The Courtesan, the Mahatma, and the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History

If you're interested in Indian history, but don't fancy picking up a volume on this or that empire, this book is for you. It consists of little chapters that have 3-7 pages each, with each one analysing an overlooked character/story/legend in pre-modern India. The cast ranges from Muslim sultans who toyed with worshipping Hindu gods to courtesans who led armies and Brahmin women who revolted against restrictive patriarchy. This often brings out social history that would be overlooked in history books. South Indian and lower-caste tales predominate, which also makes for a nice change. Highly recommended!

Not only are certain historical figures and in fact whole groups and ethnic races, empires and religions missing from this ‘book’, each chapter, never a completed chapter (couldn’t get past the BS), stinks of a certain bias prevalent in India right now. I binned my copy to ensure no-one was tortured the same way I was.

This book is a thoroughly enjoyable collection of columns and essays that brings India to life. It also reinforces the notion that the country cannot be painted with the same brush. There are stories, characters and ideas here that haven’t quite made it our history textbooks. The book is simply written, well researched and put together and I hope it inspires more such work. I first heard of this book on Amit Varma’s brilliant podcast - the Seen and the Unseen. I strongly recommend checking it out.

This is indeed a delightful collection of essays from the popular historian , Manu Pillai , based originally on his newspaper articles . Though usually , the quality of such a collection can vary , Pillai's proven skills as a historian and writer emerge unscathed in these portraits of figures from Indian history , well-known as well as obscure . The sheer range of figures chosen by the author is impressive , from icons such as Mahatma Gandhi to lesser known personalities like Chidambaram Pillai from Tuticorin ( first to float an Indian shipping line and later becoming a freedom fighter ) , and even to Janaki , the wife of the mathematical genius , Ramanujam . Pillai shows off his panache as a writer through not only his daring choice of subjects , but also his treatment . Out of some sixty essays divided in to two parts , there are some brilliant pieces such as the one on M.Visvesvaraya with all essential facts in place ( including that the great man died a bachelor at the age of 101 ), his multi-faceted achievements listed and his interesting and often contrarian interactions with contemporary greats like Gandhi and Nehru furnished , all in the space of four-plus pages . Similarly , the essay on Sir Arthur Cotton , the British engineer who turned irrigation in to a life-long mission and contributed to the well-being of millions of farmers in the south of India is another gem , which validates the beneficial role of the colonial rule . Pillai's tactic of titling his essays with speculative questions such as ' What if Mahatma Gandhi had lived ? ' ( apparently , Gandhi believed that a human life could span 125 years ! ) can be intriguing to the reader . As expected , he concludes that the great man would have been out of his depth in contemporary India . Pillai has the unique skill of taking up an unknown figure or aspect from the scrapheap of history and burnishing it for us to appreciate . ' The Ammachies of Travancore ' on the wives of kings is a classic example .The final chapter , ' An Essay on our Times ' captures beautifully the theme of unity in diversity crafted assiduously by our founders out of the patchwork of religions , culture , customs , geographies etc that was India before Independence. Although I had approached the book with some reservation , ( it being a collection of newspaper articles , after his roaring success with his debut book ' The Ivory Throne ' ) , I found the book a pleasure to read , especially in snatches , a dilettante's delight , offering snapshots of Indian history , which we can turn in to further explorations , if we so desire . The drawings accompanying each chapter add to the value of this collection .

I picked this book up after reading Mr.Pillai’s Ivory throne. I applaud him for that book. However, this book seems to be his attempt at bashing India more than highlighting its history. The essay have been chosen in topics that offer the convenience of belittling India. For example, an entire paragraph on beggars outside of the Meenakshi temple was irrelevant. Not sure if his intent behind this book, but I think it is an attempt to capitalize by stirring up a controversy.

Most people imagine historians as elderly – perhaps old enough to have witnessed many of the events they write about! Manu S. Pillai shatters this stereotype – this is his third historical non-fiction book, but he is yet to turn thirty.History lessons at school tend to clutter our minds with battles and kings, dynasties and dates – but we are unable to grasp their relevance for our own times. In contrast, Manu presents us with a series of sharply focused essays on Indian history, which can be well understood from a contemporary perspective.In a recent newspaper article, the author imagines how a conservative historian would react to this book: “…what history could possibly be encapsulated in a book called ‘The Courtesan, The Mahatma & The Italian Brahmin?’ How could India’s grand narrative—or at least its dignified, decorous version—have anything to do with what our stern old man would describe as a harlot occupying title space with a monk and a saint?”The book in question contains a series of essays divided into two sections titled ‘Before the Raj’ and ‘Stories from the Raj.’ Many of them are about familiar figures, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Wajid Ali Shah, Rani Lakshmibai or Shivaji. Others contain nuggets of history painstakingly unearthed by the author; for instance, there is a chapter about an unassuming seamstress living in Triplicane in Madras in the mid-twentieth century, who turns out to be the widow of the great mathematician Ramanujan. Another little-known story is the one concerning Roberto de Nobili, the ‘Italian Brahmin,’ who tried to spread Christianity by the unconventional route of adopting Indian attire and customs. The chapters can be consumed in small bites, in any order.The coverage seems biased towards Kerala/Travancore – which is not surprising, as the author was born in Kerala and his first book ‘The Ivory Throne’ was about the kingdom of Travancore. In the present book, however, he goes far beyond the erstwhile royalty and covers many trailblazing men and – especially – women from the region.Manu’s writing shows both wit and wisdom (not unlike the work of his former employer, Dr Shashi Tharoor). Consider, for instance, the following description of Jahangir, whom he describes as ‘the endearing eccentric’:“If ever there was a Mughal ruler who lived the good life, that man was emperor Jahangir, in whose veins flowed Persian, Turkic, and Rajput blood—besides double-distilled spirits and a whole lot of wine. Jahangir, who died on 28 October 1627, was the least militarily inclined of the great Mughals, and though he once led a half-baked rebellion against his illustrious father, he preferred having other men fight the battles that mattered. In an age of violence this was something of a character defect, but Jahangir’s indulgence was a mark of stability in the empire he inherited…”The author is at his best while describing women who broke conventions, for instance, his chapter on Meerabai:“Around 1516, when in her late teens, she married Bhojraj, son of the legendary Rana Sangha of Mewar. Their complicated union did not last, however, for in the next decade, Meerabai lost her husband and her footing in his royal household. Her refusal to commit sati might have added to the erosion of status that came automatically with widowhood, but she did not care about being perceived as an inconvenient woman… Meerabai also “disowned, defied and subverted the…values associated with powerful and entrenched institutions—family, marriage, caste, clan, royalty and even the realm of bhakti.” She threw off the weight of expectations from every quarter, and painstakingly embraced only that which brought her closer to God. Passion, flaws, rejection and greatness were all woven into this mortal one, remembered to this day by that fascinating, immortal name, Meerabai of Mewar.”This book is highly recommended to the intelligent reader who wants to know about Indian history and its relevance for our own times.

The book is a collection episodes from indian history, the stories are beautifully conveyed but at many points lacks context. Could be a very good read for someone with excellence in history, especially someone who had read his previous book but for someone new to history especially deccan history this book might at places compel you to either google the topics or just skip that part. Also a lot of the stories are focused on hindu Muslim unity instead of showing Our cultural past as its pretext claims. Could be a book with a slight of a propaganda.