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Book about Indian History, culture, folklore (feddit.de)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hey guys,

Just to clarify, this is about the guys living around the Ganges, not the folks living in north America before the Europeans.

I currently search for books about Indian History prior to British colonialism, ideally a lot before that. I am well aware that India is gigantic and has a multitude of different cultures, but:

I don't care, since I know very little about the country, so it doesn't really matter with which part of the culture/country I start.

My main expectation is that it is somewhat fun to read, but should also be not toooo influenced by religious beliefs. My native language is German and there I found for example translations of "Mahabharata", but had the impression that it was not translated by a historian, but instead by a dude trying to sell his yoga classes.

I need the basics of the culture, ideally as an ebook or audio book.

I checked this list by the economist: What to read as an introduction to India from TheEconomist https://www.economist.com/the-economist-reads/2022/08/13/what-to-read-as-an-introduction-to-india

Which suggests: Mahabharata; India in the Persianate Age: 1000-1765. By Richard M. Eaton Penguin; 512 pages; $39.95 and £30;Inglorious Empire: What the British did to India. By Shashi Tharoor. Hurst Publishers; 296 pages; £10.99 and $17.95; Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity. By Katherine Boo. Penguin Random House; 288 pages; £9.99 and $15.99 ; The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age. By James Crabtree. Penguin Random House; 416 pages; £9.99 and $17.

Non of them, except Mahabharata seem to match my description.

Any ideas where to start? Languages that I can read are German and English. French if it is not tooo complex.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If starting from https://www.sanskritimagazine.com/little-known-history-of-goa-and-the-portuguese-inquistion/ and working farther into the past is acceptable. A fair bit to the south of the gangetic region.

Also, depending on your end goals, which are difficult if not impossible to discern from your post as of this writing, you might want to find out the background of the authors of the book. Most stories about India as is known outside India is narrated and steadfastly owned by non Indian voices. So if you are looking to work in a think-tank for instance, you'd steer towards authors who advocate German speaking region's interests with regards to India. Or if you are looking to work in diplomatic capacities, the authors might be of that leaning.

Bear in mind the current government's push to own the narrative to the exclusion of outside voices. Totally understandable, whilst being something to be mindful of.

Regarding religion. Doubtful of getting anywhere without running into religion as far as India goes. The science vs religion dichotomy works differently outside of the West, for all I can see.

The India of Mahabharat era encompasses today's Afghanistan, for what it's worth. Going by Indian archaeologists -- https://www.booksfact.com/history/ancient-gandhara-kingdom-kandahar-afghanistan.html

Also, another decent starting point would be, Constantino Giuseppe Beschi. The man who most recently resuscitated the then dying language of Tamil and led to original Christian literature being written in it. Tamil, along with Sanskrit is listed as a classical language by UNESCO IIRC.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Thanks for the input! That is an excellent starting point and brings up questions I had not even properly thought about!