Mary in India

"To a western observer our civilization appears as all metaphysics, as to a deaf man piano playing appears to be mere movements of fingers and no music."
-Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet.

I could not agree more with this statement. I've been in India for nearly 6 months and every month, every week, every day, my attitude changes. Just when I feel I have grasped onto an idea, formulated an opinion, or felt a genuine understanding...it tends to all fall apart. Every person I meet gives me a new outlook, and every place I visit gives me a larger sense of the complexities of their culture. I bought this book when I first moved here because I found it to be a unbiased look into India's history and cultural background. After all, if I am going to live here, I should probably know a little about it, right?

The writer, Edward Luce is English, and spent a large portion of his life living in India. He interviewed numerous politicians, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, mothers, children, businessmen, expats, priests, and pretty much any one wandering India. Which is why I enjoy his stories so much, each one is so different and each one leaves you with a greater understanding. Sure, I could pick up a giant history book on India, going into detailed accounts of every war and every victory. But I find that yes, historical facts interest me, but their relation to the rest of the world is what fascinates me most.

I am only about half way through and it has definitely given me some perspective on India, it's worth a read.