What do you think?
Rate this book
Tale of the Horse: A History of India on horseback
The horse is etched on the Indian landscape, and to view the subcontinent’s past through the prism of the horse is to be swept up in its power and grace. Horses are a thread that connects Indian history, mythology, art, literature, folklore and popular belief.In this inspired and singularly erudite debut, Yashaswini Chandra takes us on the trail of the horse into and within India. What follows is a surprising and exhilarating journey, covering caravan-trade routes originating in Central Asia and Tibet, sea routes from the Middle East, and the dominions of different sultans and Mughal emperors, the south Indian kingdoms as well as the Rajput horse-warrior states. She outlines the political symbolism of the horse, its vital function in social life, religion, sport and war, its role in shaping economies and forging crucial human bonds. We learn of the emergence of local breeds such as the Kathiawari and the Marwari, the Zanskari and the Manipuri. We encounter fabulous horsewomen too, Chand Bibi, Maratha princesses and women polo players among them. We meet grooms, farriers, breeders, traders and bandits. The highlight of course are the magnificent examples of the horse itself – Rana Pratap’s legendary Chetak, Ranjit Singh’s much- contested Laili, Pabuji’s cherished black mare and those horses captured in paintings and equestrian portraits. This glorious age of the horse would meet its agonized decline with the onset of colonial rule and mechanization.In the end, what is most remarkable is that the history of the horse in India, mirroring that of its human inhabitants, is a tale of migration and permanent intermingling. The horse is thus an exceptional and fitting vantage from which to appreciate the history of the land, influenced as it was by this most instrumental of animals.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionIndia
Unknown Binding
Published January 1, 2021
15 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 11, 2021
An extraordinary, engaging, and fabulously illustrated history! The Tale of the Horse could very easily have ended up being a tale of nobility and male privilege that the animal and its rider is often associated with, but instead it manages to be an inclusive epic as it encompasses the narratives of breeders, traders, grooms, and female riders across South Asia in terms of content and also captures folk tales, subaltern voices, and oral histories revolving around the horse where research methodology is concerned. Dr. Chandra's writing is lucid and vivid, and only the best of horsewomen could have enabled us to cover this enormity of ground in such an easy pace.
December 27, 2023
Tale of a Horse is Yashaswini Chandra's love letter to the horse - it touches upon various subjects including the horse trade, indigenous horse breeds, a few communities associated with horses, organization of horse management and the representation of the horse on the page and canvas in India. There is certainly some credit to be given to the attention the book brings to several generally unknown facts about the horse in India history - be it the breeds that were bred in India or how the horse became an integral part of culture of several communities in the general area of Rajasthan.
However, I cannot recommend this book as an authoritative tome, by any length, on the history of the horse in India - it sadly suffers from a myopic focus on very specific subjects within the larger ambit of equine history. The logic behind the choice of topics covered here seems to be more of what interested the author than any consideration of delivering a comprehensive narrative on the larger subject matter.
There are several gaps in the text with no clear reason for why they exist. A good example of this is the dedication of almost the entirety of the second half of the book to the horse's association with the Rajput community, while only providing short passages on the Maratha, Deccan or Eastern polities.
Equally baffling is the textual real estate dedicated to paintings and a handful of poems, songs and epics. Too much space is spent on providing detailed descriptions or recountings, instead of spending the time explaining what it reflected the society and communities that they originated from. In fact, this, to me, is part of the larger and most egregious miss from the book - between the lack of reliance on a wide variety of sources (including archaeological, anthropological and a wider set of scholarly ones) and the failure to bring out how the horse truly shaped culture and communities, and in turn our shared history.
Compounding these issues is the general lack of structure in the book, which seems to jump from topic to topic, often without a proper segue between topics or giving the clear idea of what a certain thread of discussion was leading to.
However, I cannot recommend this book as an authoritative tome, by any length, on the history of the horse in India - it sadly suffers from a myopic focus on very specific subjects within the larger ambit of equine history. The logic behind the choice of topics covered here seems to be more of what interested the author than any consideration of delivering a comprehensive narrative on the larger subject matter.
There are several gaps in the text with no clear reason for why they exist. A good example of this is the dedication of almost the entirety of the second half of the book to the horse's association with the Rajput community, while only providing short passages on the Maratha, Deccan or Eastern polities.
Equally baffling is the textual real estate dedicated to paintings and a handful of poems, songs and epics. Too much space is spent on providing detailed descriptions or recountings, instead of spending the time explaining what it reflected the society and communities that they originated from. In fact, this, to me, is part of the larger and most egregious miss from the book - between the lack of reliance on a wide variety of sources (including archaeological, anthropological and a wider set of scholarly ones) and the failure to bring out how the horse truly shaped culture and communities, and in turn our shared history.
Compounding these issues is the general lack of structure in the book, which seems to jump from topic to topic, often without a proper segue between topics or giving the clear idea of what a certain thread of discussion was leading to.
July 9, 2024
Things I liked about the book -
1. It's an offbeat and quirky topic
2. The author has done an amazing job of tracing the history of horse trade in India
3. Book manages to straddle the line of imparting new knowledge without being too technical or boring.
4The reader gets familiarised with different Indian horses, their temperaments and use cases .
5. The writing has a good flow and makes for a smooth reading experience.
6. Sources used are authentic and an attempt has been made to be true to them without embossing facts. Should be after point four? Since that point is talking about tracing histories.?
7. Good use of the mythological sources
Things I didn't like about the book
1. The book doesn't focus on the pre Delhi Sultanate horse breeding and usage in India.
2. Lacks an indepth look into the topic, providing only a surface level discussion that fails to create a deeper impact due to the lack of a thorough dialogue and the data to back it.
3. While able to discuss the and successfully demonstrate the significance of horses for Military usage for empires post 11th century, the book fails to focus on empires predating the 11th century. For example the significance of horses in Indic practices such as the Ashwamegha yajana, to establish the lengths of an empire.
4. This pattern of only surface level discussions, with no claims or explanations to back them up continues throughout the book. While some facts were mentioned repeatedly, no effort was made to trace the reasons for their significance. *Spoiler ahead*. Such as instances where marked preference for mares for riding in India is highlighted,different from the Central Asian practice at the time. However, the author makes no attempt to explain either phenomenon.
5. The same lack of in depth discussion hinders the reading experience where the author has presumed a certain amount of familiarity with the subject matter, essentially glossing over industry specific facts such as why certain features in horses were preferred in certain regions, while repeatedly mentioning them just the same.
Tip - The Narrator is amazing and would highly recommend the audiobook.
1. It's an offbeat and quirky topic
2. The author has done an amazing job of tracing the history of horse trade in India
3. Book manages to straddle the line of imparting new knowledge without being too technical or boring.
4The reader gets familiarised with different Indian horses, their temperaments and use cases .
5. The writing has a good flow and makes for a smooth reading experience.
6. Sources used are authentic and an attempt has been made to be true to them without embossing facts. Should be after point four? Since that point is talking about tracing histories.?
7. Good use of the mythological sources
Things I didn't like about the book
1. The book doesn't focus on the pre Delhi Sultanate horse breeding and usage in India.
2. Lacks an indepth look into the topic, providing only a surface level discussion that fails to create a deeper impact due to the lack of a thorough dialogue and the data to back it.
3. While able to discuss the and successfully demonstrate the significance of horses for Military usage for empires post 11th century, the book fails to focus on empires predating the 11th century. For example the significance of horses in Indic practices such as the Ashwamegha yajana, to establish the lengths of an empire.
4. This pattern of only surface level discussions, with no claims or explanations to back them up continues throughout the book. While some facts were mentioned repeatedly, no effort was made to trace the reasons for their significance. *Spoiler ahead*. Such as instances where marked preference for mares for riding in India is highlighted,different from the Central Asian practice at the time. However, the author makes no attempt to explain either phenomenon.
5. The same lack of in depth discussion hinders the reading experience where the author has presumed a certain amount of familiarity with the subject matter, essentially glossing over industry specific facts such as why certain features in horses were preferred in certain regions, while repeatedly mentioning them just the same.
Tip - The Narrator is amazing and would highly recommend the audiobook.
June 8, 2021
The Horse may be the most important animal in human history, if we leave out the Dog. On it's fast framework, the Horse has expedited communication, borne armies and left an everlasting imprint on folklore, music and painting.
The history of India is not an exception in this regard. As the writer shows in this book, the path of the journey of this country is replete with the sound of horses' hooves from as far into the past as the Vedic age to the reign of the Company and beyond into the times of Independent India. The pages speak of the chariots of Sanauli, the horse archer of the Gupta age, Kesar Kilmi of the folk hero Pabuji and the description of the horse of Alamgir himself. Chandra has described about the breeds of Indian horses as well as the tremendous effect of this majestic animal on the Indian societal structure. She also delves into the fortunes of medieval horse traders who were massively rich and politically powerful because of their commodity. The Horse has also taken a position of pride in Rajput and Mughal paintings and have witnessed the evolution of whole schools of painting.
Today the Horse is mostly a luxury and an animal used in sports. The arrival of European breeds destroyed the indigenous breeds, and the industrial age drove the final nail into the coffin.
One really feels small in front of such a great story. If we remove just the Horse, where will lie our society, our history, and our sports? They will be much duller, much smaller, much less colourful. Humans take pride in vain in this civilization.
The history of India is not an exception in this regard. As the writer shows in this book, the path of the journey of this country is replete with the sound of horses' hooves from as far into the past as the Vedic age to the reign of the Company and beyond into the times of Independent India. The pages speak of the chariots of Sanauli, the horse archer of the Gupta age, Kesar Kilmi of the folk hero Pabuji and the description of the horse of Alamgir himself. Chandra has described about the breeds of Indian horses as well as the tremendous effect of this majestic animal on the Indian societal structure. She also delves into the fortunes of medieval horse traders who were massively rich and politically powerful because of their commodity. The Horse has also taken a position of pride in Rajput and Mughal paintings and have witnessed the evolution of whole schools of painting.
Today the Horse is mostly a luxury and an animal used in sports. The arrival of European breeds destroyed the indigenous breeds, and the industrial age drove the final nail into the coffin.
One really feels small in front of such a great story. If we remove just the Horse, where will lie our society, our history, and our sports? They will be much duller, much smaller, much less colourful. Humans take pride in vain in this civilization.
August 8, 2021
A beautifully written book, that weaves together a whole range of colonial and early modern sources to reconstruct the story of the horse in India. It begins with a fascinating account of the different, often perilous journeys that horse traders undertook, by ship and across overlands routes, to supply Indian polities with animals to mount their armies. The book also charts the complex relationship between human beings and horses in the sub-continent. It is a bond characterised by a great deal of romance, but also strategic imperatives, aesthetic valorisation and religious virtue that developed over the longue durée. Chandra uses her expertise in art history to provide nuanced and perceptive readings of a series of Indian paintings depicting the horse, its rider, and the entourage of grooms and attendants that surrounds them. She draws great insights about the changing status of the horse in the Rajput and Mughal polities through these paintings, but also from folk epics, ballads, and local religious beliefs. The plurality of sources results in a book that is not purely focused on the courtly and military aspect of equine history, but also on the different castes and itinerant communities that specialised in horse breeding and trading. Happily, Chandra's own admiration and personal affinity for the horse shine through at different times, allowing the book to become something more than an intricately researched, elegantly written, but impersonal history.
August 10, 2021
It was an excellent journey through pre-Moghul to the current period tracking the horse in South Asia. I was expecting a lot more geographic coverage and was a little disappointed that the book is mostly focused on northwest India. To that extent, it is very inclusive of all segments of population through the centuries. Well researched and sourced. Be prepared to read a lot more than horse stories (which is great if you are generally interested in history, like me). Some portions like the one about Colonel Tod’s efforts in capturing Rajput history; segment on the Banjaras are quite eye-opening. The author relied a lot on paintings, which may have been inevitable. Some parts are almost like art history. I wish there was more on Manipuri and Deccan horses.
Over all, a slow but interesting read. It kept me in it, but not a page-turner.
Over all, a slow but interesting read. It kept me in it, but not a page-turner.
June 21, 2023
Hooter: A rundown on Indian history from the ecosystem around horses
A unique perspective of running through Indian history with the aspect of horses, from foreign bred omes to the local ones, cross breeding to create unique ones to the game of polo and conquests in the search for the best horses to historical past as spoken of in mythological epics.
From Banjaras to Rajputana history to Afghan tradesmen who turned Indian royalty, horses have been centre to a lot of cultural nuances our country has evolved over the years including the hindi saying of "ghode bech ke sona" makes for an interesting read and a different perspective to viewing our history.
Whilst numerous facts litter the book, the structure felt all over and was different to gallop through the book.
A unique perspective of running through Indian history with the aspect of horses, from foreign bred omes to the local ones, cross breeding to create unique ones to the game of polo and conquests in the search for the best horses to historical past as spoken of in mythological epics.
From Banjaras to Rajputana history to Afghan tradesmen who turned Indian royalty, horses have been centre to a lot of cultural nuances our country has evolved over the years including the hindi saying of "ghode bech ke sona" makes for an interesting read and a different perspective to viewing our history.
Whilst numerous facts litter the book, the structure felt all over and was different to gallop through the book.
September 6, 2021
Yashaswini Chandra deserves to be congratulated for writing such a book and that too amidst Covid-19. And I am grateful to have read it. This book doesn't only offer a sound historical account but more than that it offers it from the perspective of horses. More books should be written such as this.
I recommend this book to any person with even a slightest of interest in horses' history. Fantastic read!
I recommend this book to any person with even a slightest of interest in horses' history. Fantastic read!
August 29, 2022
Wish I could give this epic & throughly researched book more than 5 stars. The author has brought together the entire story about how the horse entered mainstream India is still relevant in many parts of India. I didn’t know that the horse was mentioned 39 more times than the cow in the Rig Veda but thanks to this book I know realise how important the horse was for the ancients.
How the horse was a chief commodity of import in India during the Middle Ages was well described and how they were prized by various ruling dynasties through India was well described.
A must, must read for persons who like to go into the depths of an original story which is based on reality.
How the horse was a chief commodity of import in India during the Middle Ages was well described and how they were prized by various ruling dynasties through India was well described.
A must, must read for persons who like to go into the depths of an original story which is based on reality.
April 22, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyable book on a subject that has not been explored much. India’s destiny was impacted to a great extent by the invaders on horseback & the resultant polity which was shaped by mobility that was possible on horseback.
Kudos to the author for the painstaking research & the resultant book that engages & enlightens.
Kudos to the author for the painstaking research & the resultant book that engages & enlightens.
July 8, 2022
This is by far, the worst book I ever read. There should be a proper structure of a history book. There is no structure in this book. Alot of useless references to pictures and polo game.
Apart from that this book should be renamed from the tale of the horse to 'Nonetheless'
Apart from that this book should be renamed from the tale of the horse to 'Nonetheless'
July 20, 2022
Professor Chandra directs her generous gaze towards the fabulous horses of India, tracing the histories of various trades and mythologies that horses have partaken in. She employs a unique narrative mode where she carefully details the anxieties of horses and their humans.
July 19, 2022
Too many irrelevant , arduous details about things many don’t care about !
Want to read
June 30, 2024Chapter 2 - The Sea Horse
August 7, 2023
This is a phenomenal work.
Who would have thought such an exhaustive work can be possible on the history of the horse species in India?
Not only did I learn a lot about the horses but also about numerous other characters of our history which were otherwise missed in all my readings of history. This was both enriching as well as humbling.
I imagine the amount of reading the author would have herself needed to do to be able to bring out a piece of work like this was humongous.
Kudos Yashashwini Chandra!
Who would have thought such an exhaustive work can be possible on the history of the horse species in India?
Not only did I learn a lot about the horses but also about numerous other characters of our history which were otherwise missed in all my readings of history. This was both enriching as well as humbling.
I imagine the amount of reading the author would have herself needed to do to be able to bring out a piece of work like this was humongous.
Kudos Yashashwini Chandra!
February 18, 2025
Any piece of history can be great, which is surely good and detailed research work. However, I have a small problem with the mismatch of title and content. This should be the tale of India horses in medieval period.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews