Book Review: India Rising Tales from a Changing Nation

After exploring the beautiful and politically unstable nations of South America in his debut travelogue ‘Viva South America’, Oliver Balch heads to India - a nation that is predicted to become an increasingly important player on the global stage.

Balch who has visited the country more than a dozen times before, discovers that India is on upswing. Long derided as the lumbering elephant of Asia - the world’s largest democracy, he finds that it has quickened its pace.

A freelance writer and journalist based in London, specialising in business and world affairs, Balch finds India mushrooming with entrepreneurs; shooting cityscapes upwards; and its politicians strutting the world stage. Spread over 338 pages, he poses questions in India Rising Tales from a Changing Nation, what is driving the country’s changing fortunes and what kind of ‘New India’ is emerging as a result?

Presenting a highly personalised account of changes unfolding in the country through voices and stories of everyday Indians, Balch discovers how opportunities are emerging, dreams are taking shapes and India is entering an age of aspiration. Of course, drawing a definitive conclusion from a collective one billion individuals is a treacherous task.

In his introduction, Balch says, "My overarching goal is to gain a flavour of this place, New India." The way he chooses to do it is to talk to people on the street to shanty towns, shopping malls to skyscrapers and cricket stadiums to TV studios.

As a tribute to rising India, the author in his first part focuses on entrepreneurship and goes on to capture the images through optimistic entrepreneurs like Captain Gopinath, the man who gave the nation wings by establishing low cost airlines in 2003, Dr Dev Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya whose ambition is to disassociate healthcare from affluence and Naveen Tewari founder of InMobi technology start up selling ads for internet-abled phones. Citing such examples and more, he argues that entrepreneurs are the lead characters in the surging New India Story.

Except for the opening chapter rest of the book is a story of trail by fire for every Indian and how they are brimming with optimism and hope. So much so Balch has devoted an entire chapter to this phenomenon by writing on the struggles of Mohammad 'Babu' Sheikh, a Mumbai driver whose family had migrated to the millennium city during 1950s' from neighbouring Karnataka. "Babu works every hour to keep his dependents from starving. Hundreds of millions of industrious Indians are just the same," Balch observes.

Realising this, Balch explores the storylines beyond the skyscrapers and by scratching the bottom of the pyramid - where millions of Indians earn their livlihood and are helped by micro finance entrepreneurs.

India is incomplete without Bollywood masala that fuels dreams, fames and failures. Through narratives of Naval and Arya Banerjee, author takes us on a tour of acting classes that will help them to get a break in movies. While Naval landed as a permanent assistant in the state run Doordarshan after much struggle, Arya won plaudits for her role in the Milan Luthria's acclaimed film The Dirty Picture.

Balch has also sexed up his story with India’s national obsession-cricket where players attain the status of demi-gods and covered the razzmatazz surrounding of the IPL besides showing how electronic media 24X7 laps it up to boost its TRP ratings. Author does justice to lesser mortals in other sports through the stories of swimmers Prasanta Karmakar and sourav shah.

Towards the end Balch take us through a whirlwind tour of changes sweeping through social milieu like legal battles over divorces and how people are trying to make a difference in the Central India infested with Left-wing terrorism. "Changes is slashing and cutting at every aspect of Indian lives threatening to sever their moorings and cast them loose," he writes recalling achievements of Devaji of Mendha Lekha in Gadchiroli district.

Titled Teach for India, the chapter explores the experiments and struggles for education and a better India.

Blending reportage and travel writing the book is an easy read. However, the author gets the name of a well-known industrialist Anil Ambani wrong and mentions him as ‘Anil Mabani’ on page 71. No doubt this is a typo error. But he also goes on to mention about Anil’s two-billion dollar skyscraper palace. This is factually incorrect. It is not Anil Ambani but his brother Mukesh Ambani who has built two billion dollar skyscraper home. He also wonder whether such opulence worries and frustrates likes of Babu

Another bloomer in the book is when Balch quotes Rahul Kanwal chief editor at Headlines Today; "To Get Sunita Narain from TERI for a two way". That would be blasphemous for Sunita who heads the Centre for Science & Environment who holds diametrically opposed views on many of the environment issues and competes for the same space as TERI.

Towards the end, the book has postscript and updates its readers on the characters that has found a mention in his tales. With no pictures of any of the characters, the book shows it is not a collection of anecdotes from a few but a captivating portrait of a nation that is in transition.

No doubt Balch’s book is set to become part of the emerging new genre of writing on India that presents the country in a fresh perspective beyond image of sages, spirituality and snake charmers!