The Heart of India

by Mark Tully

Imbued with his love for India, and informed by his experience of India (where he worked for the BBC for over 20 years), Mark Tully has woven together a series of stories set in Uttar Pradesh, which tell of very different lives.

Genres: India, Travel, Nonfiction, Short Stories

241 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Sir William Mark Tully was the Chief of Bureau for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in New Delhi for 22 years. Schooled in England, he stayed mostly in India covering all major incidents in South Asia during his tenure. He was made an Officer of The Order of the British Empire in 1985 and was awarded the Padma Shree in 1992, a rare distinction for a non-Indian. He was knighted in the 2002 New Year Honours. In 2005 he received the Padma Bhushan.

Reviews

[Amrendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Tully was the BBC Chief of Bureau in Delhi and his voice became synonymous with the country he had made his home. In this book, first published in 1995, Mark has woven together 9 stories that reflect very different lives in Uttar Pradesh of his times ; i.e. the 80s and the 90s.

Of a barren wife who visits a holy man and subsequently conceives, of a son's revenge against his father's murderers, of a daughter spurning arranged marriage, of a honest politician seeing idealism end in the face of Gundas, of a wife breaking purdah to enter politics, of the tussle between education and backbreaking majdoori, of caste upheavels and defiance, of a man visiting first wife on her deathbed, of an Ikka wala's lament, in these stories Mark Tully delicately probes the nuances of life in India, taking us to its very heart.

In everything he writes, Tully's sympathy for and knowledge of India shines through. The bewildering, maddening and utterly enchanting medley of the sights, sounds and the people of Uttar Pradesh comes across sharply.

The book has a beautiful front jacket: 'Sunrise over the Ganges' by Alice Boner, 1945.

[Deepti · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book at all. There were too many generalisations about India and its culture, and not much focus on urban India and the strides it is making. If you are a foreigner reading this to get an idea of India, be warned that this will give you a lopsided view of this diverse country. These stories do not do justice to what India really is.

[Florence Primrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of short stories, fiction, by a former BBC newsman, Mark Tully. He was Bureau Chief in Delhi from 1972 to 1994 and continued to live in India following retirement. All of these stories could be true, but he has changed them to protect the people who lived them. These stories offer insight into the lives of Indians across different social castes.

[Aparna Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing how this British journalist has such a deep understanding of rural India ... the places and the people are so real ... if you are from northern India and have seen the village life then the settings of these stories would transpose you back to those days ... others may not be able to connect at that level but will still enjoy these tales from the Indian hinterland.

[Guruprasad · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the Title suggests , The Entire collection of Stories written by Mark Tully happens in Uttar pradesh and surroundings , Stories are beautifully crafted providing the social and economical status of people in it , a little bit of Western superiority is visible here and there , apart from That a fine collection of Stories from a Western point on View on India .

[Hrishikesh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Passable. Mark Tully is no Munshi Premchand; nor should he aspire to be.

[Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely stories that give a good glimpse into the real India

[Elisabeth Bibbings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't expect a travel book. This is a set of short stories, all set in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. I felt I learned a lot about the different castes, and also about the corruption that appears to be endemic in Indian bureaucracy. There is a lot of humour, and also a great deal of conflict between modern life with girls going to university and getting good degrees, and the traditional culture which dictates that the family arrange marriages for them when they get home!
I think Rudyard Kipling would have appreciated these stories. I felt the author was a little cynical about the Indian small town culture, but he has lived there a long time and has a lot of experience.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mark Tully is an excellent writer and quite imaginative as well. I just wish I had realized the stories were fiction. After I bought the book and got ready to read it, I re-read the initial notes and realized, uhho. I like mainly non-fiction, however the stories were well-done. I would recommend Tully's writings any day. Few are qualified to write about India (be it fiction on non-fiction) but Tully fills the bill on all counts.

[Harisundar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The experience of Mark Tully who has seen India in and out is seen here. He beautifully captures rural India, its Community', how both men and women behave and how differently they are affected. How faith and fear grips them, how poverty shapes their thinking and more importantly how disconnected they are from the so called urban India.

[Sanika Balwally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do read it. I am a person who feels comfortable with books having a feel good touch to it. This one is one book that will show you the reality without really troubling the heart much 🙂

[Mukul Bhatnagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Tully has wonderfully chronicled eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.

[Satabdi Bhattacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories.

[Latika Deo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Heart of India is a compilation of tales of Central India and it's people. The book tells you the story of those people that the rest of the country ignores. It is the story of people whose dreams were shattered by the modernisation of the country, for it may have benefitted the few but the rest suffered as the country progressed into the future without making any growth as a society or as an economy. The best part is that the story is so common that no Indian would pay attention to it, making it Tully's responsibility to tell it. Mark Tully has proven to be more Indian than most educated urbans that I know.

[Manish Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

These short stories are based on true stories of small town & village people of Eastern UP. The narration is simple. Author succeeds in bringing out some of the well known facets like casteism, corruption, unemployment & lawlessness prevalent in the areas.
However , author ends his stories quite abruptly & that takes some charm out of the book.

[Harald Nijhof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining. India is too large and diverse a country to be able to say the book does justice or not, or gives a 'correct' picture for that matter. What is the correct picture anyway, does it not change constantly? A book to simply enjoy and appreciate therefore.

[Poonam · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unbiased and fairly authentic reportage of the feudal hinterlands of India.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

not exactly an exciting read, but certainly lets the reader peer into some of the dirty backwards corners of life in India.

[Tej · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS!

[Aseem Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has a number of short stories and are well written. Those who are from northern part of India may like the stories as you will find it easy to relate to.

[Aarti Krishnakumar]

A book that spoke about so many people and their lives, it was quite interesting...