The Age of Kali
Encyclopedia
The Age of Kali is a 1998 travel book by William Dalrymple. The book's theme is trouble in the Indian subcontinent
and the Hindu belief in a time called the Kali Yuga
when many problems will come to exist in the world.
The book gives an overview of many of the top controversies in the region at the time of publication, including interviews with players in those events.
of Madurai
.)
.
It deals with many controversial subjects such as Sati
, the caste
wars in India, political corruption and terrorism.
includes discussions of the 13 February 1992 massacre of high caste people by low caste people in Barra, Bihar; the arrest and political style of Anand Mohan Singh
; violence in Patna; and a profile of and interview with Laloo Prasad Yadav.
; the general decline of Lucknow; the poet Mir Taqi Mir
; the palace Dilkusha
; and the Tawaif
(courtesan) subculture. Interviews with Mustaq Naqvi, an elderly poet and Suleiman Mahmudabad, an elderly literati, lead the narrative.
discusses the lives of widows who retire there and corruption in the systems for providing aid to widows.
and discussions of Jai Vilas Mahal
and the Babri Mosque
.
. It goes on to describe the British legacy in Indian education and gives some anecdotes about the University of Lucknow
's student union organizing protection rackets
.
, the social worker charged by the government to report child marriage
in her area, and who claimed to be gang raped in retaliation. It also includes interviews with people who say that she was not raped.
student Rajiv Goswami
's self immolation
in response to V. P. Singh
's 1990 implementation of the Mandal Commission
recommendations for making reservations
for Dalits and further discusses caste politics
in general.
, the 18-year old female who died in 1996 during sati
on her dead husband's funeral pyre. The author interviews people in Deorala
and gives an overview of the 19th century history of the practice of sati.
. It also describes India's music industry and discusses Remo Fernandes
, STAR TV network
, the success of the soundtrack to the movie Saajan
.
The second part discusses sexuality in the Indian media and contains an interview of Shobhaa De, the author who writes erotica novels wherein female characters seek sexual encounters in Mumbai. It also reviews the Mumbai high-society party scene.
's India presence, modern culture of the rich in Bangalore
, foreign trade
, and the controversy about Bangalore's hosting Miss World 1996
. The author interviews Professor M. D. Nanjundaswamy
, president of the Karnataka State Farmer's Association
, about globalization.
and this chapter discusses the history of the region and how in modern times educated people became more respectful of the faith. The chapter also discusses a 300BCE document called Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
, the epic poem Silappatikaram, and the Meenakshi Amman Temple
.
and also talks about present-day local black magic practices. The author compares the old State of Hyderabad to Ruritania
.
, takes the author on a tour of Chottanikkara
where they discuss the motives of people's worship of Parashakti.
in Goa
as he interviews an elderly Goan aristocratic woman named Donna Georgina. Donna Georgina discusses two invasions of Goa - the 1961 Indian annexation of Goa and the migration of Western hippies
as tourists to their beaches.
and interviews members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
. Particular focus is given to the female contingent, the Freedom Birds, the youth, the rank systems, and their military camps. The author interviews Anton Balasingham
and other LTTE members at a time when the Indian Peace Keeping Force
is leaving Sri Lanka
.
and the people's local belief in the spiritual power associated with his grave. The author writes on the Frenchness of Réunion
and its mix with Indian culture. A story of Saint Expeditus
is given.
. The first one in 1989 is when Khan is a star player on the Pakistan national cricket team and the second is when Khan founds the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
.
s to tribesmen but previously supplied participants in the Afghan civil war and other military actions. He visits Kohtal
and surveys the opium trade there. He gives the history of the Greek ruins in Gandhara
where Alexander the Great lived in the area 2300 years prior.
employee about his experience during the Partition of India
. Further discussion about the Partition follows.
and Nusrat Bhutto
at her separate homes. He gives a description of their homes and recounts parts of their biographies. Mills & Boon
refers to a series of romance novels which Benazir Bhutto enjoyed.
said that "Dalrymple has become a kind of Uberjournalist who has superseded Mark Tully
as the voice of India and this book collects 19 essays on places and people located on or near the Indian subcontinent."
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
and the Hindu belief in a time called the Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
when many problems will come to exist in the world.
The book gives an overview of many of the top controversies in the region at the time of publication, including interviews with players in those events.
Publication
Dalrymple's fourth book, The Age of Kali (1998), saw him return to the subject of India. It was released in India renamed as At the Court of the Fish-Eyed Goddess (ISBN 8172233329). (The "fish eyed goddess" refers to the Goddess MeenakshiMeenakshi
Minakshi is an Avatar of the Hindu Goddess Parvati - and consort of Shiva - who is worshipped mainly by South Indians. She is also one of the few Hindu female deities to have a major temple devoted to her - the far famed Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu...
of Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
.)
Synopsis by chapter
The book is a collection of essays collected through almost a decade of travel around the Indian subcontinentIndian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
.
It deals with many controversial subjects such as Sati
Sati (practice)
For other uses, see Sati .Satī was a religious funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion would have immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...
, the caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
wars in India, political corruption and terrorism.
The Age of Kali: Patna, 1997
This chapter on PatnaPatna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
includes discussions of the 13 February 1992 massacre of high caste people by low caste people in Barra, Bihar; the arrest and political style of Anand Mohan Singh
Anand Mohan Singh
Anand Mohan Singh is a politician from village- panchgachiya, dist- saharsa,Bihar, India. Lok Sabha. He is the founder of the Bihar People's Party and was also a member of the Janata Dal...
; violence in Patna; and a profile of and interview with Laloo Prasad Yadav.
In the Kingdom of Avadh: Lucknow, 1998
This chapter includes a discussion of the culture of 19th century LucknowLucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
; the general decline of Lucknow; the poet Mir Taqi Mir
Mir Taqi Mir
Khuda-e-sukhan Mir Taqi Mir , whose real name was Muhammad Taqi and takhallus was Mir , was the leading Urdu poet of the 18th century, and one of the pioneers who gave shape to the Urdu language itself...
; the palace Dilkusha
Dilkusha
Dilkusha is a residential colony in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, India. Near the banks of the River Gomti, the colony has been the residence of government officials for more than a hundred years. Dilkusha is situated 4 km from Hazrat Gunj in central Lucknow, and is close to...
; and the Tawaif
Tawaif
A tawaif was a courtesan who catered to the nobility of South Asia, particularly during the era of the Mughal Empire.The tawaifs contributed to music, dance, theatre, film, and the Urdu literary tradition.-History:...
(courtesan) subculture. Interviews with Mustaq Naqvi, an elderly poet and Suleiman Mahmudabad, an elderly literati, lead the narrative.
The City of Widows: Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, 1997
This chapter on VrindavanVrindavan
Vrindavan also known as Vraj is a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India...
discusses the lives of widows who retire there and corruption in the systems for providing aid to widows.
Warrior Queen: Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, 1993
This chapter on Gwalior includes an interview with Vijayaraje ScindiaVijayaraje Scindia
Vijayaraje Scindia born Lekha Divyeshwari and until 1970 styled the Rajmata of Gwalior, was a prominent Indian political personality. In the days of the British Raj, as consort of the last ruling Maharaja of Gwalior, she ranked among the highest royal figures of the land...
and discussions of Jai Vilas Mahal
Jai Vilas Mahal
Jai Vilas Mahal, the current residence of the Scindia family is an Italianate structure combining the Tuscan and Corinthian architectural modes. About 35 of the rooms have been converted into the Scindia Museum. The main durbar hall is impressive. The Jai Vilas Palace is an opulent Italianate...
and the Babri Mosque
Babri Mosque
The Babri Mosque , was a mosque in Ayodhya, a city in the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh, on Ramkot Hill . It was destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people, despite a commitment to the Indian Supreme Court by the rally organisers that the mosque...
.
East of Eton: Lucknow, 1997
This chapter includes a description of the 1997 murder of an instructor in Lucknow's La Martiniere CollegeLa Martiniere College
La Martiniere is a non-denominational public school in India and in France .La Martiniere Schools were founded posthumously by Major General Claude Martin in the early 19th century. Martin had acquired a large fortune while serving the Nawab of Awadh Asaf-ud-Daula and bequeathed a major part of...
. It goes on to describe the British legacy in Indian education and gives some anecdotes about the University of Lucknow
University of Lucknow
The University of Lucknow is a university in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is affiliated to University Grants Commission; Association of Commonwealth Universities ; Association of Indian Universities ; Distance Education Council...
's student union organizing protection rackets
Protection racket
A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual coerces a victim to pay money, supposedly for protection services against violence or property damage. Racketeers coerce reticent potential victims into buying "protection" by demonstrating what will happen if they...
.
The sad tale of Bahveri Devi: Batteri, Jaipur, 1994
The chapter includes an interview with Bhanwari DeviBhanwari Devi
Bhanwari Devi is an Indian woman, whose alleged gang rape in 1992 and the subsequent court case attracted widespread media attention nationally and internationally.- Biography :...
, the social worker charged by the government to report child marriage
Child marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...
in her area, and who claimed to be gang raped in retaliation. It also includes interviews with people who say that she was not raped.
Caste wars: Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 1990
The chapter gives the story of the BrahminBrahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
student Rajiv Goswami
Rajiv Goswami
Rajiv Goswami was a former commerce student at the Deshbandhu College, Delhi University student who had attempted self-immolation to protest against V.P. Singh's implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations...
's self immolation
Immolation
Immolation, from Latin immolare, "to sacrifice", originally "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal" , in modern English since the 16th century may refer to:* Fire sacrifice** Holocaust * Cremation...
in response to V. P. Singh
V. P. Singh
Vishwanath Pratap Singh was the seventh Prime Minister of India and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda.-Early life:...
's 1990 implementation of the Mandal Commission
Mandal commission
The Mandal Commission was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward." It was headed by Indian parliamentarian Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal to consider the question of seat...
recommendations for making reservations
Reservation in India
Reservation in India is a form of affirmative action designed to improve the well being of socially backward and underrepresented communities of citizens in India. There are laws in place, wherein a certain percentage of total available slots in Jobs and Education are set aside for people from...
for Dalits and further discusses caste politics
Caste politics in India
The politics of India, in various levels, has been influenced by the prevailing caste system in the country. The caste system is essentially a five-tier social standing apparatus that comes from Hindu culture. At the top of the social hierarchy are the Brahmins, who are typically priests. At the...
in general.
Sati Mata: Deorala, Jaipur, 1997
The chapter talks about Roop KanwarRoop Kanwar
Roop Kanwar was an 18-year old Rajput woman who committed sati on 4 September 1987 at Deorala village of Sikar district in Rajasthan, India. At the time of her death, she had been married for eight months to Maal Singh Shekhawat, who had died a day earlier at age 24, and had no children.Several...
, the 18-year old female who died in 1996 during sati
Sati (practice)
For other uses, see Sati .Satī was a religious funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion would have immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...
on her dead husband's funeral pyre. The author interviews people in Deorala
Deorala
Deorala is a village in the Sikar district of Rajasthan, India.Deorala is a village in Shekhawati region. It is located near Amarsar which was the capital of Maharao Shekhaji, ancientor of all Shekhawat rajputs....
and gives an overview of the 19th century history of the practice of sati.
Two Bombay Portraits: Bombay 1993 and 1992
This chapter has two parts. The first part discusses the work of Indian rapper Baba SehgalBaba Sehgal
Baba Sehgal, a Khatri Sikh, is an Indian rapper and actor. Brought up in Lucknow, he was famous in the mid 1990s. He is credited as the first Indian rapper to jump on the Indipop bandwagon, and released an album which got frequent airplay on MTV India...
. It also describes India's music industry and discusses Remo Fernandes
Remo Fernandes
Luís Remo de Maria Bernardo Fernandes, more popularly known as Remo Fernandes is a pop/rock/Indian fusion artist and playback singer from the state of Goa, India. His musical work is a fusion of many different cultures and styles he's been exposed to as a child in Goa and in his later travels...
, STAR TV network
STAR (India)
Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with regional offices in cities Delhi and Chennai....
, the success of the soundtrack to the movie Saajan
Saajan
Saajan is a 1991 Hindi film directed by Lawrence D'Souza and starring Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, and Salman Khan. It was released on 30 August, 1991....
.
The second part discusses sexuality in the Indian media and contains an interview of Shobhaa De, the author who writes erotica novels wherein female characters seek sexual encounters in Mumbai. It also reviews the Mumbai high-society party scene.
Bangalore and the Fast-Food Invaders: Bangalore, 1997
The theme of this chapter is the intervention of globalization into the lives of poor people in India. It starts with an anecdote about 200 farmers from rural Bangalore ransacking a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in the city on account of it being non-Indian and for serving meet. Other topics discussed include CargillCargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
's India presence, modern culture of the rich in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, foreign trade
Foreign trade of India
Foreign trade in India includes all imports and exports to and from India. At the level of Central Government it is administered by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry-Around 100CE:...
, and the controversy about Bangalore's hosting Miss World 1996
Miss World 1996
Miss World 1996, the 46th Miss World pageant took place on November 23, 1996 in the city of Bangalore, India. 88 contestants from all over the world took part in the prestigious pageant...
. The author interviews Professor M. D. Nanjundaswamy
M. D. Nanjundaswamy
Prof. Mahantha Devaru Nanjundaswamy was an Indian rural activist and anti-globalisation campaign leader. As president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha he led campaigns against agricultural patenting by multinational companies, which he called "Western biopiracy".-Background and...
, president of the Karnataka State Farmer's Association
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha
Karnataka Rajya Rayot Sangha, also known as KRRS or the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, is a farmer's movement. M. D. Nanjundaswamy was the president of the organisation. It came to lime light for its opposition to KFC shops in Bangalore in the 1990s. They are in the forefront of fighting...
, about globalization.
At the Court of the Fish-eyed Goddess: Madurai 1998
Minakshi is the Fish-eyed Goddess worshipped in MaduraiMadurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
and this chapter discusses the history of the region and how in modern times educated people became more respectful of the faith. The chapter also discusses a 300BCE document called Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea or Periplus of the Red Sea is a Greco-Roman periplus, written in Greek, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and India...
, the epic poem Silappatikaram, and the Meenakshi Amman Temple
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple or Tiru-alavai is a historic Hindu temple located in the south side of river Vaigai in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India...
.
Under the Char Minar: Hyderabad, 1998
The chapter is guided by an interview with Mir Moazam Husain, grandson of Fakrool Mulk, who was Deputy Prime Minister of the Nizam's last government in Hyderabad and a building enthusiast. Mir Husain recounts Operation PoloOperation Polo
Operation Polo code name for The Hyderabad Police Action was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces engaged those of the State of Hyderabad and ended the rule of Nizam, annexing the state into the Indian Union....
and also talks about present-day local black magic practices. The author compares the old State of Hyderabad to Ruritania
Ruritania
Ruritania is a fictional country in central Europe which forms the setting for three books by Anthony Hope: The Prisoner of Zenda , The Heart of Princess Osra , and Rupert of Hentzau...
.
Parashakti: Cochin, 1993
Venugopal, a retired engineer of the Kerala State Electricity BoardKerala State Electricity Board
Kerala State Electricity Board is a public sector agency under the Government of Kerala, India, that generates and distributes the electricity supply in the state...
, takes the author on a tour of Chottanikkara
Chottanikkara
Chottanikkara is a town panchayat situated in Ernakulam District, Kerala, India. Chottanikkara panchayat consists of Chottanikkara town, Kanayannur, Eruvely, Kureekkad, Vattukkunnu, Palace Square and Kottayathupara. Chottanikkara is also a part of urban agglomeration of City of Cochin.The famous...
where they discuss the motives of people's worship of Parashakti.
At Donna Georgina's: Fort Aguada, Goa, 1993
The chapter gives an introduction to Portuguese colonizationPortuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
as he interviews an elderly Goan aristocratic woman named Donna Georgina. Donna Georgina discusses two invasions of Goa - the 1961 Indian annexation of Goa and the migration of Western hippies
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
as tourists to their beaches.
Up the Tiger Path: Jaffna, Srik Lanka, 1990
The author goes to JaffnaJaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
and interviews members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
. Particular focus is given to the female contingent, the Freedom Birds, the youth, the rank systems, and their military camps. The author interviews Anton Balasingham
Anton Balasingham
Anton Stanislaus Balasingham was the chief political strategist and chief negotiator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam a militant organization...
and other LTTE members at a time when the Indian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990...
is leaving Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
The Sorcerer's Grave: Saint-Denis, Réunion, 1998
The chapter gives the story of Olivier LevasseurOlivier Levasseur
Olivier Levasseur , was a pirate, nicknamed La Buse or La Bouche in his early days, called thus because of the speed and ruthlessness with which he always attacked his enemies.-History:...
and the people's local belief in the spiritual power associated with his grave. The author writes on the Frenchness of Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and its mix with Indian culture. A story of Saint Expeditus
Expeditus
Information concerning Saint Expeditus can be found only in martyrologies, so precise details about his existence cannot be obtained.From the Geronimian Martyrology:...
is given.
Imran Khan - Out for a Duck: Lahore, 1989 and 1996
There are two parts in this chapter and each one contains an interview of Imran KhanImran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
. The first one in 1989 is when Khan is a star player on the Pakistan national cricket team and the second is when Khan founds the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is "Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem".-Founding:...
.
On the Frontier: Peshawar, 1989
The author visits the Northwest Frontier, known today as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and interviews a proprietor of a military supplies shop which then sold AK-47AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s to tribesmen but previously supplied participants in the Afghan civil war and other military actions. He visits Kohtal
Kohtal
Kohtal, is a geographic location near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.-Role in the Opium trade:...
and surveys the opium trade there. He gives the history of the Greek ruins in Gandhara
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
where Alexander the Great lived in the area 2300 years prior.
Blood on the Tracks: Lahore, 1997
The author talks with a retired Pakistan RailwaysPakistan Railways
This article is about the rail company in Pakistan. For technical details and operations see: Transport in Pakistan.Pakistan Railways is a national state-owned rail transport service of Pakistan, head-quartered in Lahore. It is administered by the federal government under the Ministry of Railways....
employee about his experience during the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
. Further discussion about the Partition follows.
Benazir Bhutto - Mills & Boon in Karachi: Karachi, 1994
The author interviews Benazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
and Nusrat Bhutto
Nusrat Bhutto
Begum Nusrat Bhutto was an Iranian-Pakistani who was the wife of the 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, serving as the First Lady of Pakistan during his premiership from 1971 until Bhutto's removal in 1977. She became her husband's successor as the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples...
at her separate homes. He gives a description of their homes and recounts parts of their biographies. Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon is a British publisher of romance novels. It was founded in 1908, and was independent until its purchase in 1971 by Harlequin Enterprises with whom the company had had a long informal partnership...
refers to a series of romance novels which Benazir Bhutto enjoyed.
Reviews
In reviewing this book Robert TwiggerRobert Twigger
Robert Twigger is a British poet, writer and explorer. He lives in Cairo, Egypt.-Life:Twigger was educated at Balliol College, Oxford University. He first began to study engineering, but after six weeks switched to politics, philosophy and economics. His attendance record was poor, and he left...
said that "Dalrymple has become a kind of Uberjournalist who has superseded Mark Tully
Mark Tully
Sir William "Mark" Tully, OBE is the former Chief of Bureau, BBC, New Delhi. He worked for BBC for a period of 30 years before resigning in July 1994. He held the position of Chief of Bureau, BBC, Delhi for 20 years. Since 1994 he has been working as a freelance journalist and broadcaster based in...
as the voice of India and this book collects 19 essays on places and people located on or near the Indian subcontinent."