The Holy Cow and Other Indian Stories

by Tarun Chopra

Attempts to tell the reader through stories what India is, its traditions, culture, philosophical and religious beliefs customs, etc that are so variagated that it seems there are many Indias, rather that just one.

Genres: Nonfiction, India

168 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2000

Reviews

[Lon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike many culture guides, which go an inch deep and a mile wide, this treatment devotes three or four pages to engrossing treatments of 20 or so key aspects of Indian culture. Its infamously labyrinthine bureaucracy, arranged marriages, the veneration of cows, philosophical concepts like karma and reincarnation, the caste system, etc. highly recommended. No 5 stars because this edition is poorly edited, to the point of distraction.

[Çiğdem Gündüz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eğlenceli bir dille yazılmış, anlattığı ülke kadar renkli görsellere sahip bir kitap

[Jose Dinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro introductorio a las cuestiones más llamativas y coloridas de la vasta cultura India. Es un libro de un oriental para los occidentales, que lo queremos todo rápido sin mucha profundidad.

Por momentos, algunos artículos están mal traducidos o no tienen coherencia lógica en su escritura. De todos modos, es un libro recomendable para tratar de conocer que pasa del otro lado.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The single best culture or travel book I've ever read. Well written and edited, comprehensive range of topics.

[Fay Pretty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Holy Cow and Other Indian Stories started off really well with some insight into aspects of Indian Culture that I still didn’t know the answers too, even though I’ currently in India, like the process that takes place during an Indian Marriage.

However as soon as Chopra started to go into detailed histories of Kings and Religious stories it got so confusing! There were hardly any dates and nothing was very clear. I had to read over passages to try and make sense of the high amount of information given to me. Maybe it was the History student in me but I feel like the History sections could have come across better.

I was excited when I first picked it up by the amount of pictures in the book. Some are great and relevant like news articles and floor plans but there are others that are less so and just make it confusing to which bit of the book the picture is relevant too. It would also benefit from the inclusion of maps and timelines.

Don’t get me wrong its an okay book with a lot of relevant information but its good to remember this is just one authors view on things and I know some Indians that disregard the book. Its hard to rate it less than three stars because I really enjoyed the beginning stories and there were lots of interesting facts- it just wasn’t very clear at times.

[Tom Goulooze · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great short book chock-full of information of indian customs, culture, gods and curiousities.

It's like reading Wikipedia without the internet, very efficient way to decode some of this complex nation's ways.

So why 3 stars?
Mostly because of detail, format and writing style. The book is just a collection of chapters like 'why are there cows on the road here?' but lacks a logical flow, some chapters go in depth (mostly those relating to history & religion) and some are not even a page long. It lacks any sort of introduction or conclusion; it simply starts at cow and ends at indian spices. The final slight issue is that the book is a little old, with some information getting outdated.

Still, this book was a gift from a travel agency and it filled in some blanks about what I'm seeing while traveling India. You could do worse!

[Tony Senanayake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun and informative read for anyone looking to better understand the complex, often confounding, religious landscape of India. There are plenty of great pictures and the book is filled with great tidbits of knowledge. Sadly, the book is very poorly written and edited with many spelling and grammatical mistakes that really should have been fixed before publishing. This takes away from what otherwise is a great intro read.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is very informative and gives a very good overview about India for anyone interested to understand this complex society and culture a little bit more. There are a lot of details on Hinduism and the Mughals but also other topics like marriage or the caste system. The style is easy and sometimes humorous, it's a good read for someone gaining the first impressions about India.

[Marce Matamoros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un buen libro para empezar a aprender sobre India. La traduccion al espannol parece que se hizo un poco a la carrera y por eso hay partes donde las oraciones no hacen sentido, pero en general se puede leers y aprender bastante sobre aspectos esenciales de la vida en este gran pais. Con esta base, quiero buscar luego libros que profundicen un poco mas.

[Joanna Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend who is an ex pat living in India. Between the glossy pages, you will find a potted guide to culture and history of this country, with two to three pages devoted to each subject. I found some really interesting fact and as a quick guide it reaches the mark.

[Mark Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book went a long way to explaining many things about India, a country I visited 30-40 times. The parts about the bureaucracy rang true especially from my time at the airport there. Can't say I still really follow the Indian Religions though.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

We were given this book earlier this year while in India. It does a good job of explaining things about India. Probably a good read before you go visit. It helped even after having visited this amazing country.

[Ernst Dill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and very insightful into understanding different bits of history, beliefs and stories that influence Indian culture and thinking.

[Moonshadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Illuminating, concise explanation of Indian culture.

[Ricardo Motti · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those books made to be looked at, but not properly read. A tourist trap book, so to speak.

[Anne Haack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the beautiful photos woven into each themed chapter. (The English version needs an editor.) This book helped me better understand India’s myriad customs and belief systems.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great wee book for while travelling India.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pequeña pero completa guía sobre India.

[Georgie · Rating 3 out of 5]

👍👍

[Rahul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and engaging book on many “Indianisms”.