A review by pikusonali
Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small Town India by Pankaj Mishra

3.0

The perfect butter chicken consists of bite-sized tender succulent pieces of chicken ensconed in a rich aromatic gravy. The perfect butter chicken is neither spicy nor sweet but manages to capture that right balance of flavour. It is a dish that non-veg lovers swear by and an interesting title of a book whose author is a vegetarian. That Mishra is a vegetarian is evident when you consider the butter chicken he produces ends up being slightly off-taste, failing to meet expectations. The writing is good, engaging enough to hold your attention. But after one point you get tired of Mishra's constant condescending tone and nitpicking. It's wonderful to read about the various small Indian towns and what makes them click. And I do understand that the book was written in the 90s so two decades apart it probably offers a different experience but I wish Mishra's observations weren't this shallow. Considering he was only 25 when he wrote this book and the books he has gone on to write, it would be interesting to see his development as a writer over the years. Definitely not the last Pankaj Mishra book I'll read.