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A review by look_whos_reading
Capital: The Eruption of Delhi by Rana Dasgupta

4.0

Rana Dasgupta is a British author who has published "Tokyo Cancelled" and "Solo". He is half Indian on his paternal side and explores this side of his heritage by spending some time in Delhi, India's capital and writing about the city's character from an outsider's point-of-view.

This book was suggested by a friend who knew I’d enjoyed Anand Giridharadas’s “India Calling”. Essentially this book is a portrait of Delhi and so it has rare glimpses of the author’s opinions. The narrative is simple and exhaustive at the same time without giving any leads to the author’s take on these issues. Giridharadas gave more of a personal account of the new India while Dasgupta is more objective in his approach.

The book starts off as being quite one dimensional in terms of the personalities he interacts with. The stories seem to gain momentum slowly and perhaps that helps in mirroring how the author must have grown to understand the city. To assimilate the essence of Delhi (or any city) takes time - through stories about its origins, why Delhi was planned, why India shifted its capital (and the seat of politics) from Calcutta to Delhi, what was the role of the Partition in influencing the air of Delhi and setting the tone for the religious and societal upheaval that took place, the real estate boom, the rise of the bourgeoisie, the parallel drawn to the epic Ramayana, the history of language, literature and arts in the city followed by the exodus of the artists who engaged in Urdu, Sufism and anything rumoured to be "Muslim" to Mumbai, a city most absorbent of cultures... There are stories of the modern day private hospitals, the genesis of the BPO sector responsible for the creation of Gurgaon, the gay scene, and the patriarchal business families in addition to encounters in slums, politics, the situation of middle class families with their maids… the author manages to keep things interesting.

In a way, Rana Dasgupta keeps switching the mood of the book from chapter to chapter. There are things to be proud of in Delhi and others that are shameful. A lot of parallels can be drawn to other modern day cities that have morphed from more ancient cultures. This is definitely worth reading.

You could read an author interview at the following link:
https://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-05-08/rana-dasgupta-capital-eruption-delhi