Book Review: Holy Cow by Sarah Macdonald

Title: Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure

Author: Sarah Macdonald

Publisher: Bantam Books (Random House)

Pages: 320

Price: Rs 375

Genre: Non Fiction / Travel / Memoir

Rating: 8/10

Format: Paperback

I first read ‘Holy Cow’ in 2006 or 2007. It was interesting to look at Indian diversity and idiosyncrasies through the eyes of an outsider who wanted to make sense of the chaos. I loved it. But in order to appreciate this book, you must have the ability to laugh at India’s eccentricities. It is one of the very few books which I have re-read and enjoyed.

Sarah Macdonald, an Australian journalist, broadcaster and presenter, did not like India on her first visit and never wanted to return. But she returns to India after almost 11 years to be with her boyfriend Jonathan Haley. “Holy Cow” is more of a spiritual journey of the author which takes her through interesting experiences and people.

She writes right at the beginning: “India is Hotel California: you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”

In her early days, her cynical self only finds the problems: widespread poverty, no respect for time, no sense of space and privacy, people gawking at western women, dirt and filth, the unbearable heat, poor medical standards, etc., etc. But soon she decides to make the best of her stay in India, since Jonathan was away most of the time for long duration owing to wok commitments. Sarah’s experiences were diverse: finding anything but peace in the spiritual ‘market’ of Rishikesh, brushes with death in the forms of earthquake and double-pneumonia, making sense of the Indian marriage scene (its close connection with family and honour), cleansing of mind and finding inner peace through Vipassana, learning about Sikhs and meeting a unique group of white Sikhs, grim realities of a paradise lost in Kashmir, experiencing Jewish rituals, getting blessed by Mata Amritanandamayi, meeting film stars, exploring Christianity at our Lady of Velangiri, to name a few.

There are several such books by western travellers / journalists / explorers but Sarah Macdonald has a distinguished voice. Some may find a few of her observations or comments offensive, but you must remember while reading this book, or any such book, that this is a personal journey of the author. In this particular book, we find Sarah Macdonald transform from an atheist to someone who begins to enjoy the expansive spiritual roads India offers, its many religions. At the end of it, she is humbled by India’s accommodating culture, affectionate people, diversity and experiences. At the end, if you really read it with an open mind, there is not a thing to offend. She sounds a little conceited in the beginning but I think, it is purely to bring out the contrast in her transformation from someone not amused by the situation in India to someone who had begun to enjoy the “organised chaos”. 

Few gems from the book:

About the Hindi she learnt from her teacher who scoffed at the use of street language:

When I thought I was asking a taxi driver to take me somewhere I was really saying, ‘Kind sir, would thou mind perhaps taking me on a journey to this shop and I would be offering you recompense of this many rupees to do so, thank you frightfully humbly.’ And I have been greeting filthy naked street urchins with, ‘Excuse me, o soul one, but I’m dreadfully sorry, I don’t appear to have any change, my most humble of apologies.’

These lines beautifully capture her thoughts on religion:

“I realise I don’t have to be a Christian who follows the church, or a Buddhist nun in robes, or a convert to Judaism or Islam or Sikhism. I can be a believer in something bigger than what I can touch. I can make a leap of faith to a higher power in a way that’s appropriate to my culture but not be imprisoned by it.”

She says about her trip to Pakistan:

“I feel like I’ve travelled between two divorced parents who are trying to outdo each other.”

About war against Afghanistan

This war has shattered my Great Australian Dream – the fantasy that I could be part of the world community with all its benefits but isolated enough to be safe and separate from its violence and brutality.”

And finally, her thoughts on India towards the end:

”India’s organised chaos has exuberance and optimism, a pride and a strong celebration of life. I truly love it. There’s no place like this home.”

It is an interesting book; and people who love to read about India, or Non Fiction in general or travel stories in particular will love it.

Review Book courtesy: MySmartPrice Books - Get the Best Deal on Books!

Image source: MySmartPrice Books

Hot Tea Across India by Rishad Saam Mehta

Title: Hot Tea Across India

Author: Rishad Saam Mehta

Publisher: Tranquebar

Pages: 191

Price: Rs 195

Genre: Non Fiction / Travel

Rating: 7.5/10

‘Hot Tea Across India’ is a collection of experiences put together by travel writer Rishad Saam Mehta, from his many road trips across India. The stories are not in any particular order or about any one particular journey. The chapters – some really entertaining, some interesting while a few inconsequential - are independent of each other. ‘Tea’ acts as the common element in all these stories, as the writer reminisces about various cups of tea he had - of all tastes and compositions!

I have a thing for travel stories from India. I am particularly fond of stories from road trips or small, little known places; which provide opportunities to discover many more facets of India that I am oblivious of and also to smile fondly at Indian idiosyncrasies and stereotypes. I believe India is a dream for any traveler, in terms of what she has to offer. Go to any place; its flavour, its culture and its people are unique.

I am particularly fascinated by forts and palaces. It is exciting to walk on the same path which had been frequented by completely different kind of people, centuries ago. The author also puts it across very well when he says: “….I consider any ancient monument a time cell, a little module that has frozen an era within its walls for eternity. Life may go on at frenzied pace all around its periphery, but within its ramparts or its carved walls, history looks you in the face as you stare at a legacy of talent, art and architectural science left behind from centuries ago.”

When I saw ‘Hot Tea Across India’, it offered 2 things I love - Indian travel stories and tea. I am addicted to Tea.

The title of the book is interesting and very catchy but the focus on ‘tea’ in the title could be misleading because the book is less about tea and more about experiences. The cover page is quite apt and fetching. It beautifully captures the essence of various stories narrated by the author. I did not like the font used on the back cover though. It was difficult to decipher.

Author Rishad Saam Mehta is among those lucky few who have converted their passion into profession. He is passionate about traveling and has been writing travel features for several publications. His travel stories in this book are diverse - from hitching a ride on a truck from Mumbai to Delhi, to almost losing his beloved bike in Kargil, from negotiating his way alone through some of the most dangerous terrains to experiencing unexpected kindness of government officials in getting back his misplaced bike. Unexpected turn of events and interesting people, are the two things which make every travel story interesting, and the author has packed in enough of those in this book.

‘Hot Tea Across India’ is an easy read. I was particularly impressed by the author’s effortless writing style – witty and articulate. Sample these:

 “… They were three foreign tourists riding hired Enfield Bullets: one of them was shirtless, another was shoeless, all three seemed clueless about the consternation they had caused by jumping barriers. They rode towards the policemen exuberantly calling out, ‘ Juley, juley’ – Ladakh’s happy word for hello – not realising that Ladakh was a few hundred kilometres behind and a very sticky situation lay ahead.”

“…He, of course, thought his voice was as smooth as silk and could carry the same strain of sorrow that Mukesh was so good at – when in fact it had the abrasiveness of heavy-duty factory grade sand paper.”

 “…Zubair, unaccustomed to transportation that moved so fast and turned so rapidly within such a small radius, was fighting to keep his morning tea within the confines of his stomach and was going green in the process.”

The piece where he recounts his Maruti Van’s story in its voice (chapter ‘Automotive Love’) is quite funny, while the chapter ‘Unbiased Bullet’ was another laugh-out-loud part of this book.

This book is not so much about information about places mentioned but interesting experiences of a traveler. Over all, the book will appeal to anyone who loves reading travel stories or travelogues. The only thing which I felt missing was a few pictures, perhaps!   

Image source: http://www.westlandbooks.in 

Butter Chicken in Ludhiana by Pankaj Mishra

I had received strong recommendations for Pankaj Mishra’s “Butter Chicken in Ludhiana — Travels in Small Town India”, and that is how I bought it long time back. For quite sometime, I would stop at the book and keep it back on my shelf because I was not too fascinated by a travelogue.


A couple of days back I picked it up for good. Though I took unusually long time to finish it, but I liked it. On certain occasions, I did find a general feeling of aimlessness and regular chatter in the book, somewhere in the middle; yet o be fair to the book, a couple of times I also felt the book was unputdownable. So, basically, it was an interesting read.
The book was written in 1993, with the objective of experiencing and narrating the changing diaspora of Indian society in the small towns, and when the writer chronicled his experiences, he never loses focus.

Being from a small town myself (not even town!); I already know the essence of small towns. The coming of age of people from little hamlets or the transformation of smaller towns is apparent through the lives of several people. Perhaps, the small-town people are more single-minded in achieving things in life. It is a dream that we are all living. Frankly speaking, I never even dreamt about this kind of life. Perhaps due credit should be given to education, more of our parents and less of our generation.
I liked the book, to the extent that I would recommend it to other people and also would like to re-read it in the future. It has also sparked my interest in travelogues. Now I am hunting for some good travelogues. Suggestions are welcome, preferably for good Indian travelogues.

‘Butter Chicken in Ludhiana is an endearing sociological study of small towns in India. Small-talks with different people, short conversations, functions that the writer attends; all of them give glimpses into the psyche of people there and their lives. It makes you nostalgic about your own journey from that small township to the big cities of the modern India. If somebody would have told me, ages ago, while I was still schooling at the tiny township in the interiors of Jharkhand, that I would be staying in almost all the metros of India, I would not have believed. I used to be overawed by city life and had that lack of confidence, which is inherent in almost all small town people. But now I feel proud to have belonged to a place so far off, and yet to be able to build a life here. Unlike, what Pankaj Mishra says, I do not want to shrug off my life there, but I am not hung up on that either. I have always liked ‘present’ than ‘past’.

Coming back to the book, it was easy to relate to the various conversations that the writer has with different people in different places in India. What stands out in a lot of his conversations and observations is that the apparent modernity which the small town people are so desperate to embrace, has actually not reached their thinking. I would say, it is not only with the small towns, yes, certainly more stark there, but one comes across the narrow-mindedness in a lot of city-dwellers also, and it surprises you even more because you are not expecting it.

Small towns are not just the idyllic, romantic, cozy places. Since I am from one, I have complete authority and clarity to comment on this. Small towns are full of their own idiosyncrasy. There is certainly an aspiration for the modernity, to get rid of the small town tag. I remember from my generation, English songs and bands were not part of my teenage. I read Archies only after growing up. But several people would like to associate themselves only with English channels, movies, bands, music, just to drive home the point that they are not into Hindi (read ‘lowly) films, channels, etc.
I am enamored by the books which Mr Mishra mentions in a lot of places. I am also jealous by the fact that he wrote such a book immediately after his education or during (not sure!). Obviously, he is well-read. When he mentions someone as the only person he has met who has read s0-and-so book, I am a little ashamed because despite all my claims about reading, I am still ignorant about a world of books, even classics. Mr Mishra, I am slowly getting there! Don’t judge me :-)

Well, in short, you will like it if you like non-fiction, or travelogues or small town stories, little conversations. It will make a difference if you are yourself from a small town or are inclined towards exploring them. Remember, non-fiction genre are not stories or page-turners, you really have to have a liking for this genre. 

Read more about the book here.