An American Girl in India

by Wendy Doniger

English 256 pages 2 editions

In 1963, a 22-year-old American, who would grow up to become one of the world’s leading authorities on Hindu and world mythology, came to India to study Sanskrit and Bengali in Shantiniketan. Over the course of her year-long stay, she wrote to her parents about her experiences and travels. Comprising these letters and her recollections, An American Girl in India is an enchanting memoir—a profile of both the young woman and the young nation. ‘Utterly charming! Every page of this unusual memoir brings a smile.’— Gurcharan Das ‘[An] endearing book…with sparkling vignettes of Indian life in the early 1960s. We see a young Doniger living and learning in the idyllic environs of Shantiniketan, filled with a childlike wonder at a world so unlike her own, and yet so complete in itself. We catch glimpses of the scholar that she will become—bright, curious, adventurous and, ultimately, profoundly sympathetic. And sometimes, we catch glimpses of what India will become.’— Arshia Sattar ‘An intimate account full of discoveries and self-realisation, cultural shocks and assimilation… Doniger’s letters are conversations full of wit, verve, and humour.’— Scroll.in ‘What is especially striking about the letters is the friendships she made in India and the commentary on a young, post-colonial society facing challenges of food shortages, wars and electoral politics…Equally riveting are her descriptions of the seasons in Bengal—powerful evocations of a landscape that seems almost unreal today.’— The Telegraph ‘It would take a lifetime and several books for most people to pack the memories that Wendy Doniger does in 33 letters and a year in India.’— Business Standard