The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters

by William Dalrymple

William Dalrymple has proved himself to be one of the most perceptive and enjoyable travel writers of the 1990s. His first book, In Xanadu, became an instant backpacker's classic, winning a stream of literary prizes. City of Djinns and From the Holy Mountain soon followed, to universal critical praise. Yet it is India that Dalrymple continues to return to in his travels, and his fourth book, The Age of Kali, is his most reflective book to date.

The result of 10 year's living and traveling throughout the Indian subcontinent, The Age of Kali emerges from Dalrymple's uneasy sense that the region is slipping into the most fearsome of all epochs in ancient Hindu cosmology: "the Kali Yug, the Age of Kali, the lowest possible throw, an epoch of strife, corruption, darkness, and disintegration." "The brilliance of this book lies in its refusal to reflect any cultural pessimism. Dalrymple's love for the subcontinent, and his feel for its diverse cultural identity, comes across in every page, which makes its chronicles of political corruption, ethnic violence, and social disintegration all the more poignant. The scope of the book is particularly impressive, from the vivid opening chapters portraying the lawless caste violence of Bihar, to interviews with the drug barons on the North-West Frontier, and Dalrymple's extraordinary encounter with the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. Some of the most fascinating sections of the book are Dalrymple's interviews with Imran Khan and Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, which read like nonfiction companion pieces to Salman Rushdie's bitterly satirical Shame. The Age of Kali is a dark, disturbing book that takes the pulse of a continent facing some tough questions. --Jerry Brotton, Amazon.co.uk

Genres: Travel, India, Nonfiction, History, Travelogue, Asia, Essays

394 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was twenty-two. The book won the 1990 Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award and a Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award; it was also shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize.

In 1989 Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years researching his second book, City of Djinns, which won the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award. From the Holy Mountain, his acclaimed study of the demise of Christianity in its Middle Eastern homeland, was awarded the Scottish Arts Council Autumn Book Award for 1997; it was also shortlisted for the 1998 Thomas Cook Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize. A collection of his writings about India, The Age of Kali, won the French Prix D’Astrolabe in 2005.

White Mughals was published in 2003, the book won the Wolfson Prize for History 2003, the Scottish Book of the Year Prize, and was shortlisted for the PEN History Award, the Kiryama Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

William Dalrymple is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society, and is the founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival.

In 2002 he was awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for his ‘outstanding contribution to travel literature’. He wrote and presented the television series Stones of the Raj and Indian Journeys, which won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary Series at BAFTA in 2002. His Radio 4 series on the history of British spirituality and mysticism, The Long Search, won the 2002 Sandford St Martin Prize for Religious Broadcasting and was described by the judges as ‘thrilling in its brilliance... near perfect radio’. In December 2005 his article on the madrasas of Pakistan was awarded the prize for Best Print Article of the Year at the 2005 FPA Media Awards. In June 2006 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of St Andrews “for his services to literature and international relations, to broadcasting and understanding”. In 2007, The Last Moghal won the prestigous Duff Cooper Prize for History and Biography. In November 2007, William received an Honourary Doctorate of Letters, honoris causa, from the University of Lucknow University “for his outstanding contribution in literature and history”, and in March 2008 won the James Todd Memorial Prize from the Maharana of Udaipur.

William is married to the artist Olivia Fraser, and they have three children. They now live on a farm outside Delhi.

Reviews

[zed · Rating 5 out of 5]

My third Dalrymple book and again has not let this reader down. His travel writing stands out in that he can write his own descriptions of his observations or he can let just let the conversation with whom he is talking to speak for itself within the narrative. What a superb writer.

Subcontinent history and culture is not a strong point for me other than a few online items, a bit of news via SBS here in Australia and also being a cricket lover I am very aware of the superb players the subcontinent has produced and its population's love of the game being fanatical. While reading A History of India by Romila Thapar I began The Age of Kali as I kind of breaker mid-way. I have not been able to put this one down and will get back to the history itself shortly. The subtitle of this one is Indian Travels and Encounters. I might have had Sub-continent instead of Indian, as Dalrymple travels to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka and even has an aside to Réunion. Though published in 1999 this is still a relevant read for anyone wishing to understand the tumultuous politics of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The title is important. Dalrymple decided The Age of Kali after the Indian detonation of their nuclear device, with some seeing this as a sign of the age of Kali.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Yuga

Broken up into 6 parts, the author describes his subchapters as peripatetic essays, and they certainly are. With that there is something for anyone that has an interest in the Sub-continent, be that political, religious and cultural. The only area missing is Bangladesh, my only complaint.

Part 1 North has 5 subchapters. The first The Age of Kali Dalrymple discusses and goes to the Northern state Bihar where caste hatred and warfare was on the rise to the point of being endemic. Corruption was rife. It still is. I found a headline that said "Living Example Of Corruption In Bihar" after a recent bridge collapse.

Part 2 In Rajasthan has 3 subchapters. The third Sati Mata told the story of an 18-year-old bride burning on her young husband’s funeral pyre. This happened in 1987 and there was a trial lasting 10 years after the authorities charged 32 men. All were found not guilty. The young bride, Roop Kanwar had a shrine built for her not long after her death and within a fortnight 750,000 people came to worship at her there.

Part 3 The New India has 2 subchapters. The second Finger Lickin’ Bad: Bangalore and the Fast Food Invaders told of the backlash to western fast food in Bangalore. A Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet was smashed to smithereens as part of a backlash at India economic liberalisation. Considering Cricket and the railways were imports from another culture and are now more Indian than the empire they were exported from, this backlash made fascinating reading. I had a quick check and there are at present about 20 KFC’s in Bangalore.

Part 4 The South has 3 subchapters. The third Parashakti is about the devotees of this goddess who has many other names. Dalrymple meets a Mr Venugopal who explains that the women at a temple have the devil inside them and Parashakti will tame those devils.


Part 5 On the Indian Ocean has 3 subchapters. The second Up The Tiger Path tells of Sri Lanka brutal civil war, with Dalrymple travelling to a devastated Jaffna and meeting some usually secretive leaders of the Tamil Tigers. About 20 years back I had a drink in a Parisian café and was served by a Tamil Refugee. He had been refused entry into Australia he told me, but France had welcomed him. The only thing he missed was Cricket. Did I know Shane Warne he asked? Only from the TV was the reply. He had no interest in the Civil War but talked Cricket with a sense of loss.

Part 6 Pakistan has 4 subchapters. The first Imran Khan: Out for a Duck explains to the reader just how popular Imran Khan was (and still is to this day) in Pakistan. Revered would be too soft a word. I am of the opinion that non Cricket playing nations have no understanding of Imran Khan and his status to the Pakistani people. I would suggest he makes Trump, just an example, look an utter light weight politically in terms of the loyalty of his supporters and general popularity that reaches superstar status unrivalled. This recent item in The Guardian is worth a read.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
This subchapter is about Imran Kahn at the start of his political career in 1989. His political party failed to win a seat at the next election. After the release of this book he rose to power as Prime Minister and has joined the many other Pakistani PMs who have had a difficult time in a country steeped in tribalism, nepotism and endemic corruption.


This for me is a very good book to read about events, places and people from late last century from the various areas of the subcontinent. It is travel writing with journalism mixed in at its apex. The stories told have stood the test of time in that they relate to the past from the subcontinents culture, history and politics with the thoughts of the lowliest village voice through to the high and mighty. It shows the rapid transition in some areas that is changing a conservative past. If anything I now have a better understanding of the present rise of the lower castes into the higher echelons of the Indian political elite, an understanding of the mix that is tribalism in Pakistan that permeates all life and also why the Sri Lankan Civil war was what it was.

Recommended to anyone with an interest in travel and the Subcontinent.

[Mihir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must say I had to reset my expectations while reading this book. I started reading what I thought would be an unprejudiced holistic third-person view of India, unaffected by patriotic sentiments, yet aided by a depth of understanding of the subcontinent and its culture. For William Dalrymple is eligible on both accounts- an Indophile Scotsman who has lived in India for many years to understand it's people, history and the cultural nuances. However, this book is not a balanced view and certainly not a holistic view of the subcontinent. Though William does not suffer from the sentimental-glorification-syndrome that many Indian writers succumb to, he suffers from a shortage of genuine appreciation.

This is more a collection of essays that depicts the trials and tribulations of the Indian society than a travel account. William shines a clear spotlight on the evils that have plagued the country-casteism, outdated beliefs like Sati, the growing economic disparity, corruption, and general break-down of the moral fabric. While the book points out India's excesses very succintly, William's spotlight never shines as strongly on what has worked for the country, what is worth admiring in India and what is worth being proud of. The same goes for Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The book has elicited plenty of reactions on Goodread to the effect of what a wonderful insight it is into this fascinating land, even to the extent of calling the book a must-read for those who want to travel to India for the first time. The land that William has so deftly painted a picture of in this book is in no way facsinating or lovable. His picture is of a once beautiful, now crumbling and broken land, and a degenerate, hamstrung society. There is a strong undertone of cynicism, and, in places, superiority and condescension.

If this were the only book a first time traveller to India reads, it would be unfortunate. What would be ridiculous is if he decides he 'loves' this 'wonderful' country for what the book describes. (Some of the other book reviews seem to suggest that).

Having said that, this is an absolutely engrossing book. William paints pictures with words, looks at people and ideas tongue firmly in cheek, and gives us exclusive interviews with some of the most known names in the subcontinent. The Age of Kali is the work of an excellent journalist on all that is going wrong with the subcontinent in modern times (though it was written about 10 years ago, many of the observations remain horrifyingly true). What is going right for the subcontinent, however, is clearly NOT a subject of the book.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dalrymple is a good writer. I’ve read some of his other books and thought they were better. Because this book was written in 1988 it is bound to be out of date in some ways. The author is an English journalist who has lived in India and we assume likes it because he keeps going back to the subject.

In Age of Kali, Dalrymple uses the Hindu idea that evolving epochs demonstrate the health and well being of a time. Kali Yug is the time of strife, instability and degeneration. With that as a theme you would expect the author not to be happy with what he describes in the India of the 1980s. The chapters are actually essays he wrote for different Western newspapers and magazines collected as a book. This is probably why they don’t entirely satisfy. For example, he includes a chapter on the Island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean which seems like a travel magazine piece instead of a part of Kali Yug. Most of the rest of the book shows a pretty dismal picture of murderous riots (as far back as the partition in 1947), problems with caste and clashes among religions. He tends to dwell on filth, ignorance and poverty. The writing is well done but maybe heavy handed.

Dalrymple does admit “yet for all this, India has consistently defied those who make prophecies of doom for her…” Many areas have shown great economic improvement since this was written. As for religious intolerance, political strife and disease, Kali Yug might be seen as rampant in all the world since 1988.

[Nishu Thakur · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an Indian in India, I have always read with interest the writings of foreigners about India. The earlier books of Dalrymple appeared to me to be delivering a well researched and authenticated version of his views about aspects of India. More and more I find him cashing in on his established reputation merely to sell his latest volume. A disappointment. Sheer drivel. Somehow this chap's perspective is laced with prejudice and 'trying hard to disguise self righteous undertones'.

[Nicholas · Rating 2 out of 5]

What struck me about this book was that there was not a single positive remark on India or any of the other countries discussed. Even many of the personalities mentioned in the book were discussed from a cynical point of view. I understand that the book deals with the age of Kali which is a rather negative/ destructive period of history. But, Dalrymple's style of writing is such that he shows scant respect for his subjects. He reminds me of slumdog millionaire director Danny Boyle! There is an air of condescension in his writings which I think is very pitiful!

[Anushree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed review coming up.

Edit: Full review

India is a country of such great culture and over centuries of invasions and fights for freedom, we as a country, have emerged as a powerful plethora of multitude of wonders. The Age of Kali is one such view of this country through Dalrymple's lens, as well as a short glimpse into the neighboring Pakistan.

Dalrymple is witty, humorous and I might just add, extremely brave. Encapsulating the essence that is India in a few 400 pages in the manner in which he has, takes a rare talent. The book is impeccably researched. The present is presented with the context of its past and even if you have very less idea of the vivid history, Dalrymple makes it fun and interesting in his own way.

The topics covered range from the political ascent of Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar, to Rajmata of Gwalior, Kingdom of Avadh, the sad story of Bhavri Devi in Rajasthan, caste wars and the practice of Sati Mata, the gradual progression of Bombay into a city of dreams, Bangalore's initial retaliation to foreign takeover in the form of protests against KFC and Miss World, Lucknow's immensely sad history and death of culture, to the Goddess Parashakti in the South. It then slowly takes us towards the story of the formation of LTTE in Sri Lanka and the invasion of Goa. The last 2 chapters are dedicated to Pakistan - specifically Imran Khan and Benazir Bhutto.

I am basically in awe of the writing and the fact that Dalrymple has such immaculate observational skills. Also, he presents the facts without any bias. Of course, inherently I could read between the lines and my own biases did crop up since the topic is so close to my heart - INDIA.

There is an incident where Dalrymple is observing the ritual of a newly married woman praying to a Goddess in the South and the temple only allowed women when the bride was praying. So Dalrymple held on till the time their prayers were done just to go and observe what were the prayers about. It is hilarious in some such places, where one can imagine Dalrymple hiding till the situation is clear and then going and satisfying his curiosity.

My particular favorite part was when Dalrymple describes Bombay. Oh! The nostalgia. The era of rap music that descended on Bombay through Baba Sehgal, the rise of Shobha De into the elite circles and the fact that Bombay as a metro has had this typical ability to hold on to its roots and yet progress in a manner in which only Bombay can - had me almost reminiscing the old Doordarshan days before Star took over with its cable connection.

My favorite passage however was the below, where Dalrymple takes us through some realities that India hasn't been able to shun thus far -

“They destroyed all the equipment, all the medicines. The Harijans – the people we used to call Untouchables – used to come a hundred miles for treatment.’ ‘But I thought Untouchability was outlawed at independence,’ I said. ‘Technically it was,’ replied Tyagi. ‘But do you know the saying “Dilli door ast”? It means “Delhi is far away.” The laws they pass in the Lok Sabha [Indian parliament] make little difference in these villages. Out here it will take much more than a change in the law to alleviate the lot of the Dalits [the oppressed castes, i.e. the former Untouchables].’ ‘But I still don’t understand why the Rajputs did this. What difference does it make to them if you educate the Untouchables?’ ‘The lower castes have always been the slaves of the higher castes,’ replied Tyagi. ‘They work in their fields for low wages, they sweep their streets, clean their clothes. If we educate them, who will do these dirty jobs?’ Dr Tyagi waved his hands at me in sudden exasperation: ‘Don’t you see?’ he said. ‘The Rajputs hate this place because it frees their slaves.’ ‘And what did you do,’ I asked, ‘while the Rajputs were beating the place up?’ Dr Tyagi made a slight gesture with his open palm: ‘I was just sitting,’ he said. ‘What could I do? I was thinking of Gandhiji. He was also beaten up – many times. He said you must welcome such attacks because it is only through confrontation that you can go forward. An institution like ours needs such incidents if it is to regenerate itself. It highlights the injustice the Harijans are facing.’ He paused, and smiled. ‘You yourself would not have come here if this had not happened to us.’ ‘What will you do now?’ I asked. ‘We will start again. The poor of this desert still need us.’ ‘And if the higher castes come for you again?’ ‘Then we will welcome them. They are also victims of their culture.”

My takeaway was immense pride in the country that India is and a reality-check of the country that it might become. This mixed feeling of gloom and bloom is what Dalrymple gave me through The Age of Kali.

If you are not really a non-fiction reader and yet you want to read stories of travels, I think Dalrymple is the author you got to check out for. The stories narrated are so vivid and interesting, not once would you feel you are reading non-fiction.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/861712.html[return][return]The Age of Kali, to be honest, is a bit disappointing. First off because of the form - it is a collection of pieces written for different journals at different times in the 1990s, and there is occasional repetition from one piece to the next, with no overall guiding structure. Second, because of this, the book lacks any synthesising introduction or conclusion, apart from a page at the very beginning explaining the concept of the Age of Kali, the Kali Yuga.[return][return]Having said that, what you are left with is a series of very readable, vivid, in-depth essays on particular places, personalities or events; we start with sectarian violence in Bihar, and end with the Bhutto family. The book is mainly about India, but there are excursions also to Sri Lanka, R

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 This was my second book by Dalrymple and I was quite impressed by his ability to find stories and narrate them interestingly with great perception and empathy in "Nine Lives". While the narration and perception are still good, some of the stories r a bit common-place. Still, a good read especially if u like Dalrymple.
PS:- It didnt matter to me that the book's stories r from the 90s. The best (and critical) Indian travelogue to me is Naipaul's "India - a million mutinies" set in 1989.

[Munzi B · Rating 1 out of 5]

A historian - with countless awards and multiple honorary doctorates - writes *a* chapter with *100* mistakes.

A Chapter about Jaffna:

Fun facts.

Central Bank attack was in 1996. NOT in 1997.
Mullaithivu attack was in 1996. NOT in 1997.

*Giving benefit of the doubt -- typo cos author may have "fat fingers" like me*

Jaffna fell in SL army's hand in 1995. NOT in 1993 (Typo again??? Finger skipped two keys???)


I lived in Jaffna - under Ts control in 1994 and 95 too. We left when army captured some parts in 1995 October end.


The great historian also mentioned that T's leader in the book , who apparently had ''learnt'' fighting via ''Hollywood movies'' and had no formal training, had led two of the '''greatest''' operations in T's history!!! According to the multiple award winning historian, he learnt the tricks from Hollywood movies. *Whistles*


Wait... wait. Another fun fact. Camouflaging the vehicle with green, brown and black / wearing camouflaged uniforms etc got NOTHING to do with camouflaging. It is all because the rebels were *over exposed* to "Hollywood-glam" - says the multiple honourary doctorates holder. Ouch.

The peace-force are Hindus and Ts are Hindus. Jaffna people are Hindus. According to the well-known historian. The Christians and Muslims, who were Ts are also ''conveniently'' forgotten in his book.


I do remember seeing Turban-dudes in the Indian peace-force. I swear I didn't know they were 'Hindus' :O. Turban dudes are Hindus too. Cos Hindus from India came to help the fellow Hindus in Jaffna - claims the author.


PS: I don't want to touch the wrongly mentioned years of the tree (Mahabodhi) brought in and Dutugemunu's rulings years, etc. You and I didn't live in those years. So let it be.

But we lived in 90s. Didn't we?

#ShameOnYouDalrymple

[Dayanand Prabhu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two very bad chapters in this book has compelled me to give this a 1 star

1. In the chapter about Awadh Dalrymple goes on a nostalgia overdose and portrays Awadh as the best kingdom in the entire history of India. The fact is that Awadh was a disaster the rulers were opium addicts and made a mess of the empire which eventually paved the way for the British to overtake. Not even a single word about this in the entire essay, instead too much patronizing. Also Do you realize that the haveli and what not stand to symbolize the oppression the ruling classes imposed?

2. Dalrymple visits a tense Bangalore during its anti westernization protest and writes a completely biased point of view. What ever the hell 'fear of modernization' means, all the author had to was just spend a little time to find the truth rather than just write his confirmation bias. If he had put even a little bit of effort he would have realized that the issue was exclusion. The new elite having a language barrier discriminating the local vernacular populace.

[Gideon Arulmani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing a great book is not enough. Is that a touch of superiority we hear behind every one of his sentences?

[Malini · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to say I am extremely disappointed. As someone who is considered an expert on India and and everything Indian and is very vocal about the politics in India, I was expecting a balanced and maybe even a true good to be true sort of experiences. But Dalrymple didn't have a single positive thing to say about the country and its people. Every single story has a "has been" reminiscing about their lost opulent lifestyle, their big palaces, and the powers they enjoyed under the colonial rulers. All cribbing about how they have to now struggle for basic things now that the uncouth Indians have taken over.

Everyone he meets is a caricature - the dark Hindu tamilian or keralan, the fat brahmins. Only the Sinhalese, the Goan are beautiful and of course fair-skinned.

The book seems is written from an extremely condescending point of view. It's almost like it's written to make people back home in Britain feel happy that yeah India is destroying itself without our benovelence and without us to keep order. Unfortunately this is the kind of crap that's peddled to Western countries to this day.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining at times...but he sorta just picks out stories you'd expect to find in a newspaper anywhere don't know that it's the most balanced picture of India...focuses on the worst of the bad stuff that happens here and that's it.

[Aviral · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a fan of Dalrymple's style of prose. This book, however, disappointed me. Not so much because of the writing style, or the content but because of lack of purpose. There's no theme of the book apart from it being on India and instead appears a collection of essays on India compiled to give an outline of a book.
William Dalrymple travels across India and tells us about the problems some regions of the country are facing. The in depth analysis of sectarian violence in Bihar and Rajasthan touch the cord. But the essays on Bangalore and Mumbai seem totally out of place. Add to it the fact that the book was published some fifteen years back and the urban Indian landscape has undergone huge transformation in this period.
The essays on Pakistan and Sri Lanka are good but they are either not relevant today (LTTE in SL) or don't affect an average Indian in any way. Similarly the essay on an island near Mauritius lacked any significance. It's a book that appears as if the writer travelled to a number of places and decided to publish his travelogues as a collection.
The quality of language used by Dalrymple is as good as always. In an age of Chetan Bhagat, it is pleasantly refreshing to read an author who paints the picture of a landscape with his words.
This book is not meant for today. While rural India has been more or less stagnant, metropolitan cities have moved on a great deal in the last 15 years. Chapters on Bihar, Rajasthan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are worth reading. Rest of the book can be avoided though.

[Manasa Manjunath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one of 'those' books about India where the author talks about the deteriorated state of a once glorious India. With the once glorious India being from the Raj.

This collection of articles combined to become the book has Mr. Dalrymple travelling through the Indian subcontinent and writing about the India of the day. In every place he is shown around by someone. These people are either from the rich/elite section of the society or those he happens to stumble across to reinforce his idea of Indians - superstitious/religious/backward.

His writes about the rotting buildings from the raj with a longing and about the heritage and history of pre-raj India with contempt. He writes to convince you that the India of the Raj was better in every way and that the sub-continent has descended into anarchy since the Europeans left.

Take the case of the woman he interviews in goa. As a descendent of the Portuguese she has nothing but contempt for India and talks about how India invaded goa. There is no mention of the forced conversion and torture of thousands of Konkani Brahmins through two centuries by the Portuguese. And that's only but one example.

India today is plagued with many problems - corruption, poverty and disease being just the tip of the iceberg. But my problem is how Mr. Dalrymple approaches everything with an agenda. The people he interviews, the places he visits and the picture he paints is to reinforce HIS idea of India.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the first William Dalrymple book about India that I have read, and I sincerely hope it won't be the last. Like City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi, The Age of Kali: Indian Travels & Encounters is a fascinating book about the Indian subcontinent, its religions, history, politics -- everything.

The Age of Kali is a book of essays that takes in several states of northern India, Rajasthan, Bombay, the South, Sri Lanka, Goa, Pakistan, and even the distant Isle of Réunion, technically a part of France.

Whether he is talking about Benazir Bhutto (he was not impressed), the caste wars between Brahmins and various Harijans, the continuing practice of sati (suttee, or widow burning), gang rape, or the decline of the Old India, he is always interesting.

[Sudhir Pidugu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having just finished reading it 2019, twenty years after the book came out, I feel the author should stick to writing about history and not contemporary events and expose his biases. Even though the author mentions it as a book of love for India I couldn't help noticing his contempt for the Indian state, his glee about the so called failures of Indian army at the hands of 'brave' tamil tigers(maybe because he was granted exclusive access and interviews), his attempts to fish stories to support his narrative of Indian army atrocities in Hyderabad and passing off some obscure research paper as the gospel truth..his attempts to subtly say as a fact that Indian army murdered ten thousand Kashmir separatists..the list goes on..

I loved all the books I have read so far by this author and for some reason feel this book is very biased against India and condescending..

Maybe I am an imbecile too. Because I loved 'Freedom at Midnight by Dominique Lapierre' and this book is for the western intellectuals.

[Mukul Bhatnagar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Willaim Darlymple chronicles India during mid ninetees- when MNCs started operating in full swing, when politicians like Lalu and Mulayam rose to popularity. It also describes Indian Army's debacle in Sri Lanka during IPKF operations. Also, the author covers life of Pakistani politicians Like Imran Khan and late Benazir Bhutto during that period. An interesting chapter is also on Goa, describing the reaction of Goans of Portuguese origin when India took over. In totality, the book covers the politics and society of the subcontinent during early and mid ninetees, though a very strange deviation is included when the author writes about faraway island of Reunion, which has no relevant connection with the Indian subcontinent. For someone who keeps himself well aware- This book is perfectly useless, only meant for western audiences.

[Abhishek · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is depressing, but in a good way. The writing style is fantastic and showcases the amount of research done by Dalrymple. He is serious enough to go to places and interview people only some would dare to, and that’s why it presents an unbiased truth. He covers the whole subcontinent and interviews well known personalities like Imran Khan, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Benazir Bhutto, to name a few. The book paints a very sad but true picture and covers the last decade of 20th century India. It is a good read for anybody who is from India, or is interested in knowing how a nation plunges into the Age of Kali.

[Manish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written over a period of 10 years, the essays of this collection range from travel writing to interviews to cultural journalism. Reading about the impact of cable television, the widows of Brindavan or about the cultural decay of Lucknow was not exactly engrossing. His take on the rituals of the Madurai Meenakshmi temple and Chottanikara kshetram was also off the mark. But towards the end, when the action shifts to Jaffna of the late 80s, NWFP of the early 90s and Imran Khan during his heydays the book picks up pace and somehow made it worth picking up.

[Priya · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Dalrymple's "Nine Lives" I had good vibes about this book. Frankly it is a mixed book with few good and bad things put in together.I know I will be able to read the "Nine Lives" again but not this one.

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this secondhand at the church fete. It was enjoyable but mixed, with some of the pieces seeming dated or naive, and others fresh and insightful

[Ankita Mehrotra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overhyped. Disappointing and also somewhat dated in my view.

[Vineeta · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t a very balanced view on the region and I missed the joy of reading a travel book.
I loved William’s book on Delhi ‘City of Djinns’ and I hope the next pick will not disappoint me.

[Boadicea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit to coming to this book with high expectations for his "In Xanadu" is one of my all-time best reads, and I regard him in the same pantheon as Patrick Leigh Fermor, whose works I adore.

Sadly, this book is not of the same quality. Its bias is self-evident when seen from a 2 decade time gap; its grasp and exhibition of contemporary Indian history of the 1990s appears shaky when, for example, there is no discussion or exploration of the Indira Gandhi assassination by her Sind bodyguards in retaliation for her participation in Operation Blue Star. Surely, if ever, the most appropriate demonstration of "The Age of Kali"?

One third of the book is given over to events in countries outwith India, with Sri Lanka and Pakistan figuring heavily. However, I am still uncertain why the French protectorate of Réunion fitted into this collection of short stories? Yes, it's an enjoyable lightweight piece written for a travel magazine. But if you're going to set yourself up as a guru on all matters Indian like Mark Tully, the revered BBC correspondent, surely you would look at the disenfranchised population of the nearby member of the British Indian Ocean Territory, namely Diego Garcia, removed to make way for a US military base?

So, I'm not really sure what this book is? It's marketed as a travel book, as "Indian Travels and Encounters", a distillation of 10 years' travel around the Indian subcontinent and whilst that's clearly the case, it's also political and social reportage. These are recycled articles, which I have no difficulty reading but there is no common thread of discovery bar the theme of .."going to hell in a handbasket since Independence ". It's ultimately a collection of short stories based on current events with advocacy limited to a couple of interested parties.

It chronicles the disparate populations of the Indian subcontinent fairly well, the benefits as well as disadvantages of the caste system and the impossibility of the "status quo". The ideals of the Hindu religion are well delineated and the author has not lost his superb ability to inform, educate as well as entertain. But too often, he appears to interject his own WASP(white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) belief system into the mix which creates discord in this reader.

Whilst I retain the utmost respect for his writing, I struggled with these aspects of his journalism. Even his depiction of the Tamil Tiger organisation appears at best, naive, particularly in the light of their use of the local population as a human shield over the following decade to mask their terrorist activities and atrocities. I think if you're going to set yourself up as a war correspondent, then immersion is the only path worth following, not a fly-by-night trip into a war zone.

However, this creates one of the most memorable lines, for me, as they arrived at the 3 star hotel in Jaffna, lauded as the height of luxury by his driver, George.

'Sir,' said George in funereal tones as we paused halfway up the stairs and looked out over the vast bomb-crater that was Jaffna. 'You must look after me.I am a married man.'

So, elevated by some transcendental wit to 3*.

[Udit Srivastava · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Age of Kali" is a book that relates the current(1998) decadence in the society in subcontinent as was predicted in the Hindu religions beliefs. The author begins with a premise of the onset of Kali-Yuga and weaves a narrative with stories from his travel across the Indian Subcontinent. The book starts with a chapter on the state of lawlessness in the Indian state of Bihar and how caste based politics is emerging in India with corrupt and incapable leaders at the helm. The book then moves to Lucknow where the author is in touch with an Oudh Romantic- Saeed Naqvi who talks about the age of Nawabs in Lucknow as the most cultured and sophisticated and reminisces about the lost 'culture'. There is another chapter about a lament of an old descendant of Lucknow royalty and then moves to La Martinaire where he feels nostalgic about the colonial past and laments on the violent student politics there. Then, we are taken to Rajasthan where issues like Sati, rape of a dalit woman- Bhavri Devi and dominant caste system there. It also, touches upon the life of Vijayaraje Scindia and the issues of the widows in Vrindavan.
Similarly, there are accounts of a temple where exorcism is performed, Indian Pop songs and erotic pulp fiction by Shobha De and a chapter on the opposition to MNC's establishing shop in India.
There are also instances from Pakistani politics at the time with a close character sketch of Imran Khan and Benazir Bhutto.
Overall, it's an interesting read but the author is supremely prejudiced against the Indian(Hindu) way of life and culture. There is a subtle undertone justifying colonial rule as one beneficial to India(Lahore- Indian Railways). Also, there is a lot of condescension towards India and Pakistan and presents a very pessimistic outlook on the future of the subcontinent.
Reading this book 20 years after it was written gives a perspective that pessimism sounds intelligent in the short run but it's the optimism that pays off. Fast forward 2020, India is a lot better than the dark and grim picture that was presented in the book.
2/5 stars for this book.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journalism at its best! Very often, I find myself bored after the first fifty pages of a non-fiction book because lots of authors tend to be repetitive or their writing is just not good - this book is a sample of very different articles from various areas of India and Pakistan and Dalrymple is a brilliant writer who made tears spring up in my eyes when reading about the fate of widows abandoned by their families and the trains full of dead bodies arriving in Lahore train station after the partition of India and Pakistan.

These articles all serve to show that India is in the so-called "Age of Kali", the age of destruction, but still, one feels Dalrymple's unbiased love for this country he's studied thoroughly over the course of many years. His view is an informed one, based on profound historic knowledge and he transmits this knowledge in an entertaining, very readable way.

Much better than "Bombay. Maximum City" - while Sukehtu Mehta is so fascinated with himself knowing all these goondas and having a platonic friendship with this oh-so-sexy prostitute, Dalrymple is seriously interested in the human fate of the people he meets and interviews, even though he's one of the very few who've been able to get to meet and talk to the Tamil Tigers and there even with the female sections he manages to step back and give a voice to others, just being the very pleasant and dry voice in the background instead of celebrating himself and his bravery. An eye-opening read, fascinating just like India and Pakistan.

[Shankar · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who writes about happenings in another country a journalist has a view that brings new perspectives. Some of these are acceptable and others not so. For me reading this from a position of having witnessed or having been close to the incidents covered in this book this gave me a few ‘a ha’ moments... how things happen and how they are written about against what people in the place of the incident actually experienced.

Given the likelihood of asymmetric nature of information this is to be expected. But William Dalrymple has done a good job of articulation of these into a set of articles that convey some acceptable views and others not so. While some incidents read like shocking news for us Indians these are one among the many such which never see newspaper or media coverage. We are stoic and don’t seem unduly perturbed about. I don’t know if this is right or wrong.

But this book is a good introduction to India for someone wanting a high level view. Kali Yug has been going on for a long time now. I don’t know if it follows any calendar. This can only be cited in hindsight.

[Ashok Krishna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable read!

[Ashish Taneja · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Age of Kali epitomizes the role of media in a democracy and sets a great example for news reporting. Dalrymple's methods of extracting information and presenting it in the rawest form possible would make any responsible journalist proud.

The book is overwhelmingly opinionated but the author makes sure that both sides of the story are heard, thereby empowering the reader to form his own views. In the last part where author travels to Pakistan, he has simply presented the picture as it is refraining from inculcating his own opinions in the narrative.

Even though it might seem that the tone is overly critical but no author will travel across lengths and breadths of the country just to be cynical. In his own words, this is a work of love for India - his adopted home. His hurt after observing the regressive mindset in backward areas of the country is clearly visible throughout the book.

Here is a brief summary of each chapter:
The North:

1) The Age of Kali: Bihar's condition due to dirty politics.
2) In the kingdom of Awadh: Difference between old and modern Lucknow and the change of fortunes.
3) The city of widows: Plight of widows who inhabit the city of Vrindavan.
4) Rajmata of Gwalior: Saffronized views and fan following of Scindhias.

In Rajasthan:

5) Sad tale of Bahveri Devi: Rape and shaming of a dalit woman in Jaipur's outskirts.
6) Caste Wars: College students in Jodhpur riot over caste issues.
7) Sati Mata: Solving the mystery of heinous crime of sitting over the husband's pyre.

The New India:

8) Two Bombay Portraits: Lives of modern rock-stars and gossip magazine columnists.
9) Finger Licking Bad: Regional protest against KFC joints in Bangalore due to hurt pockets and sentiments.

The South:

10) At the court of fish-eyed Goddess: Story of goddess Meenakshi and her husband Lord Sundareshwara in Madurai.
11) Under the Charminar: Start contrast between the cultured old Hyderabad and the current one.
12) Parashakti: Myths and beliefs surrounding goddess Parashakti in Kerela.

At the Indian Ocean:

11) At Donna Georgina's: Interview with a lady who follows Portuguese culture and looks down upon other Indians as uncultured.
12) Up the Tiger Path: Story of LTTE and their activities captured through interview with major stakeholders.
13) The sorcerer's grave: The lesser known stories about Reunion - an island that used to be a French colony.

Pakistan

14) Imran Khan: Interviews with the mercurial Imran Khan who hopes to reverse his country's fortune by contesting elections.
15) On the frontier: Study of the Pathans and their culture in Peshawar and beyond.
16) Blood on the tracks: Partition horrors relived on Lahore's railway tracks.
17) Benazir Bhutto: Interaction with Pakistan's prime minister regarding the matters of politics and personal life.