An Avatar in Vishnu Land: Concerning Chiefly Viroschand Ganeshkind

9781417918720

1417918721

1928. Concerning chiefly Viroschand Ganeshkind, Merchant of India. With Map. This remarkable account of adventure and escapade in the Orient, while not an exact transcript of events, is-as the reader will immediately sense-composed of actual experiences. The author, for many years a jute trader in India, has an unusual understanding of Oriental psychology, and the book, which is shot through with philosophy, humor, and an artist's passion for natural beauty, is not only a thrilling narrative but a most revealing study of the Indian character and point of view. The adventures recorded include shipwreck and voyage by open boat to the Arabian coast; flight, after accidental entry into a local harem; an opium-smuggling cruise along the coast of India, in a ship commanded by a cultivated Hindu adventuress; the love affair, between the author's Irish partner, Casmyth, and the Hindu Woman; devious bargaining with native agents at various ports, in the exchange of opium for rubies and other precious stones; pursuit by a British cruiser; escape by open boat; and a disastrous camel expedition across the desert, in search of buried treasure.