Recommended books about India that I love:
1. Empire of the Soul, by Paul William Roberts (probably the best travel book on India ever written)
2. The Story of my Experiements with truth, by M.K. Gandhi
3. A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (one of the greatest novels I have ever read, and a gorgeous story of India to boot)
4. The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy (find out why this is possibly my favourite piece of English literature)
5. Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie (winner of the Booker of all Booker prizes. so yeah, it's OK.)
6. Shalimar the Clown, by Salman Rushdie (novel by the master, and it's about Kashmir! Yay!)
7. A Passage to India, by E. M. Forster (classic. watch the movie, too)
8. White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga (won the Booker a couple years ago - a brilliant and fun romp in modern India's underbelly)
9. The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri (Bengali family living in modern US.)
10. The Moor's Last Sigh, by Salman Rushdie (almost forgot this one! about Goa, mostly.)
11. The Far Pavilions, by M.M. Kaye (the book that started my love affair with India - called the 'Gone with the Wind' of the East, this is a long, long story about Raj-era India, in all its glory and drama. a real classic - but don't watch the brutal movie version!)
12. In the Valley of Mist by Justine Hardy. (wonderful book about life in Kashmir. Thank you Justine!)
Movies about India
1. BBC's The Story of India with Michael Wood. (awesome multi-part documentary. best ever)
2. CBC's India Reborn (excellent doc, 4 hours in HD, 2009. essential viewing as well as #1)
3. Gandhi (1982) (it is sad that there are living humans who have not seen this movie. Life changing.)
4. Siddhartha (1972) (hands down the best Hindi language Indian movie ever. Stunning visuals, moving story, fabulous music. one of very few movies I actually re-watch often.)
5. 3 Idiots (2009) (never mind that it is Indian - this is just a great, great movie.)
6. Lagaan (2001) (Amir Khan against the british...)
7. Mission Kashmir (2000) (campy story, true Bollywood, but hey - it's a chance to see Kashmir on film! I admit that I own it)
8. the movies Fire, Water and Earth (three separate movies by Deepa Mehta. Water is the best one - a real triumph of a movie.)
9. The Namesake (2006) (actually a very good movie even compared to the book)
10. Monsoon Wedding. (lots of fun. easy to enjoy)
11. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) (I watched this movie in the theatre that was once the Montreal Canadiens Forum. great movie, but I am still surprised it won the Oscar for best film.)
