Thought-provoking and funny

Sanjeev Bhaskar makes a wonderful guide to contemporary India and Pakistan - with personal anecdotes (both amusing and touching), vivid descriptions, and thought-provoking dips into some of the most interesting parts of India’s recent history, this is an extremely enjoyable listen for anyone interested in India, its people, Sanjeev’s personal journey, or indeed simply a compellingly interesting travelogue!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Painting pictures with words

I loved this audiobook. I really wanted the book for the pictures but also wanted to listen when I am dog walking. I need not have worried, the scenes described by Sanjeev are just magical. I loved the juxtaposition of his familiarity with India on the one hand and being a fish out of water at other. He doesn’t shy away from the awful poverty and brings notes of optimism for the new India too. I learned a great deal and his obvious love and enthusiasm for India just shone through. The delivery is just perfect.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

India, as it is really!

I listen to audiobooks to help sleep and this actually kept me wide awake!, I didn't want to stop listening. It's an enthralling journey into the real India with all its beauty amidst the smell and the poverty and the huge divides between rich, poor and very poor. It is brought alive by the interesting and eccentric characters that are unique to every country. It's not a tourists guide but a journey back to a homeland, with all the mixed emotions that can bring. The descriptions are vivid and take you on the journey via your imagination. Sanjeev Baskar's voice is also very easy to listen to which just makes the experience all that much better. (Nothing worse than a voice on an audiotape that you don't get on with) I loved it and will do what I hardly ever do which is listen to it again and again.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Ok

very middle of the road. some interesting parts, but not something to get stuck into

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sweet taste of India

Bhaskar takes us on a whirlwind trip across India, visiting poor and rich alike with equal attention and interest. India or rather Pakistan was the country of his forbears and clearly India is a place he has much love for. He has a great eye and ear for humour and gently lampoons some of the people he encounters in a very British but kindly way. Uppermost in his mind is the terrible violence that erupted between religious communities when the British withdrew. Its a subject he handles tactfully and compassionately, without shirking the terrible facts of the tragedy.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Interesting

I was curious to listen to his personal views as he visited various places. It gave a good overview. I didn't get to watch the documentary.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Excellent

Sanjeev Bhaskar skillfully addresses India's complexities with humour and sensitivity - his rare gift. A great insight to one of the most complex countries.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Decent, but limited

This is a fairly interesting series of snapshots of India - narrating Sanjeev's travels while making a TV documentary. I listened to it while travelling India and it helped me build a mental picture of many different parts of India - from Bangalore to Rajasthan.

The limitation is that it's very heavily based on Sanjeev's itinerary, and given that he has not lived in India for a significant period of time this leaves the picture of India which emerges from this audiobook feeling rather skin-deep. For example, its depictions of the role of caste in Indian society, the lives of the rural poor and the causes of the Gaujerat violence are all extremely high-level. Therefore while this was a pleasant listen I didn't take too much away from it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Gentle Introduction to the Subcontinent

A lovely listen that uses a journey to the author's family roots in Pakistan via India (originally a BBC TV programme) as the framework upon which to hang his personal experiences and reflections in various states, cities and towns. On the way he tells stories from his suburban London childhood as the offspring of immigrants.



Sanjeev Bhaskar's tone is intimate and his approach is open-hearted. He tells his tale with humour and affection and one feels that he is capturing the true, ordinary person's experience of partition as well as that of modern India.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Poignant, Beautifully Read, Intoxicating

I listened through this book within a couple of days, so enchanted I was by the descriptions of each place Bhaskar visited in this trip. I know India well and often found myself laughing out loud on the tube (which, with Noise cancelling headphones means I sounded totally nuts) at some of the voices & descriptions that it felt I was back in India travelling with him and "The Crew". It's a lovely book and he reads his own words so wonderfully you will adore this book, especially the parts where he travels to his Father's ancestral village. I also love the way historical context is placed within personal journey - all the while giving deeper context for the horror of partition and what the reality really was for every day folk in India. Worth every penny.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!