The Kama Sutra Diaries: Intimate Journeys through Modern India

Entertaining and thought provoking.

The author spent a lot of time in India and had wanted to write about sex and Indians specially in different states. It however got mixed up with lots of other information that may be well known to any educated Indian.Frankly I was disappointed

The sexual revolution in India is a massive subject to approach, but Sally Howard has criss-crossed the country in her quest for some understanding and to gain answers. She has drawn many parallels with the sexual revolution that happened in Britain in the 1960s, and further back to the period of the Raj, when there was such confluence of cultures, at a time when the 'Britishers', of course, had a huge amount of influence over the varied and colourful native culture in India.Her research is a fascinating tour of sexual mores, cultural identity and paradoxes that pervade the country. Often in the company of her travelling companion, Dimple, Sally sets off to explore the Kama Sutra - the sexual pleasure guide - in terms of the present day and the past. It is not a voyeuristic journey of discovery but an interesting sashay through the highs and lows of of sex and lovemaking both in rural areas and the cosmopolitan cities.Sally's journey starts out in Madhya Pradesh (and fortunately for those who are not overly familiar with India, there is a simple map at the beginning of the book) where she views the lusty friezes of the temple complexes at Khajuraho. This is where we first meet the goddess Kali and her yoni (vulva), which is depicted as pealed open ready to take the phallus. And this pretty much sets the tone for this travelogue through India, position impossible; journeying from dance schools in Kerala where the sensuous Mohiniyattam dance is undergoing a revival, to Bollywood splendour in Bombay, body builders in Amritsar and to Meghalay, where it's all different (and where the proverbial boot is on the other foot, and this is not about foot fetishes).The British feature heavily in India's sexual development, and at the turn of the 20th century they brought with them the prudery and repression extolled by the Purity Campaigners that featured so heavily in the Victorian period (and no, it was never true that the Victorians covered up the legs of their grand pianos, because those piano legs were too reminiscent of a woman's well-turned ankle!). But Sally introduces her readers to some curious devices aimed at killing ardour, like the Stephenson Spermatic Truss, but there are just too many contraptions to mention in detail here. The rate of venereal disease amongst the soldiers stationed in India was much higher than in Britain at that time and there was a burgeoning move towards 'the exotic' across the Empire, which enabled sexual exploration that simply wasn't possible at home in Britain - think of Kitchener, stationed in Widlflower Hall at Shimla, who was a scopophiliac (in his case, gazing at nude young men). The wives of the officers were often left alone for long stints up in the hills in Shimla (the Summer camp for the Raj) and had free reign over the younger soldiers (these women were truly the first cougars). Frankly, it sounds like it was a hotbed of bed hopping!In present day India there is the arranged marriage, which sits alongside eve-teasing (women suffering molestation) and the reality of a high level of rapes (and as we know, this can also result in death). 60% of marriages in India, says the book, currently suffer degrees of Domestic Violence and Abuse, and 40% of the world's child marriages take place on this continent. Power still largely lies with the male in society and with those who promote a powerful male culture. Yet there are some savvy women - who feature in the book - making some small waves and seeking a more liberated sexual life, whilst negotiating the constraints of traditional values.This book highlights the vast array of mixed messages and confusion around what is - and what is not - acceptable in the world of sex, both then and now. It underlines that increasingly in modern day India change and upheaval are afoot. Old traditions valued gender-variant men, but under the Britishers, gay sex (or any sex perceived to be 'deviant') was criminalised in 1860, and it is only recently that those ostracised are finding their way back into society. Essentially many groups of people were seen to be a commodity, with the Britisher soldiers sating their lust back in the day; or the old tradition whereby Indian wives would throw themselves on the pyres of their husbands in Varanasi; or the child prostitutes who are still in evidence today.Today, little is taught about sex in many levels of Indian Culture, so Sally stops off in Chennai (the city of fire), to have a chat with sexologist Dr Narayana Reddy to get the low down on sex education. Ignorance is certainly not bliss for many of the patients he sees and there seems to be quite a parallel between Edwardian England when Dr Marie Stopes was doing her pioneering work and some of the lack of knowledge present in India today (and sadly also in the UK, let's not forget). Pornography is hugely consumed and gives unrealistic expectations amongst modern day young people, especially when the fundamentals of sexual congress are missing.Overall this is a hugely fascinating exploration of how 90 years of British suzerainty, blended with the polarities of exotic sex and repressed sex, have left modern day Indians struggling with their sexual identity in so many ways. It is full of interesting facts, both on the sex front and more general - whether it is that the Keralan dancers insert chundanga seeds near to their tear ducts to give their eyes a highly desirable bloodshot appearance, or the sadhus in Varanasi who sate their primordial urges, whether sexual (in graveyards) or spiritual (never mind that they find human skulls to make bowls from which to eat their food).You will definitely come away from reading this book with a greater knowledge of lesser known India, about sexual proclivities and about the clash of cultures in history. A fascinating book.

If you're looking for a sex-filled romp, well, you do get that here but not through the authors trying out various positions and reporting back to us readers. No, this is a book that uses the Kama Sutra as a guide into delving into the history of sexual relationships (with emphasis on the latter word) throughout mostly modern Indian society. From the "second wives" of British soldiers during the Indian Raj to the puritanism of modern Bollywood cinema where kisses are still chaste even as standards open up a lot from the post-Partition period, this book pulls back the covers on all of that.

As an expat who very recently lived in India for almost 5 years, for me Sally's book really sheds light on many of the questions frequently asked regarding the way women are treated in India. Sex is something that is rarely spoken about in "polite" society, so for most Indians, their only knowledge of sex comes from Bollywood movies, magazines, and now the internet. Sally has explored all aspects of society in India, and looks at her subject from many angles, and from both male and female points of view. Whilst arranged marriages exist, and the practise of dowries having to be given to the man's family from the bride's family, unfortunately women are going to be regarded as "chattels" for a very long time to come, but it would be wonderful to hope that all Indian men read Sally's book, as I am sure that most of them don't understand why they behave as they do to women!A very insightful and well-written book, and one that would benefit all women who are embarking on a trip to India, whether it be a holiday, or like me, a much longer trip. I would highly recommend it.

I always like to read a book based around the country I visit on holiday so when I spotted this one I decided to obtain it. This time it was not a fictitious book but one that looks at India's approach to sex from the early inhabitants to modern day women. Its chapters move chronologically through India's past with each one taking a different aspect of attitudes towards sex. It was not a difficult read and I found I completed it on a train trip to Shimla and back to Delhi. However, I found it fascinating. It covered many of the erotic carvings to be found on the ancient temples in India, the harems kept by the Shahs, the attitude of the British Raj in India and the vast difference between sophisticated, modern Indians and their more parochial counterparts towards GIGs (Good Indian Girls). It really added to my enjoyment of the country and I reallyliked throwing the odd titbit into the after-dinner conversations! Now, did you hear the one about Kitchener.......?

I found myself going back to this book after I'd read it to re-read certain passages. It's colourfully written and an eye-opener, whether you know India well, or as a holidaymaker. The subject of Indian sexuality is very newsworthy following the awful gang rape incident last year and Sally looks at the causes, many of them surprising, behind the epidemic of rapes in India. But I especially liked the passages that looked at the misbehaving Britishers in India during he Raj British rule, forget stiff upper-lips... ;)

Interesting portrayal of Indian culture with its western influence. Also the different outlook and ways of life in different parts of the sub continent.

An excellent book, India has always fascinated me, and this book does give an insight into a different world of the modern.