India's Love Lyrics: Including The Garden of Kama Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have read this book in a 1920's American edition, a gem I found between many less worthy books of a second-hand bookstore, and later found a free online edition for the Project Gutenberg, but I am glad it has been edited again, with good-quality paper and modern illustrations.
This book not only captures most vividly the exotic taste of India as it was in the 19th century, but also has the timeless flavour of true romance... the poems deal with love, loss, disillusionment, death and eternity, everything and nothing, and do so beautifully.
To whet your appetite, here comes a quote, from 'The Teak Forest':
"Whether I love you, you do not ask,
Nor waste yourself on the thankless task,
I give your kisses at least return,
What matter whether they freeze or burn;
I feel the strength of your fervent arms,
What matter whether it heals or harms.
You are wise, you take what the Gods have sent,
You ask no question, but rest content,
And so I am with you to take your kiss
And perhaps I value you more for this.
For this is wisdom, to love, to live,
To take what God or the Fates may give,
Speed passion's ebb as you greet its flow,
To have- to hold- and in time -let go!"
A beautiful piece of poetry, and a valuable piece of advice, all in one. It is really surprising that a young woman, in the restrictive society of the British in India (for more on this, you can always read E.M. Forster's wonderful 'Passage to India'), could have had so free a spirit to write these poems and publish them, even under a pen name.
To cut a long review short, this is a wonderful book if your are looking for either romance, the taste of the exotic or both... a must-read!

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This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

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