author: William Dalrymple
reading time: atleast 15 metro rides.. can be lesser if you concentrate…
Nine lives is precisely what it claims to be… tracings of the sacred in modern india.. details of each of the nine lives have been presented in great detail… stories fleshed out to make them come alive in print… amazing easy reading even when as it brings to life the complexities of each of the nine lives… each of them find their own sources of divinity.. in fasting, in sculpting, in dancing, in singing, in drinking from skulls, in rituals and in experience… finding divinity in living… what is common to all is unbound love and a lot fo courage to be able to find meaning in life and doing what they want to do… beautiful writing…
Favourite quote: “when i hear this music… i don’t care if i die tomorrow. it makes everything in life seem sweet.”
Final analysis: must read for all who are not skeptical of everything beyond the reach of rationality…