An Indian on foreign shores

TURNING PAGES

At the launch of the book, the speakers sought to peek into Dilip’s work that is as much about his eminence as an author and the endless wonders that the two democratic nations are for each other.

Historian and writer Ramachandra Guha chose to describe the Roadrunner: An Indian Quest in America as sharp, evocative and provocative. Cricketer Rahul Dravid said the book has inspired him to tour the United States at least once.

Guha observed that Dilip has touched upon various aspects of the book including sensitive issues such as faith, religion and patriotism. “The book evokes in you a sense of care, compassion and camaraderie. The little happenings that the author recounts about a Christian family who wrote him a poem, of bikes and dogs or country music… all conjure up an imagery in you,” Guha explained.

 Guha said that Dilip’s equation of the beauty of fragility of a bird to that of life itself brings out the emphatic side of the author. Even if children don’t necessarily follow the footsteps of their father in their career they must make sure they don’t turn their back on the their values.

Talking about the book, Rahul said his knowledge of the US was limited to its Statue of Liberty but now Dilip's book has enriched his knowledge about the world’s superpower a bit more. Through stories large and small, this book shows one America as refracted through the eyes of an Indian who is critical but not intolerant, understanding but not starry-eyed.

From gawking at wall murals by German World War II POWs in Texas to getting to know the bikers for Christ at the annual bike carnival in Sturgis, from charting the history of immigrant Icelanders to driving a fire truck in a quiet mountain town, D'Souza travels American roads, discovering old cultures and new concerns in one of the most revered and reviled nations in the world today.