The Twice-Born: Life and Death on the Ganges by Aatish Taseer

I was hesitant to read this book, as I feared, that it will make me painfully aware of my lack of understanding of my own culture and religion. And it did. However, the author has taken care of people like us, the first chapter is called “Foreigners in their own land”. The essence of it is captured in this phrase: Nehru had written of “Spiritual loneliness”, he puts it down to having become “a queer mix of the East and the West, out of place everywhere. At home, nowhere. “For a long time,” Aatish Taseer writes, “I had a recurring dream of the ancient Indian city of Benares, superimposed onto the geography of New York”. That's how the book begins, with a sense of duality. During the course of the book, the author (Who is gay and has a Pakistani father : wondering why I mentioned this? I too was wondering why was it necessary to cover this in the book in a longish way) travels to Benares to learn Sanskrit, observes the city as a first timer and has conversations. Most of these conversations are with Brahmins and that is the main stake of the book. These conversations are well played out and the interpretation of the same, is left to the readers. Barring a few of these chats, most are pointing towards a rotting culture and Brahmins who are struggling to come to terms with their fading glory. The first part of the book is a self-discovery for the author. Growing up in Delhi, studying and working in New York...and then he comes back wanting to connect with his roots and his culture. The emotion in this part of the book is captured beautifully. But, then his trip to Benares to learn Sanskrit begins and he starts to speak "of" these people. He writes about them, but the connect is clearly missing. At some point, the book becomes a travelogue. Taseer writes beautifully but he lost me after some point, as his interest in these people wean off and then it's just a book to be completed.

Passages from the book, highlighted in my Kindle and hopefully in my mind :
What struck me that afternoon was how automatic my incuriosity about old India has been.
“Being interpreters, we have also lost the style and confidence that comes to people who know their own culture before they know others.’
Brahmins are sometimes described as members of priesthood, but this is not quite right. Historically Brahmins were grammarians, logicians, writers, poets, astrologers and scientists. They were men of the mind.
As Gandhiji said in his address at BHU, “ It is a matter of great shame and deep humiliation for me, that I am compelled this evening, under the shadow of this great college in this scared city of Benares, to address my countrymen in a language that is foreign to me and them. Let's aim for a free India and for that we should have our educated class, not as if they were foreigners in their own land but people who can speak to our heart.