Inside India

Kumar and Puranam study a new, more visible, consumer-oriented kind of innovation emerging in India of compact, low-cost, robust, and efficient products. New products such as Tata's Nano, Going Green's G-Wiz car, and GE's ECG machine exemplify this unique kind of Indian innovation which is marked by robustness.

First published in 1937, this book presents the author's personal account of India. The author, a Turkish writer and novelist, visited the region in 1935 and gained insights into the history and sociology of the country. Based on her experiences, Halidé Edib documents significant contemporary events which shaped the history of India at the time, including the Hindu–Muslim separatism and the freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Her work is by far the most eloquent account of Indian society and politics in the 1930s. Here she details her travel to several regions such as Aligarh, Lahore, Calcutta, Peshawar, Lucknow, Bombay, and Hyderabad, as well as her meetings with many people from different walks of life. She takes a look at Indian nationalism, identifies its strengths and weaknesses, describes its encounters with colonialism, and analyses the rising tide of Muslim nationalism. With scholarly finesse, she reveals the Indian personality of Muslims in India and shows a favourable disposition towards the perspective of the Congress Muslims.

The extreme diversity of Indian food culture—including the dizzying array of ingredients and dishes—is made manageable in this groundbreaking reference. India has no national dish or cuisine; however, certain ingredients, dishes, and cooking styles are typical of much of the subcontinent's foodways. There are also common ways of thinking about food. The balanced coverage found herein covers many states ignored by previous food writers. Students will find much of cultural interest here to complement country studies and foodies will discover fresh perspectives. From prehistoric times there has been considerable mixing of cultures and cuisines within India. Today, the endless variations in cuisine reflect religious, community, regional, and economic differences and histories. Sen, a noted author on Indian cuisine, consummately encapsulates the foodways in historical context, including the influence of the British period (the Raj). Among the topics covered are the restrictions of various religions and castes and the northern wheat-based vs. the southern rice-based cuisine, with an extensive review of each regional cuisine with typical meals. She characterizes the only-recent restaurant culture, with mention of Indian fare offered abroad. In addition, the Indian sweet tooth so apparent in the dishes made for many festivals and celebrations is highlighted. The roles of diet and health are also explained, with an emphasis on Ayruveda, which is gaining support in Western countries. A plethora of recipes for different regions and occasions complements the text.

Events in the Indian sub-continent during the 1970s, where, in the summer of 1975, the ruling party engineered a ‘constitutional’ coup by declaring a national emergency, re-emphasised the need for a fuller understanding of India’s social system and people. First published the following year, in 1976, Inside India Today attempted to fulfil that need. Drawing on personal interviews, conducted during his two years’ travels throughout the country collecting a mass of first hand evidence, and on various surveys and studies published in the press, the author sketches a broad portrait of Indian life in the villages and cities. Hiro relates this research to the existing socio-political structure of the time: the constitutional framework, the electoral system, the performance of the Indian National Congress and the Communist system. Written in an accessible, engaging style and containing a wealth of information and insight, Inside India Today is a major contribution towards the scholarship surrounding this complex and fascinating country.

"The book deals with the escape of Jesus from death on the cross, and his journey to India in search of the lost tribes of Israel. Christian and Muslim scriptures provide evidence about this journey."--Publisher description.

Many Americans still envision India as rigidly caste-bound, locked in traditions that inhibit social mobility. In reality, class mobility has long been an ideal, and today globalization is radically transforming how India’s citizens perceive class. Living Class in Urban India examines a nation in flux, bombarded with media images of middle-class consumers, while navigating the currents of late capitalism and the surges of inequality they can produce. Anthropologist Sara Dickey puts a human face on the issue of class in India, introducing four people who live in the “second-tier” city of Madurai: an auto-rickshaw driver, a graphic designer, a teacher of high-status English, and a domestic worker. Drawing from over thirty years of fieldwork, she considers how class is determined by both subjective perceptions and objective conditions, documenting Madurai residents’ palpable day-to-day experiences of class while also tracking their long-term impacts. By analyzing the intertwined symbolic and economic importance of phenomena like wedding ceremonies, religious practices, philanthropy, and loan arrangements, Dickey’s study reveals the material consequences of local class identities. Simultaneously, this gracefully written book highlights the poignant drive for dignity in the face of moralizing class stereotypes. Through extensive interviews, Dickey scrutinizes the idioms and commonplaces used by residents to justify class inequality and, occasionally, to subvert it. Along the way, Living Class in Urban India reveals the myriad ways that class status is interpreted and performed, embedded in everything from cell phone usage to religious worship.