THE CRADLE ROCKS
CRADLE OF THE CLOUDS, by Sudhin N. Ghose; Michael Joseph. English price, 15/-. [Tt is a slight shock to be reminded that Indian civilisation, with its traditions so much more ancient and potent than our own, is today even more eclectic. It is true that the Moslem, the
rationalist, and the Christian join with the Hindu and the pagan when there is a real crisis and a traditional mechanism to deal with it has to be set in motion. The rains delay coming to this corner of India and the only way to bring them is to enact the ploughing ceremony, in which young Ghose plays a leading part. Throughout the book . the tug-of-war between old and new goes on, in society and in the blossoming intelligence of the narrator. This autobiography is a delightful comedy, full of shrewd observation of character and a_ gentle uninsistent humour. What we might call, crudely, "spiritual values," are still important in India, and they engross even young Ghose, an Indian beginning to undergo the painful process of Europeanisation. In spite of its sophistication (which here and there grates a little), few books allow us such a direct insight into the Indian mind. This makes even such delicious drawings as those of Shrinati Arnakali Carlile, which illustrate it, a
distracting intrusion.
David
Hall
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 652, 4 January 1952, Page 10
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222THE CRADLE ROCKS New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 652, 4 January 1952, Page 10
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