Exploring the West

Inverting the conventional imagery of Europeans' travel narratives about South Asia, this omnibus brings together three fascinating accounts of Indian interaction with the West. It raises interesting questions about cross-cultural encounters. Is the West objectively perceived and represented? Do observers colour fact with fiction? Do they talk of an East–West divide? The first volume is an account of Itesamuddin's travel (1766–9) to Europe. Set in the context of the grant of Diwani to the Britis