The Caravan Book of Profiles

by Supriya Nair

NA

Genres: Nonfiction, India

496 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[E.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 This is a collection of 13 profiles (essays) by Caravan Magazine, of length 30-40 pages. Almost all of them were fair, superb, focusing on d subject and with minimal opinion. "Show, not tell" at its best. Especially loved the profiles of Vikram, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Sameer Jain and Swami Aseemanand.
Caravan Magazine is published by "Delhi Press", and I had been a reader of their "Sarita" magazine in my teens and "Champak" as a kid. My mother still reads "Sarita" and "Grihshobha" regularly. The group is known for its high ethical standards and reformist but a little old-fashioned.
Hence, it was an extremely pleasant surprise to see modern pathbreaking journalism of such high quality from Delhi Press' Caravan.

[Dakshesh Thacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a work visit to the Gandhi in Ashram in 2017, I paid a visit to the tiny book shop which quite obviously contained stacks of literature on the Father of the Nation. However, it was only at the payment counter that I discovered this outlier of a book with what seemed to me an interesting title. Four years later when clearing my bookshelf I serendipitously picked up the book which offered me the opportunity to get a brief intellectual glimpse of a dozen distinguished personalities, all of whom, which I must confess, were not ones that I had previously heard of/read about.
After closing this book yesterday I can say that an excursion with the writers of each of these profiles has left me an enriched and more self-aware reader.
At the outset I must say that the style of the narrative, language and structuring of each essay showcases a consistently punchy style of writing which draws in a reader. For someone who hasn't read The Caravan too much, this will surely be a breath of fresh air in non-fiction writing.
Secondly, as someone who has conducted research on topics related to the social sciences, I can clearly see the quantum of rigor that has gone into writing each of these profiles. In two cases, the cultural profiles of Farida Khanum and M.S. Subbalakshmi, the writers leverage their specialist knowledge of music to bring in a highly personalized element to the profile. However, some of the profiles of Ponty Chaddha, Samir Jain, Swami Aseemanand clearly reflect detailed multi-perspective research to piece together a clear narrative of events and the subject's intellectual timeline.
Thirdly, on the pure content itself, the profile writers report objectively, documenting the blunt truth on the controversies and challenges faced by their subjects. The writing becomes bone-chillingly scary when Swami Aseemanand's extreme thoughts and actions are detailed while also making you feel the muck of the administrative politics on liquor distribution in UP and state cricket body elections in Tamil Nadu.
All these three speak volumes of the high quality editorial drawing board of The Caravan and I can safely say that they have found a newly committed reader in me.
Although it maybe hard to pinpoint my favorite profiles from the book but the essays on Manmohan Singh, Vikram, Samir Jain and Ponty Chaddha are definitely among some of the best short non-fiction I have read.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is keen to learn more about the biographical elements of society shapers and those who are newbies to non-fiction. The narrative style of profile writing coupled with the investigative reporting makes a compelling read.
This book may have languished on my shelf for a few years and may not be the most known to readers out there, but it would be safe to say that this is a hidden gem which hopefully more readers will serendipitously discover.

[Soham Chakraborty · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are few top notch Caravan profiles other than the ones in this book, which I highly recommend:

1) http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reporta...

2) http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reporta...

3) http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reporta... (Not really a profile)

4) http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reporta...

5) http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reporta...

Three profiles stand out in this exemplary collection of long form journalism, profiles of Sameer Jain, N. Srinivansan and Arun Jaitley. I highly recommend reading them first.

And as it stands, Caravan is the only English magazine in India that produces consistently good and at times great articles.

[Ayush · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small compilation contains individual profiles of some of the most prominent politicians, intellectuals, businessmen, industrialists and artists from South Asia. It includes a diverse range of personalities. Most of the stories are of the same or close time periods, giving a better coherence to the collection as a whole. It is interesting to see the contrast between the storytelling style of each writer who has contributed to this collection. The profiles are captivating accounts based on thorough research from the writer's part. A must read for anyone interested in the happenings of South Asia.

[Dhaval · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered the Caravan magazine in late 2013. I have been sporadically reading it ever since. Their literary quality is incredible. All the articles appearing in the magazine have a Midas touch, which makes reading a delight.

This book is a collection of 13 profiles that appeared in different magazines over time. It consists of political figures and artists, written by different journalists. All of the profiles have great literary and journalistic fervour. The collection is fantastic, some of them I did miss because of my irregular reading habit.

My personal favourite ones are of Samir Jain and Farida Khanum. The profile of Samir Jain written by Samanth Subramanian is a gem. It has a great journalistic merit. Samir Jain is a very elusive character. I think most people don't realise is that he is the hidden hand that has shaped the Modern Indian Media (print and TV journalism). His one statement ' I am in the business of selling space.', in my opinion, has conditioned the business policy of Indian Media as a whole. I read it twice for the sheer joy of it. While reading the profile of Farida Khanum, I took a break to listen to her 'aaj aane ki zid na karo'. It just is phenomenal.

The profile of Manmohan Singh by Vinod Jose is gracious and yet doesn't miss on how the accidental PM rose and fall to occasions. I hope as he (Manmohan Singh) says that history will be kinder to him. On the other hand, the profiles of Ponty Chadha, Asemanand, Goolam Vahanvati and Prachanda shows how obscure and less famous people have gone on to affect lives of people and have never been satisfactorily covered in the mainstream media. I have to admit that the profile of Raghuram Rajan felt distant to me. The singular reason for that is I do not have the background to fully articulate economics and finance, nonetheless, it did push me to go and read more on the subject.

I would recommend this book and the magazine in general to whoever is interested in journalism and keeping themselves informed.

[Ankur Vohra · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best reads on profiles of the movers and shakers of the South Asian society over the last 2 decades or so. Have been an avid caravan reader for last many years, so this book actually made me revisit some of my favourite caravan profiles from the past- will recommend. My personal favourites were ones of Mr. Sameer Jain and Mr. Arun Jaitley

[Sathish Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched profiles...caravan proves to be the master

[Himank Bhanot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful compilation of well researched long essays on prominent personalities, the one on Dr.Manmohan Singh is a highly recommended read.

[Soumi Banerjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best non-fiction books I read this year