Lengthy though the pieces were, I'm glad I posted Rolf's travelogue. He captures the India of the moment and yet manages to give us a historical context on which to broaden our understanding of the country and its people. The fascination of things from the outside, the quaint use of English, the traffic, the animals, the people, the colour, you'll find them all in the writings of published authors like Arundhati Roy, but where he excels, and why people he met briefly 20 years ago don't forget him, is his affinity with the environment and those around him. He treats his driver with the same even handedness he treats a holy man, and his eye for detail goes beyond the idiosyncracies of language. Road signs, dilapidated buildings, wary headmasters and election jamborees all come to life as if we were there with him. As Martin suggests, all the hallmarks of a good travel writer. Another hallmark of a good writer, of course, is wanting to read more, and although he has left India I'll put up anything else he writes of his other travels.
Posted by Joe at May 31, 2004 05:22 PMHere, here.
Posted by: martin at May 31, 2004 05:49 PM