The Meaning of India: A Review The West sees the world in black and white, whereas India has many colours and shades, making it difficult for outsiders to truly ‘see’ India. Raja Rao’s collection of essays, ‘The Meaning of India,’ explains and explores India beyond the ‘good and evil’ concept of the West. The Introduction gives an unknown insight into the life and thoughts of Raja Rao, but seems a bit lengthy wherein it fails to hold the reader’s interest till the end. Essays on Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi give an interesting, parallel view of India’s history under the British rule. Though sometimes the reader feels slightly disappointed at the author’s climbing of the mountain of adulation, albeit hesitant, towards Nehru and his ‘extraordinary’ qualities, in some places Raja Rao subtly disagrees with Nehru’s worldly viewpoint that seems to reject the traditions and history deeply entwined with Vedic and Buddhist philosophy. The author also explains why Gandhi failed in becoming a pr
Fleeting thoughts in snippets.