India, June 21 -- Srikar Raghavan's Rama Bhima Soma; Cultural Investigations into Modern Karnataka requires the reader to have vast reserves of reading stamina, an empathetic world view and a willingness to travel deep into different geographies, perspectives, communities, stories and movements, even those whose politics the author may not agree with.

A self-professed "inveterate bookworm," "more of a reader than a writer" and "a Kannada-nut", Raghavan speaks to the English reader who may or may not be Kannada literate as well as to the Kannada reader who has felicity with the English language. How this book unites two universes that have their own complicated history of separation is its strength and success.

Neither its extensive rese...