Beginning in the late '60s, hundreds of thousands of Westerners descended upon India, disciples of a cultural revolution that proclaimed that the magic and mystery missing from their lives was to be found in the East. An Indian writer who has also lived in England and the United States, Gita Mehta was ideally placed to observe the spectacle of European and American "pilgrims" interacting with their hosts. When she finally recorded her razor sharp observations in Karma Cola, the book became an instant classic for describing, in merciless detail, what happens when the traditions of an ancient...

The world wants to know what contemporary India is all about. The world's largest democracy, it still practices the caste system. It's a burgeoning economic superpower, and one of the poorest nations on earth. This title discusses the continent of contradictions that is host to one-sixth of the world's population.

Tief im Dschungel Indiens, am Fluß Narmada, steht eine Herberge. Ihr Verwalter hat sich aus dem brodelnden Leben Bombays dorthin zurückgezogen, um nachzudenken. Doch die Welt holt ihn bald wieder ein: Seine Herberge wird zur Zufluchtsstätte für Fremde, für Menschen, die vor einer Entscheidung stehen und am heiligen Fluß Trost und Hilfe suchen.