India through modern lenses
| Apart from being the latest economic hotspots, the two old civilisations are undergoing serious changes. Traditional values and beliefs are being dumped by the wayside every single day, and new ones are being picked with equal rapidity. This phenomenon alone would be more than worth an observant travel writer's while in either of the two countries. After the industrial revolution, this perhaps is the most significant socio-cultural transformation to have taken place in the world. What is more, it is happening at breakneck speed. The global village is extending its empire at an unheard-of pace. This is the change that Daniel Lak, a well-known face on BBC, tries to capture in his book, Mantras of Change. Lak spent twelve years in the subcontinent (four years each in India, Pakistan and Nepal) reporting on various economic, political, social and environmental issues. The essays are largely Lak's experiences on his various reporting assignments in the country, laced with a wry narrative style that may not have been possible to adopt as a BBC correspondent. |
| The range of Lak's work is truly amazing. He covers virtually everything you could think of. From insurgency in Kashmir to the information technology (IT) revolution underway in Hyderabad, pubs in Bangalore, famine-struck Kalahandi, earthquake-hit Gujarat, police hitmen in Mumbai and the interiors of Bihar, Lak tells the India story as it unfolds. |
| The book is passionate, yet honest. Lak had set out to break the stereotype image of India. That is why bullock carts, snake charmers and levitating sadhus have been deliberately set aside, while Lak focuses on the changing face of India. |
| A few of the essays really stand out. One is on the effort mounted by the people of Gujarat to cope with the crisis caused by the massive earthquake that hit the state some years back. It is common knowledge that Gujaratis staying abroad donated liberally for reconstruction work, and there is ample evidence to suggest that the money was not siphoned off, as it may well have been, and was put to good use. |
| The other two that bring out the changing social values in the country are on HIV/AIDS and incest. Not so long ago, it was an ugly fact of life that was conveniently brushed under the carpet in polite society and everywhere else. Not any longer. There is a growing consciousness that these are monumental problems facing the country that need to be talked about and addressed with urgency. |
| Also interesting is the essay on the efforts mounted by the head priest of Varanasi, a former professor at the Banaras Hindu University, to clean up the Ganga. Then, of course, there are Lak's observations on life in Bangalore "" how the IT revolution has changed the lives of people. These indeed are facets of the new India that is emerging, though there is still a long way for the country to go. Lak captures it all very well in his book. |
| In a way, Mantras of Change belongs to the same genre as Tom Friedman's The World is Flat. A final acknowledgement that India and Indians have truly arrived on the global scene. The book is added evidence that the western media has overcome a mental hurdle and started portraying the new India that's familiar to people here. The age of the exotic oriental experience is finally over. |
| The book has its funnier moments too. Eager to capture a nude photo shoot, for example, Lak and his team were sent to a Mumbai backyard. After spending hours waiting for the model to strip, Lak realised that she was not a model but an ordinary girl getting pictures taken for marriage proposals. The Sikh gentleman who had ushered them in was her father. Needless to add, Lak and his team had to beat a hasty retreat. |
| MANTRAS OF CHANGE: REPORTING INDIA IN A TIME OF FLUX |
| Daniel Lak Penguin, Price: Rs 375; Pages: 251 |