Nine Lives: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of Nine Lives, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Faith adapting to a changing India
Dalrymple tells the stories of nine people from different religious traditions across South Asia.
He explores how ancient forms of devotion survive, and sometimes struggle, as India modernises rapidly. Each chapter is one person's life.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
A nun chooses a holy death
Dalrymple meets a Jain nun who plans to end her life by gradual fasting, a practice called sallekhana.
Her story shows the depth of Jain ideas about detachment and spiritual discipline.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
A dancer becomes a god
In Kerala, a prison warden and labourer becomes a god during Theyyam performances.
Dalrymple describes how, for a few months a year, people from the lowest castes are worshipped as deities.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
A devadasi's hard life
Dalrymple meets a devadasi, a woman dedicated to a goddess as a girl, whose life involved sex work.
Her story reveals how an old tradition became tied to poverty and exploitation.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Sufis celebrate in Pakistan
In Sindh, Dalrymple meets a woman devoted to a Sufi shrine where music and ecstatic dance are part of worship.
He describes how such shrines face pressure from stricter forms of Islam.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
A monk lives with regret
A Tibetan monk tells Dalrymple how he took up arms against Chinese forces and now prints prayer flags to make amends.
His story explores conflict between belief and violence. He struggles to make peace with his past.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Craft carries sacred tradition
Dalrymple meets an idol maker in Tamil Nadu who continues a family tradition of making bronze images of gods.
He worries that his son may choose a modern career instead.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Songs keep epics and mysticism alive
Dalrymple describes a Rajasthani singer who performs the epic of Pabuji, and wandering Baul singers of Bengal.
Their music preserves stories and spiritual ideas passed down orally for centuries. Both traditions face an uncertain future.
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