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Description: Indian Balm is the captivating account of a journey Paul Hyland made along the little-known course of the sacred Godavari river in Southern India: a pilgrimage through both his past and India’s present. It is the story of the search for his ancestors - missionaries and traders - who first landed on the Coromandel coast generations ago, and of their Balm, a wonder cure for all sorts of ailments and afflictions. Travelling to the home of his cousin, the last of his family to remain in the country, Hyland encounters snake charmers and sadhus, bogi men and horn dancers, and experiences both ancient rituals and the most simple aspects of dally life. An extraordinary and above all unique journey, Indian Balm illuminates the best, and the worst, of this magical country.
‘Indian Balm sheds vivid and dramatic light on this unsung Indian province. A richly rewarding read.’ -John Keay
‘Paul Hyland went off the tourist track and up the river his forebears adopted...His experiences-good, bad and never less than colourful -are revealed in Indian Balm which captures the spirit of this south eastern area of the subcontinent and makes a thoroughly engrossing read.’ - Choice ‘Book of the Month’
Contents: Holy Fools: Devon • Coromandel Landfall: Madras • Murder Metropolis: Vijayawada • Heavenly City: Amaravati • Auspicious Days: Machilipatnam • A Sight’s March: via Kaikalur • Dandy Fever: Narsapur • Carols and Fire-Crackers: Narsapur • Fabled Madapollam: Madhavayapalem • Ancestor Worship: Bowdenpeta • Luminous Force: Dowlaishweram • Looking for the Dead: Rojahmundry • Waiting for Trains: Nidadavole • Fire Warriors: Narsapur • Bogi Men: Narsapur • Sign of the Crocodile: Narsapur • Helping the Police: Narsapur • Bricks and Water: Muskepalem • The Birth of Time: Tanuku • A Greedy Goddess: Hyderabad • The Old Kingdom: Golconda • Politics and Honey: Narsapur • Bits of Business: Madras Presidency • Shadow of the Pagoda: Palakol • Tiger Prawns: Kakinada • Teeth and Trousers: Kakinada • French Bread: Yanam • The Light House: Antarvedi • Holy Dip: Antarvedi • Juggernaut: Antarvedi • The Solitary Reaper: Mogaltur • Eastern Ghats: Sakhinetepalli • No Brakes: to Polavaram • The Current: via Porsammagandhi • Shiva’s Hill: Sivagiri • Jungle Juice: Takuru • The Hungry Sisters: Perantapalli • The Horn Dance: Pedagudem • Keeping My Head: Geddapalli • Thriller: Sivagiri • Index.ISBN - 9781845110857
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Pages : 382
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