Backsides have a frontal position in Indian-English. In cluttered, crowded alleys there can be seen the notice “Entry from backside”, a usage not exactly meant as a come-hither line to gays.’

From the early days of the Raj, the Indian version of English has been on a growth trajectory that has led to the evolution of what is, for all practical purposes, a language of its own. A hybrid form of English stalks the land, flaunting its illegitimacy, brashness and popularity.

The rise of Indian-English runs parallel to tectonic changes in social aspirations. English, says the author, is the Porsche on the porch of the arriviste. There can be no social advancement without the glittering sword of English in your hands. This compendium is thus a journey through a sub-genre that has evolved against all odds. It entertains as well as educates while weaving together a history of verbal patterns that reflect social and cultural trends.

About the Author
Binoo K. John, fifty, is a senior journalist with the India Today group. His earlier two books were Curry Coast: Travels in Malabar 500 Years after Vasco da Gama (Konark Publishers, 1999) and Under a Cloud: Life in Cherrapunji, the Wettest Place on Earth (Penguin, 2004).

He lives in Delhi with his wife, Rebecca, and son, Zubin.