Those who follow the author, Anand Ranganathan, on Twitter know he's one of the smartest and wittiest persons around. His erudite views on almost any topic under the sun are impressive. And he's a scientist!
I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I picked it up. The blurb is interesting - it mentions the Indian empire and the small colony of England. The book reimagines colonialism as Indians having taken over England and a few other European countries. It elaborates the insecurities 'white men' go through when they come across 'brown men'; something people in India and other colonies can identify with, I reckon.
The book starts off a little slowly but then it really picks up pace as it takes us through the arrival of a 17-year-old Maharaja in London and how the 'white men' prepare for it. There are some super descriptions of the various outfits worn by the Indians including Kanjivaram silk saris and dhotis and the delicious food including kakori kababs and bhindi nayantara to be washed down with rasams and lassis. It then tells us how Jack Riley, the mayor of Dover, is punished by being posted as the assistant to the district magistrate of Dhobipur, Uttar Pradesh.
Part 2 of the book has some lovely and vivid descriptions of Mumba Devi, Imperial India's largest city and the world's busiest harbour. Jack is impressed at the Mumba Central station whose 'large marble tiles had a few intonations from the Vedas'. As Jack takes the train to Delhi, the capital of the world, he thought the whole landscape seemed 'so well lit for the benefit of the train passengers so that thy could stand open mouthed and marvel at the splendour of the largest metropolis in the world'.
Though the blurb calls it an allegorical work, a black comedy, I would call it an utopian work - a what-if kind of book which lays before us a mirror image of the British colonialism especially over India. I have several questions about how could we let the British rule over us; this book only aggravates them. My only grouse - the book ends quite abruptly. My only hope - it's Book 1 of The White Mahatma quartet, so maybe the other three books will be published soon.
Some quotes/sentences/references that stayed with me:
Evening winds had brushed past a thousand chimes at a temple entrance.
The cruel fate, as happens more often that not, did intervene.
We forever crave for that thrill, that kick that we get when we admire something for the first time.
And all it took was a century and a half of Indian rule.
Thank the mighty lord Jesus Christ their saviour, and those few who had been lured into conversion, Bhagwaan Sri Krishna.
They were just empty barren lands inhabited by savage people who did not know the difference between a stone and a sculpture.
Last but not the least there's a passing reference to Karna (from the Mahabharata). I am fascinated with Karna for a very long time and his mention was just the icing on the cake.
Read this book to get a sense of the view from the other side. I highly recommend it.
