FIRE ON THE GANGES:
Life Among the Dead in Banaras
© Radhika Iyengar. All rights reserved.
Praise for Fire on the Ganges
“A book of humanity and intimacy, hope and resilience …This is oral history at its finest.” — Aanchal Malhotra, author of Remnants of a Separation
“[A] nuanced exploration of the business of death in Banaras through the lens of caste…Iyengar creates a new important work that re-examines not just what the city means to India but also presents a book through which the complexity of the country could be attempted to be understood.” — The Indian Express
“Radhika Iyengar makes her subject spring to life through her eye for detail and her immersion in the world she’s writing of.” — Amit Chaudhuri, author of Sojourn
“By observing their world with a keen, unflinching eye, Iyengar is able to render the lives of her subjects with compassion and insight…Fire on the Ganges is the work of a first-rate reporter and a gifted writer.” — Don Belt, former senior editor, National Geographic Magazine
“Fire on the Ganges is a compelling read – by creating space for the experience of Doms on the margins of Hindu society, it asks powerful questions about how people contend with a fate that they have little say in writing.” — Scroll.com
“Written with empathy and concern, Iyengar presents lived reality and compels the reader not just to acknowledge the plight of the Doms but also confront their own complicity.” — The Hindustan Times
“Iyengar’s debut book is a hard-hitting, incisive, poignant, and empathetic exploration of the structural lacuna in a stratified society that pushes a community to the margins where even the vestiges of humanity are not accorded to them.” — The Telegraph
“Iyengar puts on her journalistic lens for a forensic examination of the harsh working conditions at the ghat, and a vivid telling of lives of the Doms who inhabit it. For that alone, her work deserves attention.” — Soutik Biswas, Open magazine
“A richly detailed book…an in-depth picture of the life of the Doms of Banaras.” — The Hindu
“A marvellous and gutsy book…” — Jaya Bhattacharji Rose, TOI Bookmark podcast, Times of India
“You might think of Manikarnika as a place for the dead. This fine book is a reminder that the burning ghats are a place for the living.” — Amitava Kumar, author of The Blue Book
“With admirable elegance and empathy, Radhika Iyengar tells stories of a community that has not been spared caste prejudice despite its traditional prerogative” of cremating Hindus at the most auspicious ghats along the Ganga.” — Manoj Mitta, author of Caste Pride
“Deeply alarming and yet never alarmist, Radhika Iyengar’s Fire on the Ganges is essential reading—wise, sensitive, unsettling.” — David Hajdu, author of A Revolution in Three Acts
“Vividly told and richly detailed, Radhika Iyengar’s Fire on the Ganges is an untold story that will shape our collective understanding of India.” — Sonia Faleiro, author of The Good Girls
“A worthy illustration of show-don’t-tell, Fire on the Ganges leaves you both hopeful and anxious about the possibilities of breaking through the barriers imposed by the caste system for those who are placed at its very bottom … Iyengar’s work stands out for its dogged curiosity and immersive storytelling.” — Snigdha Poonam, author of Dreamers
“With the narrative drive of a novel, this is a non-fiction book that illuminates a profession, a tradition and a society. An absolutely fascinating read!” — Tabish Khair, author of The Body by the Shore
“Fire on the Ganges is a true eye-opener…[I]t is a valuable document and a scathing indictment of the true state of a nation which, 75 years ago, promised equality for all.” — Sathya Saran, The New Indian Express
“An intricately observed and immaculately structured narrative…Iyengar’s prose shimmers.” — Biblio
“Deeply reported, thoroughly researched with writing that leaves your skin cold…” — Mansi Choksi, author of The Newlyweds
“Fire on the Ganges is an informative, insightful, and moving piece of literature that is passionately researched, humbly captured, and painfully multifaceted.” — Youth Ki Awaaz
“[This is] a work of careful documentation.” – Article 14
“Iyengar’s debut work of non-fiction is an incisive, empathetic and considered exploration of what it really means to be part of the Dom community—a sub-caste that has been tasked with burning dead bodies in Varanasi…” — Moneycontrol.com
“Fire on the Ganges is an insightful yet compassionate book that hits hard…” — The Statesman