For all of India’s myths, its sea of stories and moral epics, Indian history remains a curiously unpeopled place. Sunil Khilnani’s Incarnations fills that space: recapturing the human dimension of how the world’s largest democracy came to be. In this stunningly illustrated and deeply researched book, accompanying his major BBC Radio 4 series, Khilnani explores the lives of 50 Indians, from the spiritualist Buddha to the capitalist Dhirubhai Ambani – lives that light up India’s rich, varied past and its continuous ferment of ideas. Khilnani’s trenchant portraits of emperors, warriors, philosophers, poets, stars, and corporate titans – some famous, some unjustly forgotten – bring feeling, wry humour, and uncommon insight to social dilemmas that extend from ancient times to our own.
Originally Published: April 27th 2017
Originally Published: April 27th 2017