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Books to Read before Going to India First Time
Before we take off on an excursion, we want to read a couple of books and watch movies about that place. At times its useful, as was the situation in reading Eat Pray Love before we headed out to Bali (we managed to find the famous fortune-teller), in some cases it leads false desires and expectations (let’s not discuss that), however in any case, it at least helps to address that obsession each voyager has in front of an excursion.
There is no better approach to get energized and prepared for an adventure in new country than by immersing yourself in a novel based there. With regards to India there is an extraordinary selection out there to provide for you a little understanding into what’s to come.
Also Read: India Travel Guide – 25 Ultimate Things to Know Before Going
The Perfect India Packing List – 100 Travel Essentials for India
To help you figure out what to read ahead of your next trip to India, here is the list of 14 books to read before going to India.
1. Freedom at Midnight – Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre
A chronicled record of the Indian Independence development in 1947 and 1948. It starts with the appointment of Lord Mountbatten of Burma as the last Viceroy and finishes up with the passing of Mahatma Gandhi.
2. Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts
The story of an Australian outlaw who escapes to India and his encounters in the nation from the Mumbai slums, to remote towns and Arthur Road Prison.Almost as thick as the Lonely Planet Guidebook, this novel is the must read for people coming to India.
3. The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
The 1998 Man Booker Prize victor is the story of twins, Rahel and Estha, in 1969 and amid times of political agitation in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
4. The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga
The introduction novel by Adiga won the 2008 Man Booker Prize talks about a poor town kid, Balram Halwai, as he voyages to Delhi and onto Bangalore. At the point when winning the prestigious award Adiga remarked his book was an “endeavor to get the voice of the men you meet as you go through India — the voice of the huge underclass.”
5. A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
Set in a free India Seth’s novel takes after four families and the mission for Lata to discover a “suitable kid” to wed. The story unfolds in Calcutta, Delhi, Kanpur and numerous other Indian urban communities.
6. Karma Cola – Gita Mehta
This book amusingly and critically shows the social impact as India searches to the West for innovation and advanced techniques, and the West plunges upon India looking for insight and illumination.
7. India After Gandhi – Ramachandra Guha
The History of the World’s Largest Democracy begins when the country picked up freedom in 1947.
8. Siddhartha – Herman Hesse
A 1922 novel, by German author Hesse, is around a spiritual voyage of self-revelation. Siddhartha leaves his family and his turbulent voyage to illumination.
9. Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India – William Dalrymple
Dalrymple recounts the story on nine distinctive individuals, from a Buddhist Monk to a jail superintendent in Kerala to a goat-herd in Rajastan, who each one lead an alternate religious life in present day India.
10. Around India in 80 Trains – Monisha Rajesh
English writer Monisha joined with her Indian legacy by bringing a voyage around the nation on trains, extending from the rich to the suburbanite to even a toy train.
11. Never mind the Bullocks: One girl’s 10,000 km adventure around India in the worlds cheapest car – Vanessa Able
Able takes the world’s least expensive car (a Tata Nano) on a 10,000km trip around India, taking direction from a guru and a driving educator.
12. Two States – Chetan Bhagat
What happens when a boy and girl from two different states fall in love and plan to marry?
Of course, their parents don’t agree. To convert their love story into a love marriage, the couple have a tough battle in front of them. For it is easy to fight and rebel, but it is much harder to persuade. Will they make it?
13. Holy Cow by Sarah Mcdonald
A comedy tale of one Aussie expat’s experience of living in India. Sarah moved from Sydney to New Delhi after her boyfriend was posted there for work despite the fact that she had pledged after backpacking there a decade earlier she would never return. She has a considerable measure to learn; from managing the servants to celebrating with Indian glitterati. A lighter look at life in modern Indian times.
14. Eat Pray, Love: Elizabeth Gilbert
One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia is a 2006 journal by American creator Elizabeth Gilbert. The journal narratives the creator’s excursion far and wide after her divorce and what she found amid her ventures. The book stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 187 weeks.
So this was the list of our favorite 14 India books to read before your next trip.
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