Of Sadhus and Spinners

A fascinating range of encounters-mental, physical and spiritual-of Australians with India over the past century and a half Despite a shared history of British imperialism, and commonalities like the English language, a democratic polity and a craze for cricket, Australians and Indians know very little about each other. Of Sadhus and Spinners attempts to correct this with a range of stories that trace the chequered history of interactions between the two nations. From John Lang’s ‘The Mohammedan Mother’ (1859) to Yasmine Gooneratne’s ‘Masterpiece’ (2002), the stories in this anthology bring to the fore a variety of literary responses to Indo-Australian encounters. There are stories here of Australian visitors to India and stories about and by Indians-immigrants or temporary visitors-in Australia. Thoughtful, exploratory and often just wide-eyed in its observation of strange new worlds, the anthology provides insights into an array of fascinating cross-cultural encounters.