Books about India and its people

My inspiration of being more curious than ever stemmed from one of my favorite podcasts, the seen and the unseen by Amit Varma. Hence, this year, I decided to read more about India and its people and quest my thirst of knowing India through lenses of great authors and writers. Some of the books I loved and would highly recommend are:

1. India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha: It covers 70 years of independent India and describes how it shaped India as a country. This one is fairly detailed and covers major event post independence. A must read and a great start point for anyone who wants to know more about Indian history.
2. Where Stones Speak by Rana Safvi: The book takes us through the journey of monuments around Delhi; most not popular among tourists and its rich history along with some very delightful stories of the legends.
3. Reshaping Art by TM Krishna: The author talks about deeper meaning of Art and its purpose. He gives his perspective on how art can be used as a tool to transform India to a progressive society and overcome caste, discrimination and identity differences.
4. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity by Katherine Boo: This one feels like a fictional book but it's not. It is based on true stories covering lives of people living in slums in Mumbai, India and at the backdrop covers politics, corruption and at its core, humanity.
5. Truck de India! A Hitchhiker's guide to Hindustan by Rajat Ubhaykar: I found the book unputdownable and finished it in one sitting. It takes us through lives of truck drivers in India, who are the most important part of the country's economy. This book will make you feel how less you know about India and it will fascinate you with every single page.
6. Rebel Sultans by Manu Pillai: The book covers Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji and everything in between. It covers Deccan from 13th century to early 18th century backed by factual evidence and excellent research.
7. Daughters of the Sun: Empresses, Queens and Begums of the Mughal Empire by Ira Mukhoty: It talks about role of women in Mughal Era and their significance in shaping empires. Rarely does any book on Mughal Era covers how influential and powerful women were in shaping up empires.
8. Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition Through Material Memory by Aanchal Malhotra: This book talks about partition of India and Pakistan and covers stories around it through objects that people carried with them while migrating from one country to another. These stories will leave you with hope and a heavy heart.
9. If It's Monday It Must Be Madurai: A Conducted Tour of India by Srinath Perur: The author takes us through ten conducted travel tours and talks about his observations.  His insightful observations and interesting perspectives makes it a fascinating reading.