Hindu philosophy suggests that time is divided into cycles of Yugas – Satya Yuga, the age of truth or Golden Age, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga, the age of demon Kali (not the same as the Goddess Kali). Each age sees a decline in wisdom, virtue, knowledge and life span and an increase in sin. It is said that the Goddess Dharma, symbolised by a cow, stands on all 4 legs in Satya Yuga, 3 in Treta Yuga, 2 in Dvapara Yuga and on one leg in Kali Yuga.
William Dalrymple sets out to explore this last age with his book – The Age of Kali. He travels the length and breadth of India collecting stories; stories of moral breakdown, political breakdown and religious breakdown. Stories where politicians are individuals whose sole aim is to fulfil their own needs. Stories where power is used to legally and systematically terrorize, where religion is an excuse to inflict pain and sorrow and where success is celebrated with grandeur that borders on obscenity.
Politics and religion in Indian subcontinent are like blood in the human body. They can be found all over the place, present in the deepest corners, critical for existence at some places and totally unwanted in others. And just as one has to get under the skin to see blood in action, Dalrymple gets into every nook and corner of the Indian sub-continent to unveil stories of myriad manifestations of the demon. From audiences with Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar, to Goddess Kali as Parashakti in Kerala, Sri Lankan guerrilla fighters to Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan; traveling every nook and corner of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, even going as far as the remote island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean.
The narrative is in the form of short write-ups – interviews and essays, about people and places, with a liberal dose of modern history thrown in. At times these write-ups seem unrelated, which might cause the reader to lose interest. On the other hand it gives the reader flexibility to jump to a section that interests her/him. The colours on the cover of the book, and the picture depicting Kali tend to be a bit misleading, leading one to think that this book is about religion in the sub-continent, but nothing can be farther from the truth. Religion is only one of the facets presented in the book.
As one reads the book, one is increasingly convinced about the presence of the demon Kali in this age. Even for those of us living in the Indian sub-continent and claiming to “know all” about the evil around us, a lot of things in this book are news. If history and its happenings interest you, then this book is definitely a must-read.
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