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Southern India Bangalore

Essential Reading

Item EXIDA231. Buy these 6 items as a set for $123 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Gods, Demons and Others

Gods, Demons and Others

by R. K. Narayan | R.K. Laxman

  • LITERATURE
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 241 PAGES

Hindu stories freely adapted by Narayan, one of India's foremost writers. They include tales both highly readable and revealing of Indian Hindu traditions, some drawn from the Ramayana and the Mahabarata. (IDA101, $23.00)

The House of Blue Mangoes

The House of Blue Mangoes

by David Davidar

  • LITERATURE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

Davidar's sweeping saga follows the traumas and triumphs of three generations of the Dorai family on Kerala's lush Coromandel Coast from 1899 through the tumult of Independence. (IDA548, $13.99)

The Ajanta Caves, Ancient Paintings of Buddhist India

by Benoy Behl

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A beautifully photographed overview of the ancient murals and paintings of the life of Buddha carved into a hillside in western India. (IDA316, $34.95)

Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India

Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India

by Diana L. Eck

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 115 PAGES

Tremendously useful for the traveler, this rigorous guide explains the significance and meaning of Hindu temples, festivals and ritual. Darsan, which translates as "seeing", reveals religious expression in India. (IDA75, $25.00)

Rough Guide South India

Rough Guide South India

by Rough Guide

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 840 PAGES

This comprehensive guide balances an authoritative, succinct overview of history and culture with a superbly detailed roundup of attractions. (IDA93, $23.99)

India South Map

India South Map

by Nelles

  • 2008
  • MAP

A colorful regional map of India south of Mumbai at a scale of 1:1,500,000. (IDA69, $13.95)

 
Culture Smart! India

Culture Smart! India


by Becky Stephen

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

A concise, well-illustrated guide to both social and business customs in India. (IDA298, $9.95)

India Safari Companion

India Safari Companion


by Alain Pons

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 80 PAGES

A colorful, illustrated slim guide to wildlife, photography and travel in India. (IDA371, $14.95)

Lonely Planet South India & Kerala

Lonely Planet South India & Kerala


by Lonely Planet | Lonely Planet Publications

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 534 PAGES

Featuring maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature, and information on accommodations, excursions and sightseeing. (IDA188, $25.99)

Love Bengaluru

Love Bengaluru


by Fiona Caulfield

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 132 PAGES

This rather remarkable, hand-crafted book, with covers of locally woven cloth or khadi, is a loving, personal guide to singular shops and spas, restaurants, escapes and experiences in and around the city. 2nd edition. (IDA359, $50.00)

Love Delhi

Love Delhi


by Fiona Caulfield

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • BOXED
  • 166 PAGES

Packaged in very fashionable locally woven cloth, this beautifully made, discerning guide captures the soul of the city, pointing with authority to neighborhoods, shops, markets, restaurants and attractions. A labor of love by the Bangalore-based Fiona Caulfield and friends. Third edition. (IDA403, $50.00)

Love Mumbai

Love Mumbai


by Fiona Caulfield

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • BOXED
  • 160 PAGES

This beautifully made, affectionate guide, packaged in its own satchel of locally woven cloth or khadi and printed on hand-made paper, captures the soul of the city, pointing with authority to neighborhoods, shops, markets, restaurants and attractions. 3rd Edition. (IDA389, $50.00)

In Spite of the Gods, The Strange Rise of Modern India

In Spite of the Gods, The Strange Rise of Modern India


by Edward Luce

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 346 PAGES

As the world's largest democracy and a rising international economic power, India has long been heralded for its great strides in technology and trade. Yet it is also plagued by poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and a vast array of other social and economic issues. Luce tackles the challenges and reality of the world's largest democracy with insight and balance in this portrait of a nation in transition. (IDA349, $16.00)

India

India


by Stanley Wolpert

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 281 PAGES

Reflections on India -- religion and philosophy, art, culture, and politics -- by the dean of its American historians: beautifully written, and provocative as well as evocative. (IDA04, $24.95)

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons, A Journey Among the Women of India

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons, A Journey Among the Women of India


by Elisabeth Bumiller

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 220 PAGES

A wonderfully written and fascinating portrayal of Indian women from Bollywood stars to Indira Gandhi to prostitutes. It's an insightful portrait of the country as seen through the eyes of its women. (IDA37, $14.95)

Hindu Art and Architecture

Hindu Art and Architecture


by George Michell

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

An excellent survey of Hindu art and architecture, explaining the meaning and construction of principal images and buildings, as well as the development of Hinduism and the corpus of myths that have influenced its artistic tradition. (IDA147, $18.95)

An Autobiography, Or the Story of My Experiments with Truth

An Autobiography, Or the Story of My Experiments with Truth


by Mohandas K. Gandhi

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

There is no substitute for reading Gandhi in his own simple, direct prose. A highly recommended glimpse into the personality and life of this remarkable figure. (IDA163, $10.95)

Ruby of Cochin, An Indian Jewish Woman Remembers


by Ruby Daniel

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 211 PAGES

This fascinating memoir by a Cochin-born Jewish woman (who emigrated to Israel in her seventies) recalls the many pleasures and complications of Jewish life in India. (IDA184, $28.95)

Malgudi Days

Malgudi Days


by R. K. Narayan

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Wonderful tales about a fictional South Indian town, populated by quirky characters whose unique approaches to tradition and modernity are the stuff of great short stories. (IDA59, $15.00)

Mirrorwork, 50 Years of Indian Writing 1947-1997

Mirrorwork, 50 Years of Indian Writing 1947-1997


by Salman Rushdie | Elizabeth West

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 554 PAGES

A selection of 20th-century Indian prose, both fiction and non-fiction, compiled by Salman Rushdie and featuring work by Jawaharlal Nehru, R.K. Narayan, Satyajit Ray, Amit Chaudhuri and Vikram Seth. Published in celebration of India's 50 years of independence. (IDA293, $19.99)

The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things


by Arundhati Roy

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

This luminous, Booker-prize winning novel is part mystery, part family saga -- a tale of lost innocence set in Kerala during the tumult of the 1960s. (IDA31, $16.00)

Birds of India

Birds of India


by Richard Grimmett | Carol Inskipp | Tim Inskipp

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

Thoroughly revised, with 73 new plates and many others updated or repainted, the second edition of the masterful Birds of India now features all maps and text opposite the plates for quicker and easier reference. (FG43, $39.50)

A Passage to India


by E.M. Forster

  • 1997
  • CASETTE TAPE

(IDA67, $23.95)

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Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.