Friday, May 14, 2004
India as Hotel California. Holy Cow.
I first came across Sarah MacDonald's Holy Cow on the tourist trail in India earlier this year. A lot of people seemed to either be reading it or looking forward to reading it. I just finished the book a couple of days back. The book is the tongue-in-cheek, part flippant, part serious story of the author, an Australian radio broadcaster, who travels to India a second time with her boyfriend (New Delhi correspondent for Australian Broadcasting) 11 years after she left promising never to return. While Jonathan is away on assignment, a very bored Sarah does what every other western tourist does in India -- dabble in the spiritual supermarket. Kumbh Mela, Amma, Rishi Kesh, Manali, Hash, Marijuana, Velankanni, the Gurus...its all in there.
Though it can seem condescending at times (to Indians) and a little too obsessed with various bodily quirks/functions, it still is a pretty funny and a racy read. Given the hype among tourists though, I think its a little over-rated. It might even seem a little unbelievable to those who havent ever been to India. To them I say, its all true :)
The most memorable line?
India is Hotel California. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.
PS: MacDonald keeps repeating through the book that Indians do not possess self-deprecatory humour. I am not sure how she got that idea, since most Indians are self-deprecatory, even if some are unknowingly so. There are lots of things wrong with Indians, but being told that we possess an American sense of humour is the unkindest cut of all :))
PPS: On the whole, I still think William Dalrymple does the best job of describing India. Very witty, yet informative (even to Indians).
Though it can seem condescending at times (to Indians) and a little too obsessed with various bodily quirks/functions, it still is a pretty funny and a racy read. Given the hype among tourists though, I think its a little over-rated. It might even seem a little unbelievable to those who havent ever been to India. To them I say, its all true :)
The most memorable line?
India is Hotel California. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.
PS: MacDonald keeps repeating through the book that Indians do not possess self-deprecatory humour. I am not sure how she got that idea, since most Indians are self-deprecatory, even if some are unknowingly so. There are lots of things wrong with Indians, but being told that we possess an American sense of humour is the unkindest cut of all :))
PPS: On the whole, I still think William Dalrymple does the best job of describing India. Very witty, yet informative (even to Indians).
