into modern day India then Shantaram is good.

>> No.3893384

>>3893374

Thanks for the recommendation. I have started India After Gandhi and that's going to take me a while but I'll definitely check that out.

>> No.3893385
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3893385

Shantaram. It's really good man, it's pretty huge but don't let that detract you. Thinking about it, I've got to re-read it.

>> No.3893389
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3893389

Narcopolis - Jeet Thayil

Shuklaji Street, in Old Bombay. In Rashid's opium room the air is thick and potent. A beautiful young woman leans to hold a long-stemmed pipe over a flame, her hair falling across her dark eyes. Around her, men sprawl and mutter in the gloom, each one drifting with his own tide. Here, people say that you introduce only your worst enemy to opium.

Outside, stray dogs lope in packs. Street vendors hustle. Hookers call for custom through the bars of their cages as their pimps slouch in doorways in the half-light. There is an underworld whisper of a new terror: the Pathar Maar, the stone killer, whose victims are the nameless, invisible poor. There are too many of them to count in this broken city.

>> No.3893390
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3893390

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi - William Dalrymple

Sparkling with irrepressible wit, City of Djinns peels back the layers of Delhi's centuries-old history, revealing an extraordinary array of characters along the way-from eunuchs to descendants of great Moguls. With refreshingly open-minded curiosity, William Dalrymple explores the seven "dead" cities of Delhi as well as the eighth city-today's Delhi. Underlying his quest is the legend of the djinns, fire-formed spirits that are said to assure the city's Phoenix-like regeneration no matter how many times it is destroyed. Entertaining, fascinating, and informative, City of Djinns is an irresistible blend of research and adventure.

>> No.3893391

>>3893367

Hopefully you're not a woman, because you'll be gang raped in no time.

In any case, get ready for people peeing and shitting right there on the street in front of everybody's eyes. Cows mooing and chewing and crapping and peeing all over the place, right there in the middle of the city. Fucking disgusting food served at you at the blink of an eye. An accent just like the one you hate when calling IT support. Pollution. Corruption. Overpopulation.

>> No.3893392
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3893392

Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found - Suketu Mehta

A native of Bombay, Suketu Mehta gives us an insider’s view of this stunning metropolis. He approaches the city from unexpected angles, taking us into the criminal underworld of rival Muslim and Hindu gangs; following the life of a bar dancer raised amid poverty and abuse; opening the door into the inner sanctums of Bollywood; and delving into the stories of the countless villagers who come in search of a better life and end up living on the sidewalks.

>> No.3893394

>>3893391

Yes, but I'm actually Indian and therefore not quite so vulnerable as fair-skinned women in India.

New Delhi (Connaught Place is where I'll be living) isn't so bad, but other places are really a cesspool of human misery. Which is one reason why I don't want to move there.

>> No.3893398

>>3893394

Hell, why are you moving then? Rebel against patriarchal domination, sister!

>> No.3893399

>>3893394
>cesspool of human misery
you get that on pretty much every continent mate.

>> No.3893400

>>3893389
>>3893390

Did you actually enjoy and recommend these books or did you search for "India" on amazon.com?

>> No.3893404

>>3893398

It's my mother rather than my father that is enforcing the move. Just for this, I want the patriarchy. Then we can have bra-burning back.

>> No.3893405

>>3893399

Double dubs!

I bet to differ. Indeed, you can find misery in every continent, but the depth and extension of it is very different from one to another. I've seen misery in Europe, but not to the extent and desperation which I've witnesses in India, northern China, or Latin America.

Moreover, the cast system in India and their contempt for newborn females is just, well, jaw dropping.

>> No.3893406

>>3893399

True, but here in England it's hidden.

And in these generally wealthy places, the misery tends to be founded in relationships or existential crises rather than the more obvious causes like poverty, sickness, malnutrition et cetera. I'm not saying that the misery over here is less serious, just that most of it is a different kind.

>> No.3893407

>>3893404

Well, escape a.s.a.p. You have more chances of having your dignity respected and to be empowered outside of the motherland.

I, hereby, send you good vibes for you to stay positive and to escape towards freedom soon. And, for all that is holy, please do NOT accept to have a wedding arranged for you.

>> No.3893408

>>3893405
bet = beg

>> No.3893410

>>3893400
I was going through a India kick a year or so ago after reading Shantaram and those three were good.

>> No.3893412

>>3893408

cast=caste

>> No.3893413

>>3893412

Yup, Me bad.

>> No.3893417

Consider obeying your parent's wishes.

>> No.3893414

>>3893406
Yeah sure. I was just thinking of Australian aboriginal children etc going through rough shit. Of-course it happens with all types of Australians. And yeah I think what you're saying is more like Australia too.

>> No.3893415

>>3893407

Thank you for the good vibrations. I'll listen to the song now. It is very cheerful.

>> No.3893420

>>3893410

Didn't mean to sound rude, sorry.

Thanks for the books, I think Narcopolis will be the one I try first.

>> No.3893422

>>3893417

Oh, I'm obeying them. I have not made a big fuss about this at all. (Just bursting into feminine tears.) Just for once I feel like it would be nice to throw a big fucking hissy-fit though.

>> No.3893424 [DELETED] 

>>ITT nice people, kindness, helpfulness, and consideration

Whoa, the U.S. anons are obviously asleep right now! /b/ and /pol/ as well. This is the nicest thread I've been to in years.

>> No.3893427

>>3893424

It's only been up a while, don't jinx it. Welcome to m̶y̶ ̶c̶r̶i̶b̶ ̶ I mean, the thread

>> No.3893429

>>3893420
that's ok. Sorry to hear about what is happening to you. I guess your only option is try turn it into a positive and enjoy yourself/life. Easier said than done I know.

After reading Shantaram India sounds like a really exciting place.

>> No.3893430

>>3893427

Spot on. I'll erase it now.

>> No.3893432

>>3893429

Yup, I should be viewing this as one big adventure.
I hope in a year I'll be thinking that my parents are wise people.

>> No.3893433
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3893433

A Passage to India

I didn't like it (I rarely like classics) but you may enjoy it op. I hear the movie is good.

>> No.3893435

>>3893430

Hah, I can't delete any of my posts because I'm in incognito mode. That has led to shamefur disprays before.

>> No.3893434

>>3893432
What is your mothers reason for wanting to move?

>> No.3893440

>>3893434

Rigorous education, being near grandparents before their deaths, cheaper items (we'll actually be upper middle class, hooray.)

>> No.3893443

>>3893433

Oh, I've had enough of the British Raj. I'm wanting to read something more contemporary.

>> No.3893444

>>3893433
funny, i was about to reccommend the movie.
read it or watch it, op. both are good.

>> No.3893447

>>3893444

I guess I could watch it. Though I don't really watch movies.

>> No.3893448

>>3893367

I have to go shopping for farewell gifts now, I will consider it a very good day if this thread is alive when I get back.

>> No.3893451

>>3893447
Read some of Salman Rushdie's stuff? I haven't read any myself yet but he's supposed to be good.

The Famished Road by Ben Okri is really good. It's african not indian but it's in a slum so it's not that much different to a indian book set in a slum

>> No.3893496

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Particularly relevant if you're moving to the Kerala area. Also gives an interesting picture of the caste system.

>> No.3893511

insects are just like you and me except some of them have wings

>> No.3893518

About Pakistan not India, A Case of Exploding Mangoes is very funny and I think you should read it on the plane

>> No.3893520
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3893520

>>3893367
try this one, I enjoyed reading it

>> No.3893568
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3893568

This

I am currently reading it