Synopses & Reviews
"Absolutely riveting. I couldn't put it down. Everything you wanted to know about sex . . . in India, but never dared ask."Mark Shand, author of Travels on my Elephant and winner of the Travel Writer of the Year award
Sally Howard, a self-confessed child of the western sexual revolution, sets out on a "sexploration" through modern India. With experiences collected over fifteen years of crisscrossing the enormous country, from the heat of anti-rape protest on the streets of New Delhi to the cool hills of Shimla, playground of the Raj; from a Gujurati retirement home for gay men and eunuchs to a busy sex clinic in Chennai, Howard lifts the bed sheets on India's sexual revolution.
And it's a revolution that's full of fascinating surprises and contrasts; for Indiathe land that gave us the most famousor infamousguide to sexual pleasure, the Kama Sutra, is also the land where couples fear to hold hands in public and where women remain cloistered in purdah. With compelling contradictions and characters, The Kama Sutra Diaries paints a vibrant portrait of modern-day love, sex, and sexuality in an India caught between a sensual past and evolving present.
Sally Howard is freelance travel and human interest journalist and author. A contributor to many of the world's most prestigious media, including the Sunday Times, Forbes Lifestyle, and the Sunday Telegraph.
Review
In this spirited travelogue, British journalist Sally Howard roams India reporting on the countrys growing sexual revolution. Sally Howards voice is engaging and lively throughout, and while a work like this runs the risk of being called out for appropriation, Howards writing strikes the right balance between curiosity and respect for an ancient and diverse culture.”Bust Magazine
"Journalist Howard describes her travels in India and her exploration of the sexual and social revolution in that country. She uncovers subjects from the little-known (at least in the West), such as ancient erotic Indian statues, to the surprisingly little-understood, such as the nations soaring consumption of explicit Web material. Her discussion of the challenging status of women is the most disturbing part of the text.”The Columbus Dispatch
'This is a travel book with a difference
a book of surprising encounters. As an Indian who has been out of the country for a long time, I found this book an eye-opener. Some of these things I did know about, but others were a complete surprise. I found the change in attitudes gave me reason for optimism, in spite of the backlash. Women are starting to fight back and stand up for their rights, as is the gay community. There are anti-Eve-teasing” (a euphemism for sexual harassment and groping) flash mobs on the Delhi metro. It will take a long time for attitudes to undergo a significant shift but the cracks are showing.'Women on the Road
'The first book to focus exclusively on sexual experience. Her journey begins in the deep past, in the erotic Kama Sutra temples of Madhya Pradesh, and continues through hill station of Shimla as a seat of sexual licence during the Raj, before taking a look at GIGs (good Indian girls) and BIGs (bad Indian girls) in Delhi, as well as a retirement home for eunuchs in Gujarat, cemetery sex in Varanasi, sex clinics in Chennai, and bar girls worse in Mumbai. There is much eye-watering, mind-boggling stuff.' Giles Foden in Conde Nast Traveller
'Absolutely riveting... I could not put it down. Everything you wanted to know about sex...in India, but never dared ask. Sally Howard lifts the veil on one of the worlds most complex countries.' Mark Shand, author of Travels on my Elephant and winner of the Travel Writer of the Year award.
'An intelligent and informative look at changing sexual attitudes and behaviour in India. It includes tackling the increasingly hostile attitudes towards women, from the notorious gang-rape on a bus of a 23-year-old woman student Delhi last December that made the world notice, to an "epidemic" of domestic murders that have inspired feminist flash-mobs and demonstrations.' Sunday Herald
'Absolutely brilliant - every page is a new revelation.' Nahal, BBC Asian Network
'Counter-cultural and defying expectation, it lays open Indias marketing of sex and shines its light on the mistreatment of women, sexual practices, addictions and presumptions. An intriguing insight into a country which gave us the fabled Kama Sutra but where couples still fear to hold hands in public.' Scotsman
Fascinating! I had no idea of the level of contradictions and cultural idiosyncrasies in India. There are lessons to be learned from observing this ancient cultures journey into modern times. Tori Eldridge, Empowered Living Radio, Authors on the Air
Synopsis
A provocative sexploration of the cultural and political landscape of modern India.
Synopsis
Sally Howard, a self-confessed child of the Western Sexual Revolution, sets out on a sexploration through modern India by train, plane and auto-rickshaw.
From the heat of anti-rape protest on the streets of New Delhi to the cool hills of Shimla, playground of the Raj; from a Gujurati retirement home for gay men and eunuchs to a busy sex clinic in Chennai; from patriarchs to matriarchs; GIGs (Good Indian Girls), BIGs (Bad Indian Girls) and the fleshpots of Bombay, she accompanied by feisty Delhi girl Dimple lifts the bed sheets on India's sexual revolution.
And it's a revolution that's full of fascinating surprises and contrasts; for India the land that gave us that exuberant guide to sexual pleasure, the Kama Sutra is also the land where women remain cloistered in purdah while teenage girls check out porn online; where families bow down to a conjoined phallus and vagina, the Shivaling, while couples fear to hold hands in public; and where the loveless arranged marriage is still the norm.
Colourful, compelling, confounding, The Kama Sutra Diaries reveal what India has to tell us about modern-day love, sex and sexuality.
Synopsis
While the Sexual Revolution has come and gone in the West, Sally Howard sets out on a "sexploration" around India, and a culture in transition. With experiences collected over fifteen years of criss-crossing the enormous country, from the quiet foothills of the Himalayas to a busy sex clinic in Chennai, this travel narrative is an absorbing, personal, and lively approach to a culture that produced the Kama Sutra, the most famousor infamoussexual guidebook in human history. Yet, for centuries India has practiced arranged marriages and, to this day, prosecutes young couples for holding hands in public. Sanskrit, the region's traditional language, has over twenty words for intercourse, yet sex toys are illegal and can only be bought in the alleyways of New Delhi.
Howard adeptly paints an India in the throes of its own hidden sexual revolution, a country caught between a sensual past and evolving present. In the midst of international controversy, she creates a compelling portrait of love, sex, and sexuality in a country full of surprising contradictions and vibrant characters.
Sally Howard is freelance travel and human interest journalist and author. A contributor to many of the world's most prestigious media, Sally's clients include the Sunday Times, Forbes Lifestyle, and the Sunday Telegraph.
About the Author
Sally is freelance travel and human interest journalist and author. A contributor to many of the world's most prestigious media, Sally's clients include The Sunday Times, Forbes Lifestyle and The Sunday Telegraph.