Sindh Revisited: A Journey in the Foots Book

Sindh Revisited is the remarkable story of the author's fascination with the early life of Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890). It is the story of an incredible journey, too — deep into the heart of British India, and the India and Sindh of today. The very name of Sir Richard Burton conjures up images of adventure. His search for the source of the Nile with John Hanning Speke contributed to his being the best-known traveller of the nineteenth century. Burton was an outstanding orientalist, archaeologist, linguist, anthropologist, and a controversial diplomat. His over fifty books covered an amazing diversity of subjects, and his translation of the Arabian Nights remains the most famous ever published. The startling drama of Richard Burton's existence continued even after his death. His remaining papers were burnt by his widow, perhaps one of the most destructive crimes ever perpetrated on the literary world. Christopher Ondaatje's Sindh Revisited is the extraordinarily sensitive account of the author's quest to uncover the secrets of the seven years Richard Burton spent in India in the army of the East India Company from 1842 to 1849. "If I wanted to fill the gap in my understanding of Richard Burton, I would have to do something that had never been done before: follow in his footsteps in India…" The journey covered thousands of miles—trekking across deserts where ancient tribes meet modern civilization in the valley of the mighty Indus River. What was it that Burton discovered in India? What was it that changed him from a rebellious, wayward youth into a man of courage, imagination, wisdom and personal power? Through this unique book and the journey it describes, we come nearer than ever before to understanding the mystery of Richard Burton and the devils that drove him. Here is drama and insight, danger and revelation — a rare first-hand glimpse into a world few of us know. Startling photographs complement this narrative which puts the reader on the scene in modern Sindh while never losing sight of the Victorian India of Burton.