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Capital: The Eruption of Delhi Paperback – April 28, 2015

by Rana Dasgupta (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 80 ratings
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  1. Print length
    480 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  4. Publication date
    April 28, 2015
  5. Reading age
    18 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    1.04 x 5.31 x 8.02 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0143126997
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0143126997
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (April 28, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143126997
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143126997
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.04 x 5.31 x 8.02 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 80 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Rana Dasgupta

    Rana Dasgupta

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    Rana Dasgupta was born in the UK in 1971 and grew up in Cambridge. As an adult he lived in France, Malaysia and the US before moving to Delhi in 2000.

    His first book, "Tokyo Cancelled", was published in 2005. Narrated by travelers stuck for a night in an airport, "Tokyo Cancelled" is a cycle of folktales about our contemporary world of globalization, corporations, film stars and illegal immigrants. It was short-listed for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Vodafone Crossword Award.

    "Solo" came out in the UK in 2009 and was awarded the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Set in Bulgaria, "Solo" follows the life and daydreams of a melancholy centenarian, so embarking on an epic exploration of science, memory, music and failure. "Solo" has been translated into twelve languages and will be available in the US in February 2011.

    "Capital: the Eruption of Delhi", his most recent book, is a non-fiction portrait of Rana Dasgupta's adopted city.

    REVIEWS OF "TOKYO CANCELLED"

    "Only the most gifted writers can hold the surreal and the real in satisfying equilibrium. This elite now welcomes Rana Dasgupta to its ranks" - Time Out

    "Brilliantly conceived and jauntily delivered" - San Francisco Chronicle

    "These stories ... ah, they outdo the Arabian Nights for inventiveness. One closes the book with head spinning" - The Guardian

    REVIEWS OF "SOLO"

    "Solo is ... utterly unforgettable in its humanity" - The Guardian

    "A necessary as well as a timely novel" - Sunday Business Post

    "Weird, wonderful and warmly wise" - Daily Mail

    "This is an important work" - The Australian

    REVIEWS OF "CAPITAL"

    an "intense, lyrical, erudite and powerful book... Dasgupta has provided a welcome corrective to the reams of superficial travel writing describing the whimsical, the exotic, the booming or simply the poverty-stricken in India. His is a much more complex, darker story." - The Guardian

    See more on the author's page
  2. Rana Dasgupta

    Rana Dasgupta

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
80 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

SN2013
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for anyone interested in India!
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2014
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This is an incredible book that provides a multi-dimensional view of a multi-dimensional city. Delhi, like other post-colonial cities that are grappling with modernization and globalization, is layered and textured beyond what meets the eye. It is enchanting and inviting, but brutal and unforgiving at the same time. Behind the fog that often engulfs the capital and adds a sense of serenity to the landscape of the city, there is also a seedy underbelly in which all the stakeholders get frequently entangled. The author is not concerned with offering solutions to Delhi's problems, but instead (and thankfully) is more interested in offering a nuanced view of the city and its residents and how their lifestyles are both dictated by and create the social and cultural norms of the city. Delhi is different from Bombay in the sense that Delhi has more of an affinity for tradition and history and is thus more resistant to change. The result of that is a frequent clash between old and new in every strata of society.

Here is a quick pro and con list:

Pros:

- The writing is absolutely incredible. The author's usage of language is extremely impressive.

- Having said that, the book is also very readable with no awkward sentences containing incomprehensible words.

- The book covers all different kinds of industries (politics, business, fashion, film, IT etc...), and the author profiles people from all walks of life.

- The narrative is inter-woven very well and the author manages to offer insightful social commentary while also giving a substantial voice to his subjects.

- Having lived in Delhi, and similar cities, such as Lahore, the author's observations are rather accurate.

Cons:

- The book could have a bit shorter, but that is only a minor gripe because the content is very interesting and engaging.
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Michele Ferenz
5.0 out of 5 stars helps make sense of a city that isn’t readily accessible to outsiders
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2023
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Well written, history and contemporary trends deftly woven together. Learned a lot. Highly recommend if you are trying to understand the enigma that is Delhi.
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royal_guju
4.0 out of 5 stars One of the better written and analyzed books on New Delhi
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2014
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One of the better written and analyzed books on New Delhi. A good blending of history, and current times(especially the post liberalization period.) It brings out the superficiality of the rich(old and new) and the narissictic attitude towards the poor who are being forced to the urban cities. Instead of keeping these people on the "farm" they bitch and moan about their lack of work ethics. A strong recommendation for developmental economist., graduate students of Asian studies and the wider reading audience
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Abi
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
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Great!
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janet capron
5.0 out of 5 stars Global Capitalism Unmasked
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2014
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One of the most illuminating insights into global capitalism I have read--a boots-on-the-ground report of how it is not actually uplifting a third-world city, but instead driving desperation ever deeper into the urban and rural landscape. Also, the book is so well written, it reads like a novel. Vastly informative, historically and currently, and wildly entertaining. Seriously, I tell everyone to read this book.
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Lee A. Makela
5.0 out of 5 stars A Sobering and Enlightening Analysis
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2014
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Dasgupta sets out a detailed portrait of a city and its inhabitants as both reflect aspects of a particular cultural setting and a long and eventful history. His insights are provocative and insightful, especially in his concluding chapter wherein he enlarges his perspective to suggest that Delhi may well represent, not a unique urbanity, but perhaps what the future might hold for other cities around the globe. I learned a lot from his reportage, especially in those sections in which he meets with representative individuals whose personal narratives balance nicely with his more generalized, more-or-less chronological, overview. I came away from the book feeling I understood more about how and why contemporary Delhi "works" the way it does, as a consequence of both cultural and historical influences, while at the same time reflecting something of what the future might well hold for cities everywhere.
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JDC
3.0 out of 5 stars The New India
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2015
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Nice picture of the new India but at a certain point many of the portraits run together and it is hard to distinguish one rich, smug, self satisfied Indian from another.
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nanckauf
5.0 out of 5 stars Torn Loose and Spun into the Future
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2014
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Once into this book, I decided to keep it looking as new as possible because it will make a wonderful gift for my Delhi friends. Appreciation of this superbly written book will not, however, be confined to Indians, to Delhiites, or even to those Westerners who visit Delhi. Ultimately, it's a sobering account of what can happen to a city torn loose from its history.

Dasgupta gives the reader an intimate glimpse into the lives of a wide range of Delhi residents. He's been compared to V.S.Naipaul, which I think is fair in that, like Naipaul, he uses his own personal interactions with the people he interviews (although it's easy to forget that something like an interview is going on) over a period of several months.

Walking around Gurgaon, one can wonder what's behind the wealth that's sprung up here so quickly--the cement is barely dry. Dasgupta gets us into spots we'd never otherwise see, those "farm houses" tucked away behind secured wooded areas. But "Capital" is far more than an explanation for business and financial expansion. The reader gets to see what is happening to peoples' lives as a result of catapulting into a brand new suburb like Gurgaon.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Sivasankar Karunakaran
5.0 out of 5 stars All good
Reviewed in France on November 20, 2023
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Received the book in perfect condition. Good package and received within the delivery time mentioned during purchase.
Having lived in Delhi not so long ago and seeing the changes now, I could totally relate to the book. Yet to finish reading the book.
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R Raghavan
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful & Lyrical
Reviewed in India on January 5, 2021
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This book is an insightful and lyrical gaze over the disparate lives that animate Delhi

It is filled with quiet observations and accurately captures the voice and spirit of its residents

But it is much more than a book about Delhi . It is a commentary on the limits of capitalism, the politics of religion and the universality of hope
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Mehrkatze
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written alternative portray of an ever-changing metropolis
Reviewed in Germany on July 9, 2017
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A well-written and enriching book on Delhi's transformation from national capital to a morally, economically and population-wise exploding metropolis. Dasgupta's skills as a writer of fiction helps and makes this a entertaining read.
What I like most about his approach to Delhi is that he doesn't drown you in a sea of facts or statistics, "Capital" is more a closer, psychological look into the mindset of some of those Delhiites who experienced, caused or accompanied the drastic changes of their city over the course of the past 30-40 years. His short reflections on Delhi's diverse cultural and political history are mostly meant as 'entrées' for the conversations he conducted for his book, which display a wide range of opinions and emotions, from glorification, justification, bitter realism to pure frustration or even anger about the moral decline and criminal energy of Delhi's powerful elite of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen.
Dasgupta's portray of Delhi leaves you fascinated and uneasy at the same time - a feeling you might have yourself when visiting the city (and eventually being reminded of some lines of Chris Rea's song 'Road to hell': "And the perverted fear of violence / chokes a smile on every face"
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recluse
4.0 out of 5 stars globalisationがもたらした矛盾の噴出
Reviewed in Japan on July 16, 2014
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最初のページの最初の文、March is the prettiest monthに何とも言えない郷愁と共感を感じて購入しました。そうNew Delhiの３月は素晴らしい時期なのです。でもこの部分は限りなくdeceivingな始まりだったことに気が付くにはそんなに時間はかかりませんでした。
中身はというと様々な現代のnew delhiの人物を通して描かれた現代のNew Delhi風土記なのです。似たような作品としては、 Delhi: A Novel や India: A Million Mutinies Now (Vintage International) が存在しますが、１９９１年以降の経済の自由化を経たnew delhiはもはや自由化前の６０年代のNew Delhiとは似ても似つかない存在へと変わり果てていたのです。
都市の人口は大幅に増えそれに伴い都市のスペースも大きく拡大しています。BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)をはじめとして様々な産業のない手が登場人物として登場しますが、そしてそこでの中心となる産業は不動産業というわけです。というのはNew Delihiはもともとが何もない場所に新しく首都を作り出したからです。そして土地の持つ価値は時代の変化とともに大きく変貌するのです。懐かしいDefence Colonyのもともとの来歴（僕は知らなかった）もかたられますが、それも時代の変貌からは超越しているわけにはいかないというわけです。
一攫千金の手段としては不動産がここでも一番手っ取り早いのです。そして不動産は国際的にみても引けを取らない多くの大金持ち生み出していきます。そして金銭がすべての価値基準となったここではニヒリズムが蔓延してきます。そうここで描かれるのは現代のニヒリズム群像です。
描写は過去（奴隷王朝、ロディー朝、ムガール王朝時代、ムガール王朝の終焉、首都建設、独立、分離、インディラ・ガンディー暗殺）のDelhiの歴史への的確なさかのぼりと組み合わされて、現代の異様さが過去の歴史と比較する中でハイライトされていきます。また「分離」に伴う人的犠牲への性的な解釈が持つインドの男女関係へのインプリケーションは強烈なものです。ここに現代のインドでの男女関係のいびつさの秘密が求められるほどなのです。
著者の結論は限りなく絶望的なものです。産業構造の変貌がもたらした都市への巨大な人口の流入は大きな人口の過剰を生み出しており、インドそして世界にもはおそらくこの過剰を満たす能力がないのです。そしてこの状況に著者は世界の未来を見出しています。ところで著者はヒンディー語ができない英国国籍の印英混血の人物です。
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Sarah G Watterson
1.0 out of 5 stars Dirty used book
Reviewed in India on May 6, 2023
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Book arrived dirty and obviously used
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Sarah G Watterson
1.0 out of 5 stars Dirty used book
Reviewed in India on May 6, 2023
Book arrived dirty and obviously used
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