Smoke and Mirrors
India and China share a 3500 km border and have interacted with each other for over 2000 years. It is remarkable then that their people know so little of each other: what they think, how they live, their language, customs and philosophy. Or even their cuisine.Pallavi Aiyar was very much the average Indian in her knowledge of China when she set out for Beijing in 2002. As she headed there, she felt the fear of the unknown, Over the next five years that would change as she learnt Mandarin Chinese, settled into a friendly neighborhood in the city's old quarter, and developed a taste for the food. Beyond these, as she travelled across the country from booming Zhejiang to troubled Tibet, she also became a fascinated observer of a country undergoing relentless change, and the pressures this was creating in a society free to become rich but not to criticize. India's own experience of change, its strengths and many weaknesses, provided a basis for comparison. .Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China is an intimate look at a society evolving at double-digit pace. Even as it engages the reader with its affectionate portraits of people like Mr. Wu, her landlord, and Mohan, an entrepreneurial yoga teacher, it deftly raises-and answers-questions about the deeper concerns of development and freedom that are relevant to both India and China. In the process, Pallavi Aiyar breaks down many cliches, and opens new gateways through the Great Wall of China.
