মাইকেল এইচ হার্ট এর সেরা ১০০

"New Delhi in the mid-1950s forms Raana Haider’s first recollection of India. She accompanied her diplomat father on his posting to New Delhi. Some fifty years later, she was once again living in New Delhi – this time accompanying her diplomat husband. India: Beyond the Taj and the Raj is the account of the author’s travel across the complex tapestry that is India – underlined with historical and literary narratives by generations of writers on India. Vestiges of the Mughal legacy crowned by the Taj Mahal are relived, as are remnants of the Raj. She explores twenty-eight cities and sites – from Agra to Udaipur. While well-frequented destinations are visited: Bombay, Calcutta, Jaipur and Goa; she also follows the trail to less targeted corners of India – Aligarh, Kashmir, Mamallapuram and Somnathpur. Savouring the lingering legacies of bungalows, clubs, hotels, libraries, mansions, palaces and temples, Raana Haider also dips into India’s diverse culinary heritage, delves into traditional crafts and its fusion into contemporary fashion and furnishings and relishes encounters with literary masters – Ruskin Bond, William Dalrymple, Salman Rushdie and Khushwant Singh.

Travellers to India will soon dicover that India: Beyond Taj and the Raj is the compendium to take the place of an informed co-traveller. This book crowns all earlier published recollections of India penned by a non-Indian writer.

Table of Contents
Introduction / Delhi: Dehleez - Threshold of India / Agra: Taj Mahal - India’s Icon / The Living Moghuls: From Royalty to Anonymity / Season of Sufism: Jahan-e-Khusrau / Aligarh: Aura of Academia / Lucknow: City of Nawabs / Neemrana Fort/Palace: Restoration Masterpiece / Chandigarh: City of Gardens and Roses / Kasauli: Gem of a Hill Station / Mussoorie: Maid in the Mist / Jaipur: The Pink City / Srinagar: God’s Own Country / Calcutta: City of Firsts / Shantiniketan: Abode of Peace / Meghalaya: Abode of the Clouds / Shillong: Scotland of the East / Bombay: Urbs Prima in Indis / Elephanta Caves: Lord Shiva / Hyderabad: Bride amongst Cities / Goa: A Jewel in Another’s Crown / Bangalore: Computer Capital and Pensioner’s Paradise / Somnathpur: Lace - Work Carved in Stone / Mysore: City of Silk and Sandalwood / Madras: On the Fabled Shores of Coromandel / Mamallapuram: Visual Legacy / Pondicherry:"