Spring, Heat, Rains: A South Indian Diary

by David Dean Shulman

“Rocks. Goats. Dry shrubs. Buffaloes. Thorns. A fallen tamarind tree.” Such were the sights that greeted David Shulman on his arrival in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in the spring of 2006. An expert on South Indian languages and cultures, Shulman knew the region well, but from the moment he arrived for this seven-month sojourn he actively soaked up such simple aspects of his surroundings, determined to attend to the rich texture of daily life—choosing to be at the same time scholar and tourist, wanderer and wonderer.

Lyrical, sensual, and introspective, Spring, Heat, Rains is Shulman’s diary of that experience. Evocative reflections on daily events—from explorations of crumbling temples to battles with ineradicable bugs to joyous dinners with friends—are organically interwoven with considerations of the ancient poetry and myths that remain such an inextricable part of life in contemporary India. With Shulman as our guide, we meet singers and poets, washermen and betel-nut vendors, modern literati and ancient gods and goddesses. We marvel at the “golden electrocution” that is the taste of a mango fresh from the tree. And we plunge into the searing heat of an Indian summer, so oppressive and inescapable that when the monsoon arrives to banish the heat with sheets of rain, we understand why, year after year, it is celebrated as a miracle.

An unabashedly personal account from a scholar whose deep knowledge has never obscured his joy in discovery, Spring, Heat, Rains is a passionate act of sharing, an unforgettable gift for anyone who has ever dreamed of India.

Genres: India, Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry

254 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2008

About the author

David Dean Shulman is an Indologist and regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the languages of India. His research embraces many fields, including the history of religion in South India, Indian poetics, Tamil Islam, Dravidian linguistics, and Carnatic music. He is also a published poet in Hebrew, a literary critic, a cultural anthropologist, and a peace activist. He has authored or co-authored more than 20 books on various subjects ranging from temple myths and temple poems to essays that cover the wide spectrum of the cultural history of South India

In 1967, on graduating from Waterloo high school, he won a National Merit Scholarship, and emigrated to Israel, where he enrolled at Hebrew University. He graduated in 1971 with a B.A. degree in Islamic History, specializing in Arabic. He gained his doctorate in Tamil and Sanskrit. Shulman is a peace activist, and member of the joint Israeli-Palestininian 'Life-in-Common' or Ta'ayush grass-roots movement for non-violence.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book overall, but its author does not succeed in making up feel why he is in such love with the South Indian poetry of Andhra Pradesh written in Telugu. The translations do not do he same thing for me, though his descriptions of life in India are quite well done.

[Keenan · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I got from this book is that David Dean Shulman really really likes South India, has a deep appreciation for the languages of the region (Telugu and Tamil are the big ones), could listen to endless hours of poetry and discourse in said languages, and is all in all mesmerized by the deep layers of Indian life and the deep-rooted literati culture it has engendered.

What I didn't get from this book unfortunately covers a broad range of missed opportunities; first and foremost, and perhaps this reflects some narrow cultural understanding on my part, very little of the poetry contained in the book that seemed to inspire him to an almost absurd degree yielded much of any feeling from me. I don't think the English translation can fully account for this lack of emotion, and I speculate that the cultural output from this part of the world is delicately intertwined with its religious and social structures to the extent that one cannot appreciate a part without understanding the whole. Second, this slightly polished up diary commits the cardinal sin (I wonder what the equivalent in Hinduism would be) of the travel writer: assuming too much prior knowledge on the part of the reader -- a fruit you're eating without a name in English can be explained to us laypeople, and we shouldn't need to decode your fancy poetic terminology by ourselves.

I would love to read a book or watch a short lecture series on the beauty and richness of Telugu and Tamil poetry and literature and music that is produced in an approachable way. This diary-cum-travelogue isn't that.

[Baklavahalva · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really *the* life that Shulman describes: hanging out with a circle of artists, scholars, literati in the Telugu country while figuring out his relationship to many important things. Shulman's love for South Indian poetry is moving, though I know next to nothing about the subject (he provides tantalizing excerpts with translations) (one exception to my ignorance being A. K. Ramanujan, mentioned by Shulman as being depressed before he died). Shulman's descriptions of Hindu devotional practices -- all those temples, gods, and goddesses -- have intense beauty. In short, his enthusiasm translates well, but as with any journal, so many times the reader feels s/he should've just been there.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and moving book that illuminates the author's deep understanding and appreciation of South Indian culture. He is a scholar of Sanskrit and Tamil (and almost everything else) and this book records his personal journey as he discovers the beauty of Telugu language and poetry. He describes in detail the pain and joy of embracing the Indian way of life. He translates many poems and describes there effect on him so movingly that we yearn to appreciate them to the depth that he is obviously able to. In his travels he visits many towns and temples that are way off the beaten track of most Western visitors, so the book also serves as a sort of travel guide for those wanting to explore hidden wonders of South India.

[Laxmi]

This book is the diary of the author who has his roots in Israel but is quite interested and has learnt to not only converse in some of the languages spoken in South India, but is erudite in his understanding of some of the renown authors and poets from the south. The author kept this diary (this book) during 7 months of his visit to India in 2006.
Throughout the book, the author emphasizes his never-ending love for the south and the different aspects it consists of. The book is made rich with snippets of poetry that the author was being read to or was reading himself.
Experiencing a part of the south through the words of someone who is not only not from the south but also not from India, turned out to be a true pleasure.

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Requires a lot of background knowledge and is greatly enhanced if you’ve visited places he talks about in South India. Very reverential but also has some non-nuanced political takes. Feels outdated in 2023.

[Hope West · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exquisite book--rare, creative, sensitive, intensely personal. A poem masquerading as a memoir, it provides instant transportation to South India with its evocative descriptions.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book five stars because of the quality of the writing, which is wonderfully lyrical and descriptive. However, it was a hard book for me to read for two reasons. First, because there are many references to Indian poets, culture and people with which I had no familiarity, so I felt compelled to stop reading and research each unfamiliar person, place, or thing. Because of this disconnect, I never felt like I fully understood the author's experiences or points of reference. Second, there is no traditional plot or story arc, as it is a journal, and I really prefer to read something with a discernable plot. Having said that, though, this book moreso than any other book about India has given me a much deeper understanding of the country, its people, and the culture. It's a book that will continue to help me in that understanding as I continue researching all the references. And I really loved the writing style - it was poetry in prose form and just stunningly beautiful.

[Tony Gualtieri · Rating 1 out of 5]

The culture of southeastern India is not very well documented in the West and I looked forward to learning something about it. The author clearly has a deep understanding and experience of the region. Unfortunately in this book, he has chosen to give impressions rather than observations, which means we get his reactions to events but not the events themselves. There are passages of "poetic" description, but all too often they are strings of verbless sentences signifying nothing. The diary reads uncomfortably like an academic's fantasy of the mysterious East: the gods are all about, but the people are nowhere.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an unusual and lovely book. In form it is basically a diary, which is not necessarily in its favor, but Shulman's deeply informed and perceptive feeling for South Indian poetry gives it a more compelling dimension.

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hoped this would be about India but it is mostly about writers I've never heard of.

[Jahnabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This journal serves as a poetic, evocative introduction to small town intellectual life in South India (Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu), its magnificent temples, poetry and music. Highly recommended!

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can watch my reaction to this book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofof4...