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KLMNO RELIGION REVIEW BY MARIE ARANA The land of gods and goddesses
NINE LIVES In Search of the Sacred In Modern India By William Dalrymple Knopf. 276 pp. $26.95
T
hree years ago, Goldman Sachs predicted that In- dia’s gross national output would quadruple in 10 years and, by 2050, over-
take that of the United States. Today, India is on the verge of besting Ja- pan to become the world’s third- largest economic power. According to the CIA, whether you count peo- ple or workers or billable cellphones, India is second only to China. Which is why, despite staggering poverty — the average annual income is $1,040 —its consumption of cars and crude oil promises to soar to unimaginable magni- tudes.
So much for the arithmetic. But what is India,
elogue, part reportage, part anthro- pology, the book hews to a theme that has long fascinated Dalrymple: how cultures in peril survive. It’s a subject he knows well. A resident of India and England, he is the author of a number of notable books on his- tory and travel, among them: “City of Djinns,” a delightfully entertaining narrative of New Delhi; “The Last Mughal,” about the British in 19th- century South Asia; and “From the Holy Mountain,” which recounts a 6th-century trip through Byzantium. In this book, however, Dalrymple
exactly? Who are its people? It is certainly not the monolithic nation the British once wanted us to be- lieve it was. Nor is it the sea of mutually hostile Hindus and Muslims that contemporary historians so often describe. As William Dalrymple shows in his strikingly colorful new book, to be Indian is to inhabit a car- nival of strangely colliding worlds, a profusion of identities with sharply defined regional variants. Nowhere is this more evident than in the country’s spiritual life. “While the West often likes to imagine the religions of the East as deep wells of ancient, unchanging wisdom,” Dalrymple writes, “much of India’s religious identity is closely tied to specific social groups, caste practices and father-to-son lineages, all of which are changing very rap- idly.” Bollywood may try to persuade us that the Hindu epics are neatly homogenous — that there is one “ ‘national’ Ramayana myth” — but in reality, Indian legends are in- terpreted in radically different ways depending on where you look in the country. Indeed, the historian Ro- mila Thapar has argued that it is precisely Bollywood’s (or colonial- ism’s) model of “syndicated Hindu- ism” that threatens to drive India’s self-contained cults to extinction. As the country races toward prog- ress and redefinition, its small gods and goddesses stand to be crushed by the “hyper-masculine hero dei- ties” of the big screen. That clash between tradition and momentum is what Dalrymple seeks to capture on these pages. “Nine Lives” is a collection of portraits de- picting nine worshipers who practice wildly different forms of devotion in a vortex of dizzying change. Part trav-
To be Indian is to inhabit a carnival of strangely colliding worlds.
looks at India’s religions through starkly dissimilar lives. In Hari Das, a dancer who is venerated for his skill in impersonating Lord Vishnu, Dalrymple gives us a vivid cameo of the caste system. For nine months of every year, this Dalit — or Untouch- able — is a manual la- borer who digs wells and works as a prison guard. But for three months starting in December, the man is a living god. “We bring blessings to the village and villagers, and exorcise evil spir- its,” the performer ex- plains. “Though we are all Dalits even the
most bigoted and casteist Namboo- diri Brahmins worship us, and queue up to touch our feet.” The spiritual dances he performs are meant to impart Vishnu’s wisdom and inspire the Brahmins to discard their arrogant prejudices, but every March, when the season draws to a close, Hari Das puts away his cos- tume, heads back to the jail and re- enters the rigid, oppressive hier- archy that keeps him in biting pov- erty. There is little chance that his children will want to do the same. Often, as Dalrymple tells tales of religion, it is India’s social structure that emerges in high relief. There is Mohan Bhopa, for instance, a bard and village shaman who, though completely illiterate, is one of the last hereditary singers of the great ancient poem “The Epic of Pabuji.” It takes him five full dawn-to-dusk per- formances to recite the entire work, and there are precious few artists in India who can do it. As Dalrymple makes clear, it is in the hands of these unlettered men that the future of an art form hangs: “The illiterate have a capacity to remember in a way that the literate simply do not,” he writes, and so, with state-man- dated education and progress, the number of singers able to master the 600-year-old work has only dimin- ished. Literacy, in other words, is killing India’s oral traditions. Such paradoxes abound in this book of pilgrimages.
A woman with a tendency to go into frightening trances is beaten by her bewildered husband. She runs away to dedicate herself to the dark,
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4 WEDNESDAY Noon. Anya Jabour discusses and signs her new book, “Topsy-Turvy: How the Civil War Turned the World Upside Down for Southern Children,” at the National Archives, William G. McGowan Theater, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 202-357-5000. 6:45 P.M. Mary Roach, author of the bestselling “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,” reads from and discusses her new book, “Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void,” in conversation with Bill Thompson (host of the Eye on Books Web site) as part of the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program at the S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr. SW. A book signing follows. Tickets are $25 for nonmembers; call 202-633-3030 or visit
www.smithsonianassociates.org. 7 P.M. Jamie Ford reads from his latest novel, “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,” at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 202-364-1919. He will also be speaking
SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, 2010
WASHINGTON BESTSELLERS PAPERBACK
FICTION 1 THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
2 THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE 57
(Vintage, $14.95). By Stieg Larsson. First book in the late Swede’s “Millennium Trilogy”; basis of new film.
18
(Vintage, $15.95). By Stieg Larsson. Sex trafficking between Sweden and Eastern Europe is exposed.
3 LITTLE BEE (Simon & Schuster, $14) 4 SMASH CUT (Pocket, $9.99) 5 9 DRAGONS (Vision, $9.99) 23
By Chris Cleave. This wry second novel from a British journalist explores the state of war and refugees.
1
By Sandra Brown. A publicity-crazed lawyer takes on a case of murder within a wealthy family.
2
By Michael Connelly. The murder of a beloved shop owner has Bosch traveling to Hong Kong to nab a killer.
6 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (Warner, $7.99) 3
(HarperPerennial, $15.99). By Harper Lee. The Pulitzer Prize-winning tale set in the Depression-era South.
7 SCOTT PILGRIM’S FINEST HOUR (Oni, $11.99) 8 UNDER THE DOME (Pocket, $19.99) 1
By Bryan Lee O’Malley. The sixth and final chapter of the indie comic series; soon to be a feature film.
3
By Stephen King. An invisible force field surrounds the Maine hamlet of Chester’s Mill, wreaking havoc.
9 ONE DAY (Vintage, $14.95). By David Nicholls 1
Boy and girl meet, connect but don’t quite get together—told in 24-hour vignettes over 20 years.
10 BEST FRIENDS FOREVER (Washington Square, $15)
By Jennifer Weiner. Two girlfriends, one popular, the other not so much, and the course their lives take.
NONFICTION/GENERAL 1 EAT PRAY LOVE: ONE WOMAN’S SEARCH FOR
2 THREE CUPS OF TEA: ONE MAN’S MISSION
TO PROMOTE PEACE (Griffin, $19.95) By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
3 MYTHS, ILLUSIONS & PEACE: FINDING A NEW 1
DIRECTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST (Penguin, $17). By Dennis Ross and David Makovsky
4 THE OFFICIAL SAT STUDY GUIDE (SECOND EDITION) RAJ PATIDAR/REUTERS
Indian women from the minority Jain community, a wing of Hinduism, dressed as Indranis, wife of the god Indran, at a procession in Bhopal.
tantric goddess Tara, who drinks blood, hoards human skulls and squats on the cremation grounds of Tarapith, one of the most sacred — and terrifying — places in India. A young Jain nun, the daughter of
a wealthy merchant, sweeps the ground before her with a peacock fan to make sure she doesn’t step on a liv- ing creature. Jainism is, we are told, more about a profound divine ab- sence than a presence, and so what must logically follow a life of devotion is a ritual fast to the death, a supreme sacrifice that — as convoluted as this sounds — wrests hope from the face of oblivion. A devadasi (a prostitute and devo- tee of the goddess Yellamma) la- ments her life as a sex worker but revels in the worship of a female dei- ty who has come to mean more to her than her own mother. When the time comes for her teenage daughters to be pledged in service to the goddess,
she doesn’t hesitate, although her faith appears to have brought only suffering. Before long, it brings un- timely death, as each of her daugh- ters succumbs to AIDS. In the end, the array of beliefs in
India is so vast that Dalrymple can- not possibly cover it all. He doesn’t address Christianity, for instance, which has 27 million adherents in India; or Sikhs, who number 22 mil- lion. But, to his credit, he never claims that his purpose is to be ex- haustive, or even representative. His point — which he makes elegantly by quoting many voices — is that, as India hurtles toward modernity, it may be losing some of its soul.
aranam@washpost.com
Marie Arana is a writer at large for The Washington Post and a Kluge Distinguished Scholar at the Library of Congress.
Jonathan Yardley is on vacation.
LITERARY CALENDAR AUGUST 2-5, 2010
2 MONDAY 7 P.M. Investigative journalist Sonia Shah discusses and signs her new book, “The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years,” at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-364-1919.
3 TUESDAY 7 P.M. Ellen Crosby reads from and discusses her new Wine Country mystery, “The Viognier Vendetta,” at Barnes & Noble-Spectrum Center, 1851 Fountain Dr., Reston, Va., 703-437-9490. A book signing follows. She will also read on Friday at 6 p.m. at Books & Crannies, 19 E. Washington St., Middleburg, Va., 540-687-6677. 7 P.M. Kevin Canty reads from and discusses his new novel, “Everything,” at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 202-364-1919.
on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda, Md., 301-654-8664, and again on Friday at 4 p.m. at Books & Crannies, 540-687-6677.
5 THURSDAY 7 P.M. Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor of history and
international relations at Boston University and a retired Army colonel, discusses and signs his new book, “Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War,” at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 202-364-1919.
SPECIAL NOTICES The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia will hold an
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) tutor training workshop, to support volunteers in helping adults understand, speak, read and write English, over the course of three consecutive Saturdays, Aug. 14, 21 and 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day (all sessions are required) at the James Lee Community Center, 2855 Annandale Rd., Falls Church, Va. There is a $40 fee to help defray the cost of books and materials. For details, call 703-237-0866, ext. 111 or visit
www.lcnv.org. The Literacy Council of Montgomery County will hold an orientation session
for volunteers interested in helping adults learn to read, write and speak English on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the Rockville Library, 21 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md. Once volunteers have completed the orientation, they can select a two-part training session that fits their schedules. The next planned workshop will be on Saturday, Sept. 11 and 25, from 10:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. each day, also at the Rockville Library. For complete details, call 301-610-0030, e-mail
info@literacycouncilmcmd.org or visit
www.literacycouncilmcmd.org.
For more literary events, go to
washingtonpost.com/gog/ and search “book event.” 5 MY HORIZONTAL LIFE: A COLLECTION OF 11
ONE-NIGHT STANDS (Bloomsbury, $14.95) By Chelsea Handler. A litany of assignations.
6 HOW TO READ LITERATURE LIKE A PROFESSOR: 4
A LIVELY AND ENTERTAINING GUIDE TO READING . . . (Harper, $13.99). By Thomas C. Foster
7 MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS: A MEMOIR 8 TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE (Broadway, $13.95) 9 SCHOLASTIC SUCCESS WITH 1ST GRADE THINKING (Back Bay, $15.99)
By Mitch Albom. The sportswriter chronicles an emotional reunion with his mentor.
5
WORKBOOK (Teaching Resources, $16.99) By Jon Buller. Tackling the three R’s in grade school.
10 BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT By Malcolm Gladwell. Behind our snap decisions.
75
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended July 25, 2010. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright © 2010 by Nielsen BookScan. (The right-hand column of numbers represents weeks on this list, which premiered in Book World on Jan. 11, 2004. The bestseller lists in print alternate between hardcover and paperback; the complete list can be found online.)
6
Hardback Bestsellers at
voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm
14
OF GOING HOME (Holt, $14). By Rhoda Janzen Coping, all at once, with a stray husband and car crash.
27 34
(College Board, $21.99). This revised manual offers 10 practice tests and loads of tips.
138
EVERYTHING ACROSS ITALY, INDIA AND INDONESIA (Penguin, $15). By Elizabeth Gilbert. Forthcoming film.
167 9
WEDNESDAY IN STYLE: Lily King
LAURA LEWIS
BOOK WORLD THIS WEEK
COMING IN STYLE
MONDAY | Justin Peacock’s Blind Man’s Alley and Timothy Hallinan’s The Queen of Patpong are thrillers with panoramic views of New York and Bangkok, respectively.
TUESDAY | Set in the 2020s, Rick Moody’s new novel, The Four Fingers of Death, centers on the adventures of a
hack writer.
WEDNESDAY | In her moving novel Father of the Rain, Lily King depicts a daughter coping with her alcoholic dad. Jazz and thefts abound in Give + Take, a novel by Stona Fitch. And For Young Readers.
THURSDAY | Tom Grimes’s memoir Mentor describes the anxiety produced by being anointed the golden boy at a prestigious writing program.
FRIDAY | Set in 1903, The Doctor and the Diva, by Adrienne McDonnell, is a novel about a rising opera singer who wants more than anything else to become a mother.
SATURDAY | In Lauren Belfer’s compelling novel A Fierce Radiance, the characters are caught up in a race to
mass-produce penicillin for use in World War II.
voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm
6
Read our blog, Political Bookworm, which focuses on books that stir the national political conversation.
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