The Age of Kali: Indian Travels & Encounters

By William Dalrymple

From the author of The Last Mughal and Nine Lives: the classic stories he gathered during the ten years he spent journeying across the Indian subcontinent, from Sri Lanka and southern India to the North West Frontier of Pakistan. As he searched for evidence of Kali Yug, the “age of darkness” predicted by an ancient Hindu cosmology in a final epoch of strife and corruption, Dalrymple encountered a region that thrilled and surprised him. Venturing to places rarely visited by foreigners, he presents compelling portraits of a diverse range of figures—from a Hindi rap megastar through the Tamil Tigers to the drug lords of Pakistan. Dalrymple's love for the subcontinent comes across in every page, which makes its chronicles of political corruption, ethnic violence and social disintegration all the more poignant. The result is a dark yet vibrant travelogue, and a unique look at a region that continues to be marked by rapid change and unlimited possibilities as it struggles to reconcile the forces of modernity and tradition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9780307948939

William Dalrymple

William Dalrymple is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society, and in 2002 was awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for his ‘outstanding contribution to travel literature’. He wrote and presented the TV series ‘Stones of the Raj’ and ‘Indian Journeys’, which won BAFTA’s 2002 Grierson Award for Best Documentary Series. He and his wife, artist Olivia Fraser, have three children, and divide their time between London and Delhi.

Reviews for The Age of Kali

[adamvasco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dalrymple,s writing syle is a delight to read. He lived in Delhi and travelled the subcontinent immersing himself in Politics past and present as well as the social cohesion and mores of this large complex society.

[rajivc_18 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The writing is nice, to start with. After a while, it began to pall on me. I agree that William has traveled all over the sub-continent, and has met people from all walks of life. However, a book full of anecdotes about the crap that happens in the Indian sub-continent, South Asia, palls after a while. It is a little bit like "Slum Dog Millionaire", the guys who make the stuff get rich about writing about India's crappy side, a side that is not hidden from the world's view.In the English, the word "Kali" is confusing, I thought it was about the Goddess Kali, not about India's KaliYug. It certainly is not about the flower - Kali either!You cannot write Hindi in the English script and hope to achieve clarity. In my view, while well written, this book does not provide clarity about anything Indian.