INDIA THEN AND NOW By Vir SANGHVI, Rudrangshu mukherjee and Pramod Kapoor Lustre Press/Roli Books Price: Rs 2,975 Pages: 271

It's an innovative idea in publishing: a dual-purpose book that has two writers covering the same subject, one the modern, the other the ancient. Naturally this coffee- table version, the first of a series, is on India. Most would consider that too vast and contradictory a topic and indeed, India's schizophrenic facade and much of its social and economic divide arises because of the stark contrast between urban and rural India. By splitting modern and ancient India into separate sections, a clearer picture emerges. Journalist and TV anchor Vir Sanghvi is perhaps the best choice to write the modern section: urban India has been his playground and workspace and, more important, he has grown up in the period when economic reforms started, faltered, and then revived again. His clear-headed analysis of India's economic growth and its impact on the urban milieu takes us through the doubts and disputes, the political angst, and then the growing confidence in Indian society. The elephant, he concludes, has awakened and is on the move.

PICTURE SPEAK
RETURN TO HISTORY: Bangalore (left) and Srinagar (right) in an era gone by

PICTURE SPEAK

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Being the coffee-table variety, this is
essentially a picture book. Sanghvi's essay covers just a few pages, as does the one by Rudrangshu Mukherjee, a specialist on 19th century Indian history. He takes us through the various dynasties and kingdoms, right up to Independence. More than anything, this book is a visual journey into the many centuries, many worlds, many eras and social strata that defined India, and in many ways, still does. This is as much a tribute to India's rich cultural and historical heritage as it is to the modern economic powerhouse it represents today. What really stands out is the rare collection of photographs, some the work of India's leading photographers, others painstakingly researched and unearthed from private and public archives in India and abroad, some never seen before. In the real India, the ancient and modern co-exist. The book follows the same theme, meeting, appropriately enough, with a mirror image of Raisina Hill, one taken now and the other a black and white from the pre-independence era. This book is, above all, a visual triumph, a fitting pictorial tribute to India's past, and its future.