Divining The Deccan (A Motorbike to the Heart of India)

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Item Code: IDH144
Author: Bill Aitken
Publisher: Oxford India Paperbacks
Edition: 2002
ISBN: 0195663500
Pages: 279(B & W Illus:14, Map: 1)
Cover: Paperback
Other Details 8.1" X 5.1"
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Shipped to 153 countries
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Book Description
Preface

Travel anywhere in the subcontinent hints at the possibility of finding treasure underfoot. To dig the middle ground where Afyan tongues yield to Dravidian with the implement of English however is to acknowledge at the outset only a scratching of the surface. When the spade does strike gold, the theologically inclined, who celebrate at taverns overnight, have to admit to the occasional stagger next morning. I would like to thank Ivan Hutnik for finding the time to read the manuscript and apply a steadying hand. I also wish to thank Rukun Advani for his inspiration and Anuradha Roy for her editorial aplomb.

Review

In this fascinating account of his travels through the Deccan, Aitken describes the Lure of the awesome plateau country to which he returned every year for twelve years, mescerized by a rocky landscape in which theology and topography are hard to disentangle. He tells us the story of the region, its many religions, warring sects, kings and queens. On his motorbike he goes deep into the numinous bouldered terrain of the Deccan, visiting the birthplaces of Shivaji and Tipu Sultan, the ashrams of Shirdi and Puttaparthi, the monumental sites of Badami and Pattadakal, Bijapur and Gulbarga, Hampi and Lepakshi. Aitken investigates gods, godmen and cults in search of the truly spiritual, finding it in Sai Baba of

Puttaparthi, among others.

Wry, profound, vivid, passionate and informative by turn, this is an unusual guide to the Deccan, indeed to India, in a far deeper

sense than usual

Bill Aitken is a well-known and versatile writer, and the author of

several books.
Excerpts from Reviews

'Unfailingly interesting and readable it makes the heart glow.'

-India Today

'Unusually perceptive and observant.' - Indian Review of books
' [a book] done with a dispassionate searching eye that only erudition and knowledge can bring about.'

-The Statesman

' Aitken clearly relishes studying not only the history and geography of a place, which he does brilliantly, but also its human foibles and dramas.'

-The Hindu

CONTENTS
1Core Concern1
2Ganesha Sharanam16
3Diverse Pigments28
4Over the Ghats42
5Sab Ka Malik Ek53
6Blow Horn, Keep Distance68
7Southern Approaches78
8I Like this Panduranga93
9Bull in the China Shop103
10Bijapur: Monumental Joy113
11Forever Blowing Bubbles130
12Wandering in Uncertain Places142
13Anvil of the Creator155
14Golden Handshake170
15Royal Route182
16Ganga Snana, Tunga Pana191
17Theology on the Rocks205
18In a manner Most Singular222
19Honeymoon Special233
20Spring to Both Body and Soul245
21Cold Waters in a Dry and Thirsty Land257
22Divinity Exploring its Own Wonders271
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