India: A Portrait by Patrick French

India: A Portrait by Patrick FrenchPatrick French brings one of the globe's most dynamic nations springing to life he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the country, sensitivity to its subtler nuances and a wealth of research. He also arrives with a mischievous sense of humour and a keen eye for the absurd and the bizarre' Sunday TimesIndia is the biggest democracy on earth, a country of dynamic change, huge divisions and countless identities. Is there any way to discover the 'real'

and cultivate a higher sense of self

and about the curious equations that can create a family

comprising twenty-eight classic stories that range from the chilling to the whimsical for the supernatural has its funny side too

which have never before been translated into English

including some not previously translated

but can you solve the mystery before they do

including astronomy

I wanted to lose myself in the small town of Pelion

A visionary description of what a new physics - one that is adequate to account for our extraordinary brain - might look like

Unable to resist the draw of craft beer and smashed avocado

Nepal in 2010

authorial discursions and wonderful evocation of the late-Victorian 'clerking classes'