Arnett, Robert. India Unveiled. Atman. May 1997. c. 215 p. photos. index. (review for first edition of the book)

A profound meditation experience led Arnett, an art collector and instructor, to spend 18 months in India between 1988 and 1995. During that period he traversed virtually every state in India and immersed himself in its religion and customs. This book is a stunning pictorial record of his pilgrimage. Some 270 full-color photographs--his own--capture images of sacred shrines and sites in 25 states. The author organized the country's regions into six chapters, with maps; he includes the holy places of all the country's diverse faiths. The accompanying text provides an informative albeit pedestrian account of the journey. Especially ravishing are the full-page and double-page images of temples in silhouette and palace ruins glimpsed through the mists of early morning. Recommended for all collections.
-Ravi Shenoy, Hinsdale P.L., Ill.

Arnett, Robert. India Unveiled. Atman Press, 2525 Auburn Avenue, #345, Columbus, GA 31906
(review for first edition of the book)

Reviewer's Choice

India Unveiled by Robert Arnett is a heart-warming portrait of the people, landscape and multi-hued culture of India. India Unveiled is one of the most insightful and revealing compendiums written on India in decades. Arnett has captured for posterity the very essence of India as the oldest continuously surviving civilization on earth. The twenty-five states of India are organized by regions into six chapters, each with a distinctive map. 268 photographs and seven maps (all beautifully reproduced in full color on acid-free paper) further enhance the value and beauty of this magnificent volume. Perfect for browsing through by the armchair traveler, yet informative and engaging for any serious student of the culture of the subcontinent, India Unveiled is a highly recommended acquisition for all academic and community library collections.

India Unveiled By Robert Arnett. Atman Press (2525 auburn Avenue #345, Columbus, GA 31906). (224 P. 270 Color Photographs, 7 color maps. Glossary and Index). (review for first edition of the book)

Excellent Introduction to Complex Subject

A heart-warming portrait of the people, landscape and multi-hued culture of India. The splendid and breathtaking photography combined with the engrossing narrative enables the readers to feel as if they are actually traveling with the author. Indians say it is one of the few books written by a foreigner who understands the country--which probably accounts for why it is possibly the only book ever published in the West which has been officially recognized by an Indian Prime Minister.

The author has made three trips to India, spending a total of 18 months there. He obviously has a special affinity for the country and its people and offers us intimate glimpses into daily life, family situations and friendships. Writing with charm and humor, he skillfully weaves his own personal spiritual journey into an entertaining and informative account of the complex collage of scenes, sounds, colors, tastes and personalities which coalesce into a mosaic only found in India.

Though the setting of this book is India, it is a pilgrimage of devotion which transcends time and place. It achieves a major goal of portraying the one heart behind all hearts. This inspiring book is a "Must Read" for all who are interested not only in India, photography, and art but also the journey of the soul. India Unveiled is a a befitting tribute to the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence (from Britain) for a country which has been a beacon of spirituality and is the oldest continuously surviving civilization on earth.

India is Unveiled in Scholar's Book

Much of the story of India's civilization, going back 5,000 years, was not recorded by the native population, at least in records that have survived.
     For much of our knowledge of early India, we have to turn to diaries of foreign travelers, either European or Chinese, in the 7th through 3rd centuries B.C.
     To this list of travelers we can add, in modern times, an alumnus of Tulane University who has traveled to India three times, spending six months there each time, recording his impressions of its rich multihued culture. Robert Arnett, initially attracted by Indian philosophy, went to India to experience is values and culture for himself.

As a pilgrim, he traveled the length and breadth of India. He visited big cities and remote villages, ancient temples and modern shrines. He stayed with Indians in their homes, participated in local religious rituals and met gurus and scholars. He brought back not only his understanding of an ancient civilization, where he discovered "the true essence of my being," but also a pictorial and narrative record of his travels.

In his book India Unveiled, Arnett has packed 18 months of experience into 215 pages and 268 beautiful color photographs. The book is divided into six chapters, each devoted to one region of India. Detailed accounts of his travels are interspersed with his impressions of the places he visited and the people he met. With a Western eye and a positive attitude and deep empathy and reverence for Indian culture, he gives an in-depth look at modern India.

Arnett's journey was not that of a casual traveler. Having been a professor of history at the University of Maryland and a collector or Oriental, African and primitive art, he chose places with cultural significance, or at least found significance in them in the light of his scholarly background and artistic and philosophical interests.

Recently, India Unveiled received two prestigious awards: the Small Press Book Award for the best travel book of the year and the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best travel essay of the year.

Arnett's book will reward any one interested in India. Even Indians can learn a lot about their own diverse culture from it. It also received official recognition from the former prime minister of India, H.D. Deve Gowda.

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