City of Djinns - William Dalrymple (1993)

William Dalrymple lived in Delhi in the 80s for a year. This book is a testimony to the same. His quest started in Delhi; he went to other parts of India, Pakistan, Ireland, and the UK if that quest demanded. The story has several short exploratory journeys, like the people of the East India Company and their connections to India. The riots that followed the independence or after Indira Gandhi's assassination also are mentioned. The history of Shah Jahan's descendants, Lodhis, the Tughlags, the remnants of their creations and their current status are all discussed in the book. He tries to find the historical evidence of Mahabharata, including a last-minute chase to the Nigambodh Ghat. But he hardly can connect any dots there. The rituals and mythological practices followed by men, women, and the other sex of India related to the stories find a place in the book. If you are a Delhi resident, you will still wonder, have you understood Delhi enough? 

An original work supported by evidence, yet the book reads like a story. Every time you think about why I did not try to find this out when I was in Delhi. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of India. 

The Nutmeg's Curse - Amitabha Ghosh (2021)

So much fuss about what? The book has excellent research covering generations of human activity leading to destruction. It is well understood, yet we always felt it is local. It describes the Western exploitation of the colonies very well, but making it a book on the environment is a substantial stretch. The issue is human race never acted from the learning. Writing hundreds of more articles will not change a thing. Pointing fingers at activities related to the Western world, while the native focus was towards sustainable growth, is again wishful thinking. All that explained in the book will not lead to saving the world from climatic disasters. It looked like a lot of work has gone into creating associations with non-proximate causes that are hard to understand and lead to reader fatigue. If someone wants to use this book as research work for a literature review from scholarly texts, she can do so. 

After a few chapters, it became hard to read and almost nagging in most places. I will not recommend the book as the effort does not justify a value add.