Dalrymple gives an entertaining history of Delhi, India and the mughals who conquered and architected it. ( )

Between the twenties and the forties, Iris Portal’s youth had been spent in that colonial Delhi

‘In retrospect,’ I said. ‘Do you think British rule was justified?’

‘....But on balance I think you must never take land away from a people. A people’s land has a mystique. You can go and possibly order them about for a bit, perhaps introduce some new ideas, build a few good buildings, but then in the end you must go away and die in Cheltenham.’ Iris sighed. ‘And that, of course, is exactly what we did.’

******
I learned a lot of interesting from this book (partridge fights, Mumbai food deliverers' caste, eunuch caste etc.), interviews and dialogues very always a pleasure to read - humorous, lively, yet very often insightful. Why 4 stars then? Well, historical references and vignettes were sometimes a bit thick to wade through. Although there's probably nothing wrong with them and they're more than appropriate, it's just they're hard to digest on the go - one probably should savor them relaxed :)
( )

This was the wrong book to read prior to my trip to India. All of the fantastic stories that the author relates seem to end with, "these wonderful sights/monuments/environments/people have all been completely destroyed, and nothing is left except worthless ruins". He makes Delhi seem like a wasteland, all the more disgusting and pathetic in light of its former splendor. The only positive of this book is that the stories he relates are interesting. In short, this book was a major downer. ( )

Not choosing to go on with this one. He clearly enjoyed his time in India. But still seems a little condescending.

Partially read. not good