“Non Stop India” is Mark Tully’s voice that defines India in true sense

Economy of words is responsible to make the written stuff appear lucid and smooth to read about, and while defining the vast demography that India is blessed with; surely this is the tool that every writer would wish to have in the armory. So does Mark Tully, and his ever increasing romance with India is only increasing with the time passage, as found in “Non Stop India”. The topics are varied, the narrative simple. It's the voice of a sincere and seasoned journalist throughout, attributing facts and opinion, presenting views and counter views, exploring beyond the obvious. But even the best may err. The author says Kaifiat Express was named after the famous poet Kaifi Azmi. The fact is no train in India has been named after a person. Tully travels to Naxal hotbeds to understand what is being called India's biggest internal security threat. He delves into the concept of caste politics and why Indians blame the government for all their problems. It's not a gripping story of India, but it's arguably better than what many others have attempted. Tully speaks with the authority that comes with decades of reporting and studying a region. Still, 'No Full Stops in India' remains his best. The Biblical dictum that "there is no new thing under the sun" in some measure applies to “Non Stop India”. Do not look for that shaft of insight, that revelation. It is all deceptively commonplace on Red India, Caste Overturned, Vote Banking, Ramayana Revisited, Building Communities, Farming Futures, The English Raj, Entrepreneurship Unleashed, A Forgotten Land (an absorbing account of Arunachal Pradesh) and, of course, saving the tiger. When Tully dwells on the Muslims of Azamgarh in his chapter on Vote Banking, (Muslims being one of them), I can almost see him extrapolate from numerous encounters like the one near Mahmudabad nearly 30 years ago. That is the book's richness: the author's vast experience. Somewhere these are also the sources of some disappointment with the book, possibly the fault of this writer who pitched his expectations too high. Can you blame the reader for expecting from legendary reporter stuff which has, in stages, graduated from information to knowledge and into wisdom? But Tully almost flinches from commentary or analysis. Be here at www.rightbooks.in/product_details.asp?pid=9780670083893&Non%20Stop%20India to have it, the surprise that RightBooks.in has in place for you.