India Calling

Reversing his parents’ immigrant path, a young writer returns to India and discovers an old country making itself new.

Anand Giridharadas sensed something was afoot as his plane prepared to land in Bombay. An elderly passenger looked at him and said, “We’re all trying to go that way,” pointing to the rear. “You, you’re going this way?”

Giridharadas was returning to the land of his ancestors amid an unlikely economic boom. Yet he was interested less in the gold rush than in the cultural upheaval — what would happen when old traditions met new ambitions?

In India Calling, Giridharadas blends the objectivity of the outsider with the intimacy of the insider; the result is India seen at once from within and without. He introduces us to entrepreneurs, radicals, industrialists and religious seekers, but, most of all, to Indian families. Through their stories, and his own, he paints an intimate portrait of a country becoming modern while striving to remain itself.

‘A snapshot of a country in flux’ —The Age

‘A memorable debut, full of insight and diversion.’ —William Dalrymple, author of Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India

‘Giridharadas is poised and wonderfully observant. He writes perfect, often humorous descriptions of everyday scenes, turning them into something remarkable.’ —Canberra Times

‘The writer’s gritty and witty pen portraits of a host of Indian characters and places makes a great read. Highly recommended’ —Sunday Herald Sun

‘Entertaining and illuminating’ —Sydney Morning Herald

‘Artful, entertaining, insightful and humble’ —Inside Story

‘Insightful’ —Courier Mail