Includes index.

The invention of India -- Hinduism and Hindutva : creed and credo -- The politics of identity -- Of secularism and conversions -- On the importance of being Muslim and Indian -- Making Bollywoods India a reality -- Epic interpretations -- Hooray for Bollywood -- Democracy and demockery -- The bond that threatens? -- Crickets true spiritual home -- Good sports, bad sports -- Bad sports, bad sports -- Salad daze -- Wholly holidays -- Memories of a Bombay childhood -- Nothing to laugh about -- The Sari saga -- The challenge of literacy -- Reconstruction Nalanda -- Cops and jobbers -- Becoming bengaloorued -- Indias lost urban heritage -- The legacy of Gandhi and Nehru -- The man who saved India -- The man who stayed behind -- The man who wanted more -- Anchored in himself -- Tea and antipathy -- Smother India -- The spy who came in through the heat -- The genius lost to infinity -- The other Saint Teresa -- A polymaths politics -- Art from the heart -- Carrying his bat -- The dear departed -- Jewish portraits, Indian frames -- Southern comfort -- Gods own country -- Oh, Calcutta! -- Urbs maxima in Indis -- Of cows sacred and profane -- Of vows and vowels -- Indian realities, virtual and spiritual -- The prehistory of Indian science -- The anatomy of civil conflict -- Stephanians in the house -- Ayurveda takes off -- In defense of Delhi -- NRIs - the now required Indians -- Ajanta and Ellora in the monsoon -- The davos economy -- The myth of the Indian middle class -- Connecting to the future -- The strange rise of planet India -- Calls from the center -- Looking to the future with brand IIT -- India and soft power -- The thrilling face of a bold new India -- India, Jones, and the template of dhoom -- Heroines of rural development -- Kerala : open for business -- Shaking hands -- Trade for peace -- The dangers to Indias future -- An a to z of being Indian

Documents the transformation of India from a largely underdeveloped region into an innovative society, profiling it as one of the world's scientific and technological leaders while providing insight into its political, economic, and cultural climate.