Bihar

In this impressionistic and often darkly funny account of the sixteen months he spent in a small town in Bihar, Vijay Nambisan tries to understand what drives—or thwarts—perhaps the most talked about state in the Indian Union. Vicious poverty and caste wars, messy politics, corruption and lawlessness—the worst of modern India is in full display here. Yet, how different is Bihar from the rest of the country? And is it really on the brink of a spectacular collapse? Looking beyond clichés and statistics, Vijay Nambisan has produced a remarkably perceptive and balanced portrait of the ‘hole in the heart of India’.