Nine Lives: in Search of the Sacred in Modern India
Encyclopedia
Nine Lives: in Search of the Sacred in Modern India is a 2009 travel book by William Dalrymple.
monk, a Jain
nun, a lady from a middle-class family in Calcutta, a prison warden from Kerala
, an illiterate goat herd from Rajasthan
, and a devadasi
among others, as seen during his Indian travels. The book explores the lives of nine such people, each of whom represent a different religious path in nine chapters.
For the launch of the book in India some of the characters in the book performed for the audience, with one of character's Hari Das from Kerala
leading the Theyyam
troupe and Paban Das Baul
from Bengal leading the Baul
singers.
remarking that it "ranks with the very finest travel writing". On publication it went to the number one slot on the Indian non-fiction section best seller list. Hirsh Sawhney, writing in The Guardian
, admires the book's 'awareness of the world's innate cosmopolitanism' and 'remarkably diverse array of characters'. He calls Nine Lives a 'compelling and poignant' work, but believes that Nine Lives does not challenge the partitioning of the world into 'anachronistic, seemingly irreconcilable compartments' like the author's other works. Brian Schofield
in The Sunday Times
acknowledges the power and humanity of Dalrymple's portraits, calling them the work of "a towering talent" but also remarks on its narrow focus. In contrast, Pico Iyer
, in TIME
Magazine, praises the "powerful restraint and clarity" the book brings to "precisely the two subjects — India and faith — that cause most observers to fly off into cosmic vagueness or spleen. The result is a deeply respectful and sympathetic portrait." The distinguished Sanskritist Wendy Doniger
also raved about the book in a cover story for the Times Literary Supplement: "Dalrymple vividly evokes the lives of these men and women, with the sharp eye and good writing that we have come to expect of his extraordinary travel books about India.. A glorious mixture of journalism, anthropology, history, and history of religions, written in prose worthy of a good novel, not since Kipling has anyone evoked village India so movingly. Dalrymple can conjure up a lush or parched landscape with a single sentence."
The book was long listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize
2010. It has received the 2010 Asia House Award for Asian Literature.
Summary
Dalrymple's seventh book is about the lives of nine Indians, a BuddhistBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
monk, a Jain
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
nun, a lady from a middle-class family in Calcutta, a prison warden from Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, an illiterate goat herd from Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, and a devadasi
Devadasi
In Hinduism, the devadasi tradition is a religious tradition in which girls are "married" and dedicated to a deity or to a temple and includes performance aspects such as those that take place in the temple as well as in the courtly and mujuvani [telegu] or home context. Dance and music were...
among others, as seen during his Indian travels. The book explores the lives of nine such people, each of whom represent a different religious path in nine chapters.
- The Nun's Tale: It's a story of a Jain Nun in the ancient pilgrimage town of Sravanabelagola, who after the death of her friend and co-Nun decides to take the ritual fast to death or 'SallekhanaSantharaSanthara , is the Jain religious ritual of voluntary death by fasting. Supporters of the practice believe that Santhara cannot be considered suicide, but rather something one does with full knowledge and intent, while suicide is viewed as emotional and hasty...
' - The Dancer of Kannur: Story of Hari Das, a Dalit from Kerala, who works as a manual labourer during the weeks and a prison warder during the weekends for 9 months of the year.Only during the holy TheyyamTheyyamTheyyam or Theyyattam or Thira is a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala state, India, predominant in the Kolathunadu area Theyyam or Theyyattam or Thira is a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala state, India, predominant in the Kolathunadu...
season from December to February, he turns into a dancer possessed by Gods reverred even by the high caste Brahmins. - The Daughter of Yellamma:Story of the DevadasiDevadasiIn Hinduism, the devadasi tradition is a religious tradition in which girls are "married" and dedicated to a deity or to a temple and includes performance aspects such as those that take place in the temple as well as in the courtly and mujuvani [telegu] or home context. Dance and music were...
Rani bai from Belgaum,Karnataka who was dedicated by her parents at the age of 6. Of how one of the oldest professions of India has undergone changes and adaptations through centuries. And the story of Yellamma, the goddess who was rejected by all but gives strength to the Devadasi's. - The Singer of Epics: Story of Mohan Bhopa and his wife Batasi, the two of the last hereditary singers of a great Rajasthani medieval poem, The Epic of PabujiPabujiPabuji is a folk-deity of Rajasthan in India. He lived in 14th century in Rajasthan. He was one of four children of Dhadal Rathore of village Kolu, two boys and two girls...
. - The Red Fairy: Story of Lal Peri, a Hindu woman from the India state of Bihar who has made the Sufi Dargah of Lal Shahbaz QalandarLal Shahbaz QalandarHazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar , a Sayed Sufi saint, philosopher, poet, and qalandar. Born Syed hussain Shah, he belonged to the Suhrawardiyya order of Sufis. He preached religious tolerance among Muslims and Hindus...
in Rural Sindh of Pakistan her home. Of the ongoing conflict of orthodox Islam with the more secular SufismSufismSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
. - The Monks Tale: Story of Tashi Passang, originally from Tibet but now living in the Indian town of DharamsalaDharamsalaDharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
after the Chinese captured Tibet. Of how it was difficult for a Monk to take up arms with the Tibetian resistance against the Chinese attack. - The Maker of Idols: Story of Srikanda Stpaty, in the temple town of SwamimalaiSwamimalaiSwamimalai is a panchayat town near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the banks of river Cauvery, on the road connecting Kumbakonam and Thiruvaiyaru. It is most famous for the being one of the six "Padai Veedugal" of the Lord Murugan. The name of the...
in Tamil Nadu who is the 23rd in the long hereditary line stretching back to the great bronze casters of the Chola empireChola DynastyThe Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until...
. - The Lady Twilight: Story of Manisha Ma Bhairavi, who lives in the holy town of TarapithTarapithTarapith is a small temple town near Rampurhat in Birbhum district of the Indian state of West Bengal, known for its Tantric temple and its adjoining cremation grounds where Tantric rites are performed...
in West Bengal and worships goddess Tara. Of the Tantric traditions in Tarapith and the practices of storing and drinking from Human skull. - The Song of the Blind Minstrel: Story of the wandering minstrels or Bauls, of Kanai Das and Debdas baul,of the singing BaulBaulBaul .Though Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.-Etymology:The origin of the word...
tradition and the annual baul festival at KenduliKenduli SasanKenduli Sasan in Khurda district is the birth place of the Sanskrit lyricist, Jayadeva. Medieval Indian literature refer to this place by the name Kenduvilva.-Location:...
in West Bengal.
For the launch of the book in India some of the characters in the book performed for the audience, with one of character's Hari Das from Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
leading the Theyyam
Theyyam
Theyyam or Theyyattam or Thira is a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala state, India, predominant in the Kolathunadu area Theyyam or Theyyattam or Thira is a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala state, India, predominant in the Kolathunadu...
troupe and Paban Das Baul
Paban Das Baul
Paban Das Baul is a noted baul singer and musician from India, who also plays a dubki, a small tambourine and sometimes an ektara as an accompaniment...
from Bengal leading the Baul
Baul
Baul .Though Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.-Etymology:The origin of the word...
singers.
Critical response
The book was published by Bloomsbury to great acclaim, The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
remarking that it "ranks with the very finest travel writing". On publication it went to the number one slot on the Indian non-fiction section best seller list. Hirsh Sawhney, writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, admires the book's 'awareness of the world's innate cosmopolitanism' and 'remarkably diverse array of characters'. He calls Nine Lives a 'compelling and poignant' work, but believes that Nine Lives does not challenge the partitioning of the world into 'anachronistic, seemingly irreconcilable compartments' like the author's other works. Brian Schofield
Brian Schofield
Brian Schofield is a British travel writer. His work has appeared in The Sunday Times, The Independent on Sunday, GQ, Arena, Condé Nast Traveller and the New Statesman. In 2003, he won the best British Travel Writer covering North America...
in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
acknowledges the power and humanity of Dalrymple's portraits, calling them the work of "a towering talent" but also remarks on its narrow focus. In contrast, Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer is a British-born essayist and novelist. He is the author of numerous books on travel including Video Night in Kathmandu. His shorter pieces regularly appear in Time, Harper's, NYRB and many other publications.-Life and career:...
, in TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
Magazine, praises the "powerful restraint and clarity" the book brings to "precisely the two subjects — India and faith — that cause most observers to fly off into cosmic vagueness or spleen. The result is a deeply respectful and sympathetic portrait." The distinguished Sanskritist Wendy Doniger
Wendy Doniger
Wendy Doniger is an American Indologist and Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School, the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and the Committee on Social Thought...
also raved about the book in a cover story for the Times Literary Supplement: "Dalrymple vividly evokes the lives of these men and women, with the sharp eye and good writing that we have come to expect of his extraordinary travel books about India.. A glorious mixture of journalism, anthropology, history, and history of religions, written in prose worthy of a good novel, not since Kipling has anyone evoked village India so movingly. Dalrymple can conjure up a lush or parched landscape with a single sentence."
The book was long listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize
Samuel Johnson Prize
The Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction is one of the most prestigious prizes for non-fiction writing. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award and based on an anonymous donation. The prize is named after Samuel Johnson...
2010. It has received the 2010 Asia House Award for Asian Literature.