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GRAHAME'S 2001 INDIA READING LIST, BOOK REVUES

These are the books I have read since returning from India in February 2001, listed in the order I read them.

1. For A Pagan Song by Jonny Bealby

This was the first book I read after my first trip to India and definitely one of my favourites so far. It's about how Jonny Bealby followed in the footsteps of his literary heroes, Peachey Carnehan and Daniel Dravor, from the book The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling, through far-flung parts of India and Pakistan and into war ravaged Afghanistan.

2. Running With The Moon by Jonny Bealby

A brilliant book (chosen after enjoying his first so much!) for anyone who likes to loose themselves totally in the text and travel with the writer on his journey. This is the follow up to For A Pagan Song and tells of how, two years after loosing his fiancée while travelling in Kashmir, he set off on a journey around the African continent in an attempt to put some meaning back in to his life.

3. Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand

Superb, and supposedly Mulk Raj Anand's most controversial novel. It tells the story of Bakha, an untouchable in India's caste system, and the life he has to endure as a latrine cleaner. If you think you've had a hard time, read this.

4. Chasing The Monsoon by Alexander Frater

Alexander Frater's adventures in 1987, when he took it upon himself to follow the Indian monsoon from Trivandrum in the state of Kerala to Cherrapunji in Meghalaya. A very enlightening book that has you wishing you were there with him.

5. Teach Yourself Hinduism by V.P (Hemant) Kanitkar and W. Owen Cole

I thought I'd try to get my head round the Hindu mind so I took a gamble when I bought this one! It tries, and in my opinion succeeds, in giving the reader a good insight in to the religion as simply as is possible.

6. On A Shoestring To Coorg by Dervla Murphy

This is a cracker. I think this has to be the best one I have read so far, and the first I've read of Dervla Murphy. But it definitely won't be the last. You learn so much about the different customs and traditions of India and the story as a whole is brilliant.

7. India The Rough Guide by The Rough Guide

What can I say? Every travellers bible. Indispensable. (Kevin's note: The alternative is the Lonely Planet India guide. You've got to go for one of the other. They both have their merits. I think 'Lonely Planet' is better on hotels etc.).

Read more reviews about all these books and buy them online at:

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