Facebook Pixel Code

The highs and highs of India

Making a list of 100 top wonders in India would be a cinch. Or so you would think, till you actually sit down to make one. Spoilt for riches, the inevitable question of selection throws in its ugly head.

Making a list of 100 top wonders in India would be a cinch. Or so you would think, till you actually sit down to make one. Spoilt for riches, the inevitable question of selection throws in its ugly head.

100 Wonders of India, possibly catering more to an international audience, but could inform most Indians as well. The book is divided into two sections ? manmade and natural. The divide gets blurred when Puducherry (Pondichery to the uninitiated) figures in the natural section for ?exuding Sri Aurobindo?s spiritual philosophy? (definitely man made ? we even know the man responsible) while Ajmer?s dargah or the tree at Bodh Gaya, chosen for similar spiritual reasons, come in the man-made! As does the ?cone of ice? in Amarnath (surely not man-made, though man may cause it to disappear soon).

But some of the choices are definitely worth every mention, especially as they go well beyond both India?s urbanscapes and off the beaten tracks to get little known gems in. Get acquainted with the Toda settlements, well-matched to their Nilgiri Hills homes, the unique waterscapes of Loktak Lak, Rajasthan?s Kheechan village ? home to multitudes of demoiselle cranes, the high road from Manali to Leh (surely man made, though it figures in the other section) or the tropical wonders in Arunachal?s Namdapha.

Production qualities add to the book?s attraction, and while possible omissions of your favourites may make you fume, this is still a good starting point to see a lot of the India that lies beyond the beaten track.


Not all of Mumbai?s multi-hued layers find space here

After a slew of literary heavyweights chronicling Bombay in the recent past, here comes another look at the ?city on the edge?. A look primarily through the prism of visuals and montages. In layouts that juxtapose photographs of the city with pop art, almost to justify the name of the book, Mumbai Masti. This coffee-table book presents a colourful m?lange of the city, literally as psychedelic pink flowers and arabesque motifs add hues to the already rich paraphernalia of the city.

The visuals are varied, accentuating the city?s best-known aspects ? life on the street, Bollywood, the chaos of its communications lifelines, the clashing, coexisting religious overtones. And they largely cater to the western notion of ?exotic? ? paanwalas, BEST buses in labyrinthine jams and jam-packed suburban trains, movie poster, Haji Ali, dabbawalas? The images reinforce the already set image of the city ? though the wall mural on pages 50-51 and a black and white shot of what is probably a railway platform however stands out. The photos are only occasionally helped by the artwork. And not all have captions, nor a date, which would have certainly helped.

?Bombay wears and speaks the latest cool. In the room the women come and go, wearing Valentino and mouthing the newest lingo from Vogue and Cosmo. It was the first to learn the phrase ?walk the talk?. And the Bombabe talks it and walks it best. With buttered tone and toned butt.? With that tone going right through the text, it can be a tiring read. There seems to be little effort to capture the soul of the city. Or even explore the new directions where the city seems to be headed.

?ST

Get live Share Market updates, Stock Market Quotes, and the latest India News and business news on Financial Express. Download the Financial Express App for the latest finance news.

First published on: 10-02-2008 at 23:23 IST
Market Data
Market Data
Today’s Most Popular Stories ×