The number of coffee table books based on India, its people and culture has been bursting at the seams in recent years. Ketaki Gokhale reviews some of the most enchanting recent releases that pay homage to India.

It's a moving tableau: A mother, decked out in what is clearly her nicest red sari, and her young daughter, looking slightly disheveled in a stained white frock, stand hand-in-hand by a carved pillar in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. They are not rich. Far from it, in fact. But this little luxury - looking at art as the sun goes down, in an old city renowned for its rock-cut monolithic sculptures - is something they can easily afford.
Every photograph in "River of Colour: The India of Raghubir Singh," like this one, tells a story, and, for those who are moralistically inclined, teaches a lesson. Western publishing houses have been savvy to this allure and have produced prolific quantities of oversized photography books relating to India in recent years. They adorn the coffee tables of plush houses, from San Francisco to New York to London, and everybody seems to agree: India is as educational as she is photogenic.
With her modern urban city centers and her struggling rural economies, her rapidly growing middle class and her 300 million below the poverty line, India is a study in contrasts. And like shadow and light, this contrast comes through in photography.
"I love them because these books aren't just exotic picture books for the American market," Jean Westcott, a representative of London-based Mercury Books, tells Indian Life & Style. Mercury has an extensive roster of India-related titles, including "India Then and Now," "Costumes, Textiles and Jewelry of India," "India the Beautiful," "Maharajas: Resonance from the Past," "The Nehrus," and "The Erotic Literature of Ancient India."
"These books were published because the photographers featured knew how to look at India from a universal point of view. These books don't indulge in exotification - they are chock-full of history and fabulous reporting."
Because Mercury is a privately held company, Westcott could not discuss the precise sales figures of the books, but she did say that the first of the books, "India the Beautiful," was a huge hit in specialty gift shops and museum shops throughout the U.S. and on the Internet.
The oversized book contains nearly 200 color photographs by British photographer Anthony Osmond-Evans, including two particularly lovely ones - a young Muslim girl in Mumbai's Dharavi district, and a child at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan. The book can be bought online for $14.96.
Following the unexpected success of "India the Beautiful," Mercury Books sent scouts to small publishing houses throughout India in search of similar books. In 2005 alone, Mercury worked with Brijbasi Art Press Ltd., Prakash Books India Ltd., and Roli & Janssen to publish four titles.
"Maharajas" is written by Charles Allen and features photographs by Aditya Patankar. The sumptuous book tells the story of the Maharajas, Nizams, Nawabs, Maharawals, Jams, Rajas and Raos - the rulers of the original 565 princely states of India. It describes the rise and fall of many prominent dynasties, using, in addition to Patankar's photography of modern royalty, over 200 photographs from museums and previously unseen images from the personal collections of royal descendants. The 160-page, 10" x 14" book sells for $30.00
But the most mind-blowing offering from Mercury Books is the lavish "India Then and Now," which features the photography of Rudrangshu Mukherjee and Vir Sanghvi. The book is divided into two sections. The first describes India's rich cultural and historical heritage through rare vintage photographs from some of the finest collections across the world. The second, "India Now," is a series of photographs showcasing the multifaceted, present-day India.
The most arresting image of the book is on the cover of "India Now" - a man is shown in elaborate makeup and costume, gesticulating passionately on a street in rural Tamil Nadu. Street theater of the variety the man is participating in is a popular form of public education and entertainment in Tamil Nadu.
Sanghvi, who took the photo, is one of India's leading journalists and is currently the editorial director of The Hindustan Times. Mukherjee, who wrote and photographed for "India Then," is a specialist on 19th century India, and he has authored and edited several books on the subject. He is currently the editor of the editorial pages of The Telegraph. "India Then and Now" is 274 pages long, 12" x 12," and sells for $45.
Mercury's competitor, Phaidon Press, has produced the aforementioned "River of Colour," which rivals "Indian Then and Now" in quality. "River of Colour," however, fulfills the demands of a different niche - for it is purely a book of photography, containing no commentary.
The eye-catching, oblong book contains 132 color photographs by the famed Indian documentary photographer, Raghubir Singh. First released in 1998, just a year before Singh's death, a second edition of the book was published last year due to the high demand.
Singh's work is in the permanent collections of a number of major museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.
Born in Rajasthan, Singh spent 30 years traveling across the South Asian subcontinent. This book, the first retrospective of his work, in many ways, represented the culmination of those journeys. The book is divided into 11 sections that depict objects and practices integral to Indian life, including the street, monuments, icons, water and pilgrimages.
In 1999, this groundbreaking book was the winner of the Best Retrospective Book distinction at the Photo-Eye Awards. It sells for $49.95 at phaidon.com.

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