According to the ancient Hindu scriptures, history is divided into four epochs. As William Dalrymple was told again and again on his travels around the Indian subcontinent, the region is now in the throes of the 'Kali Yug', the Age of Kali, an epoch of darkness and disintegration. In such an age normal conventions fall apart: anything is possible.

'The Age of Kali' is the distillation of his ten years relentless travelling around the length and breadth of the subcontinent, from the fortresses of the drug barons of the North-West Frontier to the jungle lairs of the Tamil Tigers. Everywhere Dalrymple finds an ancient landscape overwhelmed by change, where the old certainties have been swept away, but where a new order has yet to fully establish itself. In Lucknow the author finds a war being fought between rival wings of the student union, each side being armed with grenades and assault rifles; in neighbouring Bihar he finds the state has totally succumbed to a tidal wave of violence, corruption and endemic caste warfare

The book is, admittedly, interesting and rich in detail. This is apparent in both his range of topics, particularly the individuals he chooses to profile (Like Laloo giving an interview lying on empty plane seats with hangers on sprawled out on the aisle!). He puts the country's politics into context, describing how lower caste members, often incapable of reading and writing, have risen to positions of authority within the country's government in recent years, and how they manage to "keep the peace" through fear and violence. The result is that the North of India is an area that tourists are well advised to avoid... making a pilgrimage to the site of Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya requires the service of the Tourist Protection Force, for example..

However, despite the area's strife and discontent, his attitude does not fall to pessimism; rather every page reveals his passion for the people and culture of the Indian subcontinent. He encounters such figures as Benazir Bhutto and Imran Khan and meets with ostracised inmates of a widows' home.

The Age of Kali offers a compassionate view of a nation struggling against forces both modern and ancient. William Dalrymple has written a book that is required reading for anyone interested in India's emerging role in world affairs.