In this captivating book, contrasting and complementary aspects of Indian culture are explored through stories of seekers, stories of ordinary Indians; stories of heroes, frauds, and victims. The stories in East & West include themes from ancient mythology that are woven into worldly events. Forces of destiny thwart one' s desire, but then open splendid new gateways. Ardent love from a past incarnation reaches across the centuries and heals a wound of the heart. A cat is adopted by a wealthy but lonely woman, and the growing attachment between the two lasts beyond death. A Buddhist monk' s relationship with an American family transforms all of them. Three older men meet for an annual reunion they have kept up since they graduated from college, and discover things about each other of which they had no idea. A young American graduate in a south Indian village researching the ancient Indian martial art form, Kalaripayattu, comes to understand something also about the dark side of life in India. Another young American woman comes to India to study, immerses herself in India and has a magical time, but the scholar she has grown to respect dies quite suddenly, and she slowly realises how American she really is. A bus ride in Delhi ends in a horrifying murder. An American woman in a sé ance finds herself experiencing life as a Devadasi. A New Orleans girl has answers to many of her questions in an Indian philosopher' s discourses, marries the Philosopher, and becomes committed to India. A hesitant, unsure, and not unattractive Hindu woman beggar in Kerala " adopts" a blind old Muslim man, looking after him as if he was her father - and, to lewd taunts, responds that she does this because she sees in him her Lord, her Gopal Krishna, her Blue-Eyed One. A trafficked young boy somehow escapes and returns to his mother. A young Indian who goes abroad and becomes quite Americanised, returns to India for his father' s funeral and discovers how Indian he really is. A student at the National School of Drama in Delhi comes to understand the secret of powerful acting.