Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana Through India Paperback – November 1, 2000

I found this book to be a beautifully written travel journal that allowed me to walk through India physically, culturally, and spiritually. The way the author wove myth and meaning into his adventures was an invitation for the reader to do the same - not just with the book itself, but with a reader's own life, own encounters, and own adventures.(I had a similar experience when reading Kidd's "Traveling with Pomegranates," so probably just really appreciate these types of books in general). While there are pieces that are dated, and expose the author as a young traveler, I did not find this distracting. It actually, in my opinion, lends charm and authenticity to the narrative - fitting for the epic journey genre that is played out. Overall, the book was a real delight . . . it's not a quick read, nor a beach read, so pick it up when you want to dig in to a substantive read that will stick with you.

This is an excellent writing of Ramayan and the period of 90s. I was a school going kid in 80-90s and vividly remember most of the events Jonah covered in this book. At a time it felt like the author was taking me back to my childhood. Some of the interpretation of the events I don’t agree with him but I can confidently say this was very honest effort to know/explain India and Ramayan from grassroots. It is not possible without toiling thru inconveniences in India. It is not a small feat and I salute the author for it.I found chapter on Race most interesting. Highly recommended.

This book was one of about a dozen that I bought when Coliseum Books had a going-out-of-business sale in late 2001. ARROW OF THE BLUE SKINNED GOD had been recommended to me by a friend who knew I was thinking about a trip to India. Yes, I saved some money, but I was not able to get around to reading it until nearly 20 years later. I’m afraid that by this time the book is a bit dated. India has been through some amazing changes in the 21st Century, most notably a booming economy, a growing middle class, and what appears to be an artistic renaissance.But this book is not really a travel guide as much as a narrative of the author’s travels (during a period when he was working in India) to sites where scenes in THE RAMAYANA allegedly took place. I had just read THE RAMAYANA, so it was fresh in my mind and I very much appreciated the author’s insights into the work. What annoyed me was that the author seemed constantly to have felt that he had to insert his political views into everything. I personally have very little interest in politics and generally try to avoid the subject. But I suppose in this case it can’t be helped. That is probably just the way his sensibilities work. He does, after all, work for the government. So bear that in mind before you decide to invest time in reading this. Politics becomes dated very quickly. He aims at such hoary targets as TV evangelists and ultraconservative politicians. So, a lot of this was boring to me. But if you’re a politics maven, you may think it’s great.I also appreciated that the author gives a general explanation of the Indian caste system. It’s a little clearer to me now. This book IS worth reading, but a lot of it, especially the long chapter on the Sri Lankan civil war was rough going for me. I’ll give it three and a half stars, rounded up to four.

I was first tuned into Jonah Blank through the Travelers' Tales of India anthology. Reading his hilarious account of discovering that a poorly functioning Delhi airport clock was in fact manually operated, I expected more of the same in this book. While there are more of these entertaining cross-cultural discoveries throughout, this overly ambitious book addresses what you'd expect from a naïve twenty-something writer, covering the broadest of all philosophical topics- with chapter titles including "Rites," "Fate," "Caste," "War," and "Love." The scary thing is that he succeeds, displaying a remarkable ability to grasp complex issues.This work is held together with a strong narrative thread. Beginning each chapter by retelling a passage from the Ramayana, he then applies this theme to modern Indian culture, and compares this with life in America. Despite a reflexive defensiveness of American culture and government, he portrays a deeply nuanced understanding of the complexities of Indian traditions as they clash with modernity. For example, he dispels any notion that Hindu fatalism is the same thing as passivity. Unlike Christianity, you can't just pray for salvation in Hinduism; you have to earn it and change yourself to adapt to an unchanging world. In a later chapter, he credits Hinduism's adaptability to the well-educated elite's acceptance of metaphorical (rather than literal) interpretation of the Vedas, and credits Sikhism's sustainability to its openness that the Gods of all religions are really different manifestations of the same entity.In his chapter on love, he respects the value of an arranged marriage in offering stability in a hard peasant life, acknowledges the potential rewards of society's increasing acceptance of the risk of marriage for love, but listens to an individual who swears the happiest people he knows are the ones who arranged marriage through a matchmaker.Traveling to India is a life-changing experience in itself. This book is one of the most articulate reflections I've seen on what that experience can be like.

The very best sort of travel writing. In search of the spirit of one of India's great epics, the Ramayana, Blank travels the length and breadth of the subcontinent with eyes wide open to everything different and new. His experiences are woven with history and explorations of Prince Rama's myth. Very informative and told in wonderful prose.

The book is presented in such a fluid way, weaving personal experience, reality and myth together, that it was such pleasure to read.

Ok ok