From the Ganges to the Snake River: An East Indian in the American West

by Debu Majumdar

A collection of personal essays that offers an account of a stranger in a strange land.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870043978
• ISBN13: 9780870043970
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Caxton Press
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Engaging, informative, thought-provoking essays.

From The Ganges To The Snake River: An East Indian In The American West is an engaging, thought-provoking collection of essays written over a period of twenty years in which Debu Majumdar (who was born and raised on the banks of India's Ganges River) wrote while living in Idaho Falls, Idaho during the 1980s and 1990s. The essays cover everything from Mormon missionaries and Native Americas to fishing and horses. Highly recommended and totally engaging, these cultural essays include: First Idaho Winter; Idaho Trout; Fourth of July; Tiger Hunt; Hunting; Mountain River Ranch; The Missionaries; Be Crazy About; An Excursion on the River; Pollywog Pond; The Poets' Club; A Place to Hang Your Hats; Oh Calcutta; At the Windcave; The Ramayana; and Indians Across the Ocean

All are foreigner at some point

Idaho and Calcutta. Himalayas and Tetron. Indians and Americans. Ganges and Snake river. All comes for a fascinating contiguity in all 16 episode composed by Debu Mojumder, an Indian from Calcutta transformed to American in Idaho Falls. He tales this story of transformation through different characters and creeds busy to establish their own identity. Along with the characters the nature, surrounding with all its content living or non living reacts in harmony. All are foreigner at some point. Episodes that can be shared by all in the global village.

Comparing two different worlds of India and America

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. The author is an excellent observer of nature, and Idaho seems to be a beautiful part of the country with rivers and mountains and no pressures of population. The stories, which are autobiographical reminiscences, anecdotes, and thoughtful observations, are written in a frank, uncomplicated style and make a pleasant reading. Residents of Idaho would certainly enjoy them more for the local colour, but for those who don't know Idaho, the book might provide an incentive to visit the Snake River area. Description of life in Calcutta, wonderfully depicting the sights, sounds and smells of the region, and some personal histories I found enjoyable, in particular the stories Oh, Calcutta, The Ramayana, and At the Windcave. In the last story, the author beautifully brings out the frustrations of an ambitious research scientist and compares his life with that of a relaxed scientific worker with interests outside the narrow limits of his speciality. In one story, the author expresses himself on the topic of foreignness and feeling like an outsider. In these days of globalization, he suggests that a new educated class has emerged in the world, which has gone beyond regional boundaries and finds more commonality among themselves than among close neighbours. It is not the land that makes one feel foreign. It's not a place but something within oneself, an inborn thing. The book is a real praise of Idaho and the reader can get easily absorbed. Those who don't know Idaho will also find something that they will appreciate and enjoy as I did.

Mark Twain is Proven Wrong

Mark Twain may just have been proven wrong. Not only do the East and West meet in Debu Majumdar's thoughtful work, they are given interseting and delightful perspectives. As a person knowledgeable about life in Asia as well as American society, I found the work to be difficult to put down once I started. Majumdar recalls his early life in India's Bengal province and compares and contrasts it to his life in Idaho. These range from his encounters with Mormon missionaries to encountering trout fishes.Great reading! > once I > started"

A Stranger at Home Along Two Mythic Rivers

The observations Debu Majumdar gleaned from uncannily remembered impressions of the past half century are truly original. I loved the story about the shopping expedition for a necklace in Calcutta, and the difference between savoring/planning/extending the essence of an excursion versus the haphazard, coma-like way we cruise through malls here in the U.S.Majumdar's inner journeys and outer experiences in Idaho and Calcutta bring the reader to the heart of his reminiscences, and to the essence of their meaning.When I first moved to Idaho from New York City, I had such a sweeping feeling of both loneliness and homesickness; Majumdar's essays capture all those irreconcilable feelings about never truly being a part of life in a new land and missing the life one had elsewhere. He seamlessly describes the transition from outsider to becoming part of one's adopted community, and knowing when it has become home. It is a fine book, and reminds one to savor the indelible adventures of life in Idaho."- Julianne Eberl, member Pierre Monteux Memorial Foundation, Maine, and National Advisory Council, Sun Valley Summer Symphony.