#ananda k coomaraswamy

[bluestangel]

Has it never occurred to you that it is much your duty to make your lives and environment beautiful as to make them moral, in fact that without beauty there can be no true morality, without morality no true beauty?

Art and Swadeshi by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

[entheognosis]

We ‘preserve' folk songs, at the same time that our way of life destroys the singer…we are proud of our museums, where we display the damning evidence of a way of life that we have made impossible.

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

[jewel-shard]

Diary of a Camgirl

Chapter 2: Holelottalovin & Pussyslayer have entered the chat

Chapter Summary: After a long day at a shitty job Kagome decides to share a soak in the bath.

Read on ao3

Summary:

Inflation is hitting everyone hard and Kagome is no exception. Stuck in a tiny apartment with a shitty job, a dwindling savings account, and an insufferable roommate, she decides to do something drastic.

Little does she know that the camgirl lifestyle is a lot more complicated then she thought. Public Domain artwork: Ananda K. Coomaraswamy 

In the Bath (early 20th century)

[smithsonianlibraries]

A paper stencil of "Frisky cows" from Ananda K. Coomaraswamy's Indian drawings : 2d series, chiefly Rājput (1912).

Full text here.

[hariyali]

Resource Masterlist: Indian Art

Cheap/Free resources:

Wkipedia:

Wikipedia of Indian Art: I'll recommend reading the subtopics from bottom up; it seems more relevant that way!

Wikipedia of Indian Painting: once you go through this article you should further look into whichever style you like, and learn it in depth. It also has links to vernacular art.

Rasa: the classical theory of Indian aesthetics

From Archive.Org (maybe scholarly and/or illustrative. In case illustrations are not there, simply Google them for reference):

Stone Age Painting in India by Romert Brooks

The arts of India from prehistoric to modern times by Ajit Mookerji (If you have no idea about Indian arts, START HERE; it's a short book full of illustrations)

Rajput painting : romantic, divine and courtly art from India by Ahluwalia, Roda

Indian Painting by C Sivaramamurti

South Indian Paintings by C Sivaramamurti

Approach to nature in Indian art and thought by C Sivaramamurti

[There are many books on Indian art, architecture and sculpture by C Sivaramamurti on Archive.org. It's basically a goldmine.]

Kalighat : Indian popular painting, 1800-1930 by Balraj Khanna

Art of modern India by Balrak Khanna [Again, you can check out other titles by Khanna.]

Indian Textiles by John Gillow

Traditional Indian Textiles by John Gillow

South-Indian images of gods and goddesses by HK Sastri

Myths and symbols in Indian art and civilization by Heinrich Zimmer (no illustrations)

The art of Indian Asia, its mythology and transformations by Heinrich Zimmer (with illustrations)

History of Indian and Indonesian art by Ananda Coomaraswamy

A Concise History of Indian Art by Roy C Craven

Deccani Painting by Mark Zebrowski

Indian Folk Art by Heinz Mode; Subodh Chandra

Women of India by Otto Rothfeld (this isn't about art but has few informative illustrations on regional costumes of women)

Dress And Ornaments In Ancient India by Mohini Verma and Keya Bawa

Classical dances and costumes of India by Ambrose, Kay

Cultures and Costumes of India and Sri Lanka by Kilgallon, Conor (o course i had to see other books on costumes)

Studies In Indian Painting by DB Taraporevala

Five Thousand Years of Indian Art by Hermann Goetz

Indian Painiting by Philip Rawson

The Art of Tantra by Philip Rawson

MS Randhawa (different books on Punjabi paintings Basohli, Kangra, Guler and General Themes in Indian Painting)

The imperial image: paintings for the Mughal court by Beach, Milo Cleveland

Wonders of nature : Ustad Mansur at the Mughal court by Dāśa, Aśoka Kumāra

Imperial mughal painting by Welch, Stuart Cary

Painted delight : Indian paintings from Philadelphia collections

India : life, myth and art by Ram-Prasad, Chakravarthi

The heritage of Indian art by Agrawala, Vasudeva Sharana

The adventures of Rama : with illustrations from a sixteenth-century Mughal manuscript

Indian paintings from the Punjab Hills by WG Archer

Art in East and West by Rowland Benjamin

Stella Kramisch (An American art historian and curator who was a leading specialist on Indian art, including folk art, for most of the 20th century. Also a Padma Bhushan awardee.)

The transformation of nature in art by Coomaraswamy, Ananda K

Books available on Libgen:

Art Of Ancient India : Buddhist, Hindu, Jain by Huntington and Huntington

The New Cambridge History of India, Volume 1, Part 3: Mughal and Rajput Painting

Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization by Heinrich Zimmer

Four Centuries of Rajput Painting: Mewar, Marwar and Dhundhar Indian Miniatures from the Collection of Isabelle and Vicky Ducrot

Ajanta by Yazdani

The Aesthetic Experience Acording to Abhinavagupta

TheHeritageLab is a free website to connect you to cultural heritage through stories, public engagement programs, campaigns, and free-access content.

Also if you're in Delhi, do consider getting a membership of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) library.

Folk art:

Folk art is an entirely different area that deserve a post of its own. But i love them so here is a long list by Memeraki.com. You can Google each and then look more into what you like. This website also offers very cheap courses in traditional Indian arts by the hidden and disenfranchised masters themselves! It's doing a great work in giving them a platorm. I myself have taken the Mughal Miniature course here. You can consider it.

Illustrated Books:

Note: These are coffee table books with beautiful illustrations that you'd love to looks at.

The Night Life of Trees: In the belief of the Gond tribe, the lives of humans and trees are closely entwined. A visual ode to trees rendered by tribal artists from India, this handcrafted edition showcases three of the finest living Gond masters. THIS YOUTUBE LINK shows the making of the book. The channel also features other works of Gond art.

An Unknown Treasure in Rajasthan: The Bundi Wall-Paintings:  This book celebrates the surviving wall-paintings at Bundi by presenting a stunning photographic survey

Painting In the Kangra Valley: Painting in the Kangra Valley is an attempt to survey the painting styles of Guler and Kangra, which flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. The painting activity began with Kashmiri painters (...)

Indian Painting: The Lesser Known Traditions: India has an astonishingly rich variety of painting traditions. While miniature painting schools became virtually extinct with the decline of aristocratic patronage, a number of local vernacular idioms still survive and continue to develop.

Madhubani Art: Indian Art Series: Madhubani art's origin is believed to go back to the ancient era of the Ramayana, when the town was decorated by inhabitants of the region for the wedding of Lord Rama and Sita with elaborate wall paintings and murals (...) Primarily a significant socio-cultural engagement for the womenfolk of Bihar, this art was a welcome break from their daily drudgery.

Reflections on Mughal Art and Culture: Enter the splendid world of Mughal India and explore its rich aesthetic and cultural legacy through fresh insights offered by 13 eminent scholars.

Monsoon Feelings: A History of Emotions in the Rain: Through a series of evocative essays exploring rain-drenched worlds of poetry, songs, paintings, architecture, films, gardens, festivals, music and medicine, this lavishly illustrated collection examines the history of monsoon feelings in South Asia from the twelfth century to the present

Sita's Ramayana shifts the point of view of the Ramayana - the saga of a heroic war - to bring a woman's perspective to this timeless epic. Illustrated with Patua painting.

Adi Parva: Churning of the Ocean: a graphic novel that is a revisionist retelling of some of our oldest tales which have inspired and guided generations of people.

Ajit Mookerji, Sivaramamurti and Craven Roy's books are concise from where one can begin and then delve deeper into the subject of interest. Reading history and myths behind the work for context and listening to music from the given time/region alongside will make the exploration even more enjoyable!

[odetopictorialism]

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy • Stella Bloch, 1920

[raisongardee]

"Il n’est prétendu nulle part que la beauté du corps puisse être une mauvaise chose en soi ; la beauté corporelle étant plutôt prise comme signe extérieur d’un bien-être, ou santé, intérieur et constitutionnel. Que pareille beauté et santé, bien qu’étant un grand bien en soi, puisse aussi être appelée vaine d’un autre point de vue, cela sera évident pour tout le monde : par exemple, si un homme est tellement attaché au bien-être du corps qu’il ne veuille risquer sa vie pour une bonne cause. A quel point la philosophie chrétienne conçoit peu la beauté naturelle comme quelque chose de mauvais en soi, cela peut se voir chez Augustin, qui dit que le beau se trouve partout et en toutes choses, "par exemple dans un coq de combat" (De ordine I, 25 : il choisit le coq de combat comme quelque chose d’une certaine façon méprisable de son propre point de vue), et que cette beauté dans les créatures est la voix de Dieu qui les a faites (confessio ejus in terra et in coelo, Enarr. in ps., CXLVIII), point de vue qui est inséparable également de la notion de monde conçu comme une théophanie (comme chez Erigène) et de la doctrine du vestigium pedis (comme chez Bonaventure). D’un autre côté, être attaché aux formes telles qu’elles sont en elles-mêmes, c’est précisément ce que l’on entend par "idolâtrie", et, comme le dit Eckhart (Evans, I, 259) "pour trouver la nature elle-même, toutes ses formes doivent être brisées, et plus complètement cela se fait, plus proche sera la chose actuelle" ; cf Jami, "Si tu as peur de boire le vin du flacon de la Forme, tu ne peux drainer la liqueur de l’Idéal. Mais cependant, attention ! Ne sois pas retardé par la Forme : efforces-toi plutôt de vite traverser le pont"."

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, La Théorie médiévale de la Beauté, trad. Jacques Thomas, 1946.

[rhianna]

Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists, by the Sister Nivedita (Margaret E. Noble) of Rāmakrishna-Vivekānanda and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy; with thirty-two illustrations in colour by Indian artists under the supervision of Abanindro Nāth Tagore, C. I. E.

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Cite this

Main AuthorNivedita, Sister, 1867-1911.Related NamesCoomaraswamy, Ananda K. (Ananda Kentish), 1877-1947. Language(s)English PublishedLondon, G. G. Harrap & company, 1916. SubjectsBuddhism. Hindu mythology. Physical Descriptionxii, 425, [1] p. col. front., col. plates. 21cm.

[kino-free-time]

Reclining Nude Woman

early 1900s. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (Sri Lankan, 1877–1947). Ink on paper.

source

[katirabhavesh05-blog]

The Return of Rama

Venkatappa, K. (1886-1965)

Private Collection

Colour Lithograph

Illustration for Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists

By Sister Nivedita and Ananda K Coomaraswamy with illustrations by Venkatappa, K.under the supervision of Abanindra Nath Tagore.

[phantomas71]

«Es una experiencia común que es posible que un hombre dedique toda su vida al estudio del arte sin haber experimentado ni una sola vez la emoción estética: "La investigación histórica", como dice Croce, "destinada a iluminar una obra de arte, ponerse en condiciones de juzgarlo, no basta para hacerlo nacer en nuestro espíritu", ya que "las pinturas, la poesía y todas las obras de arte sólo surten efecto sobre las almas preparadas para recibirlas"».

*

- Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Shiva

[proofofgods]

Transcendence: Navigating Life's Tapestry through Art and Spirituality

By courageously confronting existence and embracing honesty, we unlock the potential to effectively resolve conflicts and oppositions. To embark on a transformative journey, a comprehensive understanding of life's true nature and the world is imperative. Armed with this knowledge, navigating the path toward shaping them into their ideal forms becomes possible.

The profound insights of the rishi-artists, beautifully illustrated in Ananda K. Coomaraswamy's 'Dance of Shiva,' encapsulate a breathtaking array of ideas. Their creations serve as keys to unraveling life's intricate fabric—an encompassing theory of nature that resonates across ages and borders, captivating philosophers, lovers, and artists alike. This representation captures perpetual movement, reflecting a rhythm of the spirit that mirrors the Energy described by Science as the underpinning force of all phenomena.

In the 'Celestial Reverie' and 'Proof of Gods' Collections, the fusion of art and spirituality acts as a guide for a profound journey toward self-discovery. These NFTs seamlessly merge the physical and digital realms, unlocking boundless potential and illuminating our true purpose. 'Celestial Reverie' pieces harmonize ethereal beauty with spiritual connectivity, reminding us of our inherent capacity for transcendence. Conversely, the 'Proof of Gods' Collection embarks on abstract spiritual exploration, presenting symbolic ciphers that reveal hidden truths.

What distinguishes these collections is their ability to transcend conventional boundaries by using NFTs as dynamic expressions of the artist's vision. This fusion of the tangible and virtual provokes contemplation about reality, blurring the lines between the material and ethereal. As we embark on the journey of self-discovery, these collections emphasize our agency in shaping destiny and evolving spiritually.

Beyond their status as art, 'Celestial Reverie' and 'Proof of Gods' Collections emerge as gateways to a deeper understanding of our existence, urging active engagement in life's grand tapestry. Through our karma, we transcend the mundane and embrace the limitless potential within us.

Explore more: [OpenSea Collection] - https://opensea.io/collection/proof-of-gods-treasure

📺 Watch in English: [Divine Transcendence with Mahakaal and Mahakali] https://youtu.be/mVuiZp9LpUo?si=XGDFRARVI2mm2d4Q

📺 Watch in Hindi: https://youtu.be/K_osi5AI9gg?si=6CSGnQkRGVLPFgvH

[younes-ben-amara]

ما القاسم المشترك بين بائعة الجرجير و"رائد التنوير/التطبيل" جابر عصفور؟ إنها الثقافة يا حبيبي

ما القاسم المشترك بين بائعة الجرجير و”رائد التنوير/التطبيل” جابر عصفور؟ إنها الثقافة يا حبيبي

مساء الخير، اقترحت عليّ الأستاذة عائشة تاتي هذه المواضيع، والأستاذة عائشة تدوّن يوميًا دون انقطاع لأكثر 78 يومًا وحتى الآن فالله يوفقها ويقويها؛ وهي مشتركة أيضًا في رديف فاشترك أنت أيضًا في رديف: https://twitter.com/aisha72020/status/1490951792544280577?s=20&t=CJ1BkgEV3VBkWEexemxi4w لننقل السؤال نصًا هنا ولنجب عليه مستعينين بالحيّ الذي لا يموت: صباحكم خيرات ومسرات وبركات آمين.ما فائدة وأضرار…

[smithsonianlibraries]

Illustration entitled "The Return of Rama" by artist K. Venkatappa from Sister Nivedita's and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy's Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914).

Full text here.

[brooklynmuseum]

Happy Diwali! ✨

The festival of Diwali celebrates the triumph of light over darkness. Families come together to light oil lamps and fireworks and everyone indulges in sweets and fried foods. Although he is not central to the holiday, the elephant-headed god Ganesha is often included in Diwali observances because he helps people to overcome obstacles in the coming year and because he is famously fond of the same sweets that are available in abundance during the holiday.

You can see this artwork on view on the newly reopened second floor of the Museum, entirely dedicated to the Arts of Asia and the Islamic World.

🎨 Indian. Ganesha, ca. 1775-1800. Opaque watercolor on paper, sheet: 8 3/16 x 11 5/16 in. (20.8 x 28.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, 36.242 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

[somerabbitholes]

Indian Non-Fiction

A list of books on India, almost all of which are by Indian writers; most of them are about history in one way or other but they also involve politics, culture, and religion. (Doesn’t include writing in Indian languages because most of my non-English reading has been limited to fiction). I’ve also added links to online editions for ones I found.

History

Pre-, Postcolonial India (+ other assorted history)

Land of Seven Rivers by Sanjeev Sanyal - looks at Indian history through its geography; great if you want an introduction. it’s a small book but has very interesting insights; definitely would recommend. Also check his Ocean of Churn, which looks at Indian history in terms of the Indian Ocean

The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati by Michel Danino - looks into the research and evidence on the existence of the Sarasvati river and makes a case for its existence

Hooghly: The Global History of a River by Robert Ivermee - about Hooghly as a centre of a trans-Asiatic and trans-oceanic commercial network

Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization by Namit Arora - what it says, it’s new and was well-received; it paints a holistic picture to start you off

Modern South India by Rajmohan Gandhi - this one’s new, and I’ve only barely read it. It’s the history of south India from the coming of the Portuguese to modern times and it’s really important because we don’t study about this or even talk about this in mainstream conversations

India Moving by Chinmay Tumbe - on migration within India and how migrants and migrations has shaped history, politics, and policy

The Courtesan, the Mahatma, and the Italian Brahmin by Manu Pillai - a selection of stories (real ones) from Indian history; very engagingly written and very, very interesting stories. Also check other works by Pillai - The Ivory Throne and Rebel Sultans. He also writes a regular column for the Mint

Panipat by Vishwas Patil - (a translation from Marathi) a history of the Battle at Panipat in 1761, which basically created a vacuum for the East India Company to step in and grab power; really expansive and highly detailed

Rama and Ayodhya by Meenakshi Jain - on the Ramayana and its cultural spread across Indian since the ancient times; also about the Ayodhya movement

Decolonizing the Hindu Mind by Koenraad Elst - lays down the ideological and intellectual development of the broad umbrella Hindu revivalist movement; really good starting point to understand the rise and development of a significant chunk of Indian politics in post-independence years; really straightforward work, very clear in its objectives

1962: the War that Wasn’t by Shiv Kunal Verma - on the Sino-Indian conflict in 1962; haven’t read it yet, but it’s supposed to be one of the best ones on the conflict

1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh by Srinath Raghavan - on the creation of Bangladesh; places the history in a Cold War context and includes all stakeholders like the US, China and Russia; has multiple layers to its narrative.The Most Dangerous Place by Srinath Raghavan - on American foreign policy in South Asia right from the earliest times.

Cricket Country by Prashant Kidambi - about how cricket took hold in colonial India and the making of the first all-India cricket team; super excited about this book, I added it to my list too

A Corner of a Foreign Field by Ramchandra Guha - on the growth of cricket in India; takes into account race, caste, and religion in pre- and postcolonial times; looks at how the sport was adapted in local cultures and how it became an expression of resistance

Himalaya: A Human History by Ed Douglas - basically what it says; very thorough and very fresh; about more than India because it takes Himalaya as a unit and so it’s really transnational in its approach

Colonial India

Plassey by Sudeep Chakravarti - a very detailed study of the Battle of Plassey which kicked off the colonial project in India

India’s War: World War II and the Making of Modern South Asia by Srinath Raghavan - on India’s involvement and contribution in World War II

An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor - about the economic impact of the British Empire in India; highly elaborate and detailed work on the economic drain in India during colonisation

Goa Inquisition by A. K. Priolkar - about the Portuguese colonisation of Goa and the subsequent evangelical campaign by the Portuguese crown and the Roman church; very, very, thorough and great if you (like me) know nothing about the whole thing

Hicky’s Bengal Gazette by James Otis - on the development and running of India’s first English newspaper; a fun read because honestly the story of the paper is very dramatic and full of political/colonial gossip; also tells you a lot about the early ideas of free press in colonial India

Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse by Meenakshi Jain - about the discourse on sati and the need for reform; reviews the idea of the abolition of sati being a progressive act

Castes of Mind by Nicholas Dirks - about the intersection of caste, race, and colonial knowledge and policy

Politics, Sociology, Commentaries

The Indian Trilogy by V. S. Naipaul - a semi-autobiographical work on the kind of civilisation Naipaul sees India to be; very, very honest; paints a picture of postcolonial India over the years. the trilogy includes An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization, and India: A Million Mutinies Now. I’ve only read the first one; but I’ve heard and read great things about them all

Republic of Caste by Anand Teltumbde - about caste in post-Independence India; looks at political and policy-related developments and their impact on caste dynamics; sort of subaltern history; it is a little difficult to understand if you don’t already have some amount of knowledge on Indian politics; also a very academic work so not exactly easy to read - I’ve only read parts of it myself

Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar - technically a speech that was never delivered because it was thought to be too explosive; argues that caste is rooted in oppression and for the complete destruction of the caste system; an excellent work, although you do need to know about caste in its religious and political terms. Really just read all of his writing (it’s an entire 14 volume set), they’re excellent and far ahead of their time

The Idea of India by Sunil Khilnani - an analysis of sorts of what pre-colonial and colonial society and the freedom struggle mean for the republic and the kind of nation-building that has happened.

A New India of India: Individual Rights in a Civilisational State by Harsh Madhusudan, Rajeev Mantri - rethinks the “idea of India”; traces cultural and historical legacy in making of modern politics, and explores how individual rights are reconciled with the state’s goals; great thing is that it takes a fresh look at things; perfect to be read after The Idea of India 

10 Judgements that Changed India by Zia Mody - recounts ten most important legal cases and court rulings in India; good starting point at understanding how the law works and its development

Republic of Religion by Abhinav Chandrachud - about secularism and religion in India in light of colonial rule, and its implications in postcolonial India

India Unbound by Gurcharan Das - it’s a history from the Independence to 2000 that focuses largely on the political economy and unpacks the kind of growth we’ve seen; it mixes the personal with the political/economic progress and it’s really easy to get into; best when read with his India Grows at Night

People

Kanshiram by Badri Narayan - a biography of Kanshi Ram, who pretty much laid the foundation of modern Dalit political movement in post-independence India; looks into how the movement developed under Kanshi Ram; a useful insight into both the man as well as early Dalit politics in India

Savarkar by Vikram Sampath - first part of a two-part biography (second part isn’t out yet) on V. D. Savarkar, one of India’s first revolutionary freedom fighter; looks at an insane variety of sources and highly detailed; a must read.

History Men by T. C. A. Raghavan - about the friendship of three of colonial India’s first native historians (Sir Jadunath Sarkar, G. S. Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh) and how they collaborated and supported each other in writing Indian history using scientific methods; also looks at their contributions to Indian history in general

Rammohun Roy by Amiya P. Sen - a biography of colonial India’s first social and religious reformers who reinterpreted Hinduism for modern times; very well-written, great for understanding how early reform worked out

Daughters of the Sun by Ira Mukhoty - about women in the Mughal dynasty. note that it only looks at women connected to and part of the royal household, but an interesting read nonetheless. Her other work, Heroines: Powerful Indian Women in Myth and History is a wonderful book on women in history right from the ancient times; also analyses and explains the changing perceptions of women

R. N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster by Nitin Gokhale - really, really, really interesting book on R. N. Kao and the development of India’s espionage machinery

Art

Indian Art by Partha Mitter - a history, he’s one of the best on Indian art, very useful

The Dance of Shiva by Ananda Coomaraswamy - a collection of essays on Indian artistic tradition in aesthetic and philosophical terms

The Spirit of Indian Painting by B. N. Goswamy - specifically about painting; explores different themes in different regionals tyles; also check other books by Goswamy, he’s kind of a big deal in art history

Indian Painting: the Lesser Known Traditions by Anna Dallapiccola - pretty much what it says; takes into account a ton of styles and traditions that are lumped together ‘folk art’

Cities, Travel etc

The Great Indian Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux - four-month journey from London to India by trains only; explores themes like colonialism, American imperialism, poverty. One of my favourites

The Epic City by Kushanava Chaudhary - memoir on Kolkata as the author explores and re-discovers the city when he comes back to it after staying in the US for most of his life; a lovely book, delves in the history of Kolkata a little in relation to how the city still feels it, how its people are still negotiating with it, and the kind of future the author sees for Kolkata

Bombay, Meri Jaan by Jerry Pinto & Naresh Fernandes - a collection of essays on Mumbai by a wide collection of people from Naipaul to Khushwant Singh to Manto and Salman Rushdie, compiled by Jerry Pinto; one of my favourites on the city

No Full Stops in India by Mark Tully - writings from when Tully was a journalist in India; commentaries on things he witnesses, also includes a fair amount of personal involvement; explores poverty, postcolonial development, religion and culture in post-independence India

Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash - a history of Mumbai city; looks at colonisation, industrial development, the regional politics, architecture and art, as well as the underworld/mafia

Banaras by Diana L. Eck - on Varanasi (Banaras), probably India’s holiest city; tells its history from its conception to now; blends religion, mythology, politics, and history. Also check Eck’s India: A Sacred Geography

The City of Djinns by William Dalrymple - semi-autobiography about living in Delhi; looks at the legacies of independence and partition while thinking about its past

The Book of Indian Journeys by Dom Moraes - it’s an anthology of essays and excerpts from works of a bunch of writers on travelling in India, it’s a favourite when I’m travelling

This is not exhaustive and I will keep updating when I find the time. I’ve tried to keep it diverse (and organised) in its content; hope you find something you like :)