Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple

Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a great text, especially for a must needed introduction to India. There is so much to cover that I think it is almost impossible to really cover, but Dalrymple's style gives individual flavor that helped it seem more real and personal instead of a giant conglomerate, "India."

There were a lot of things that I had a difficult time coming to terms with. The life of the Jain nun for instance, and especially the chapter about devadasi's (religious prostitutes from my interpretation). I am not quite sure how to deal with these stories, especially coming from an anthropological point of view and trying to be culturally sensitive, but how can someone like me even begin to grasp the sense in, say, the sallekhana (choosing to end your life as a final offering of this illusion we call our lives)?

I noticed that a common theme in these tales were the intoxication of living a simple life on the road. It makes me wonder if the desire to be on the move is a part of all of us no matter where we were born. I wonder if I was born into that paradigm if I would give up my life to it. I remember learning about what it was like in the middle ages in England and I would have honestly rather have done a pilgrimage than have been married during that time. I'm not sure that this is so different.

I do wonder a little bit about the authenticity of some of these tales, or what the selection process was for the author, which brings me back to my research.  I think it is important to recognize that even by trying to remove himself from the stories they are all still his interpretation of the narratives.

The thing I enjoyed the most about this book, however, was the chapter about the monk from Dharamsala. I plan on spending this summer there, and hearing a personal account of the Chinese invasion really made this so much more real to me. As part of my research, I am now considering looking at some of the stories shared about their exile and do maybe a creative writing portrait of this location- sort of like a portrait if you will.  Based on a lot of the tales in this book I think I could also cover some ground with the literature culture.  I owe a lot to this book for helping me develop my project. I recommend that anyone wanting to get better acquainted with India read this book.

Dalrymple, William.  Nine Lives In Search of the Sacred in Modern India.  New York:  Borzoi Book, 2009.  Print.


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