Dalrymple is an Englishman (though he makes reference to possible Indian heritage in a foreward) who studies Oriental/Asian culture. His first book, In Xanadu describes his efforts to follow Marco Polo's footsteps to the fabled city of Xanadu. The catch is that this is in the early 90's. So instead of Persian warlords we have an Iraq/Iran war, a closed Afghani border, and a communist China. This may sound like mere cultural tourism and to a large extent is, but Dalrymple's awe and love of the history of these ancient peoples is evident throughout the book. One of his emphases is architecture and so we are treated to lengthy comparisons of Persian vs. Byzantine columns and such. But he also has a clear message of inclusion that runs througout both books. He's describing these people not to show their alien aspects but rather to delight in how similar their idiosyncracies are.
White Mughals is almost a docudrama. James Kirkpatrick is the British Resident at Hyderabad, India, and finds himself sought after by an Indian princess. He eventually falls in love, and adopts many native customs in the interim. The tale is of the roots of the British Empire in India and shows how different things could have been, if Kirkpatrick's attitudes had been adopted by more. It's the turn of the 18th century, and the British and French are both vying for control of the huge indian "resource." This is a critical time because the whole tone of the next 100 years is being set, will India become a trading partner or a colonial outpost. We know the answer of course and this book delves into exactly why this happened and what percipitated the changes.
The Cheekbook and the Cruise Missile is a series of interviews conducted between 2002-2003. We hear of the huge struggle for power in India, where local people are being forced off their land for hydro-power, fundamentalist religion is being used on both sides of the political spectrum, and the WTO/IMF is dictating economic policy. It is great to contrast what is happening in India to what is happening today in America (and what has happened in the last 100 years or so). One of Arundhati's main points is the distancing of power. In other words, that bigger and bigger institutions are in control of more and more power. She asks, why does it always have to get bigger? Why must everything be more concentrated? To her, this is what globalization is about: the removal or distancing of power. But where is the logic that a room full of men half way around the world knows how to run your city/state/country better than those who live there? It's a good fast read, and because it's interviews you really get the whole Arundhati-flow of conversation. I am in love.
The library has all three books if you wanna read. Just go to their website
and request the titles and within a few days you can pick them up at the library of your choice. Whoopie!