 | Anoop Chandola is an American linguist-anthropologist. He has written scholarly books and articles primarily in the areas of linguistics, music, religion and literature which include extensive interdisciplinary and theoretical analysis. His fourteen books include four novels: “Discovering Brides,” “The Second Highest World War: The Rama Theater,” “The Dharma Videos of Lust: The Mysteries of Indian Religions,” and "In the Himalayan Nights." "The Dharma Videos of Lust" released in 2008 by the UKA Press, London, received two Finalist awards: "Best Books Awards" of USA Book News and the "National Indie Excellence Awards." The non-conforming message conveyed in his multicultural novels, especially the latest "In the Himalayan Nights" from Savant Books & Publications, is best described as inform and reform. He founded the field of musicolinguistics based on coining the term, arguing for its creation and laying a theoretical framework for the discipline. |
Anoop Chandola's provocative "inform-reform" (Info-Refo) novels:
 | In the Himalayan Nights ISBN: 978-0-9829987-0-0 “A love-song for a tumultuous time for India, IN THE HIMALAYAN NIGHTS, captures eighteen days and evenings in 1977, at a moment when India teetered on the edge of its rich history and the promise of what it might become as it reincarnates for a postmodern and hyper-real world. Struggling with questions about the nature of morality, the authenticity of folk heroes, and the reality of ritual possession, an Indian anthropologist, his wife, and his passionate, fresh, and vocal graduate students visit Dehradun, a state capital in the shadows of the Garhwal Himalayas, to witness the religious, cultural, and political undercurrents stirred up by a performance of the ancient Bhagavad Gita and, whether because of the hypnotic drumming or the inspired analysis emerging from the group and their hosts, each become entangled in what can only be appropriately called as their own dharma war.” It has...perfected a new genre of literary writing, intertwining two different narratives...or was it really not just two narratives but three! ...pursued a truly important question: Are polygamists holy?"-- H.S. Bhola, Professor emeritus of Education and Educational Policy, Indiana UniversityThis non-conforming novel was released on March 24, 2012 to honor the world's historic rally of atheists, Reason Rally, held the same day on the National Mall, Washington DC |
 | The Dharma Videos of Lust: Mysteries of Indian Religions ISBN: 978-1-9057-9615-1 "Mohan Chaube leads a double life as a Brahmin priest and a radical professor, and comes to repudiate all religions, including his own. After settling down to watch racy videos sent to him in secret, he comes face to face with his own assumptions, and here he presents the reader with the vivid, dramatic, personal stories behind those videos, while also weaving through Hindu mysteries, myths, rituals, rites, and festivals which wallow in sex and violence. He seeks to show how faith leads to irrational actions, and has undermined human rights, gender equality, and ethnic diversity. At the same time, he uses satire and humor to show the dark side of a religion followed by over a billion people, some of whom are amongst the best educated in the world." "Religion-wise, philologically, and linguistically correct ... [this book is] a rare feat among writers." -- Michael Witzel, the Wales Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University "The Hindu priest: the scholarly and human experience of such an individual has never previously been recorded in literature." -- Charles S.J. White, Professor Emeritus and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, American University |
 | The Second Highest World War:The Rama Theater ISBN: 978-0-5952-2229-2 "Why is it that the face of World War II has appeared in print or film so often, but very seldom the back, the larger part? Could Hitler’s rise and fall be seen in India? The reader will find controversial answers in this backside story of WWII from a remote, spectacular Himalayan region. Chander, a U.S.-educated journalist, writes his memoirs at the request of his American wife, Kristi. The memoirs, which remained unpublished for decades due to the young couple’s accidental death, reveal that Chander as a young boy lived with his mother in a Himalayan village, while his father was fighting in WWII. Chander recounts dramatic experiences of local WWII soldiers and civilians from 1941 to 1948. The experiences are juxtaposed with his hometown’s Rama Lila, a famous folk play of the Ramayana epic, where Prince Rama fights the terrorist-chief Ravana. Jagriti, a girl in Chander’s village, introduces and, though forbidden, enacts parts of the play with him. Inspired by her, he watches the ten-night Rama Lila every year, while experiencing war’s reactions and other emotionally charged actions, from humorous to terroristic, in his Hindu village, Christian school, and Hindu-Christian-Muslim town."
"Prof. Anoop Chandola uses the vehicle of fiction to provide a window onto the Himalayan villages of his native Garhwal region at time when world events were forcing its inhabitants to think beyond the confines of their village boundaries. The author reveals the crucial role of the Ramayana drama as a source psychological support and metaphysical context for his characters as they attempt to make sense of events and struggles occurring within confines of their villages and their place in the broader drama being played out on the world stage. Although Prof. Chandola brings a richness and authenticity to his narrative through attention to detail in portraying Garhwali village life, he is mindful to clarify the more obscure references for the general reader." -- David C. Swain, Ph.D., So. Asian Lang. and Civ., University of Chicago |
 | Discovering brides ISBN: 978-0-5950-9900-9 "An Indian-American anthropologist, whose own dramatic marriage was arranged in his non-vegetarian polygamous priestly family background, struggles to find a vegetarian and sexy bride for his U.S.-born lawyer son. The long journeys from America to India move the bride search, through social-cultural ups and downs, with girls after girls, and their spicy episodes, stirring up the anthropologist own bittersweet memoirs. A wife begs a man to spare her abusive husband life; a bride at the altar refuses to marry due to greed; a woman drinks cow urine because a low-caste man saved her; a man urinates over a wild tiger; a girl disappears minutes before the parents want to introduce her to the visiting bride searchers; a bridegroom is beaten by his relatives hours before the marriage; policeman on orders to stop marchers beat, rape and shoot women; and deeper discoveries. Some are highly controversial as they involve big political, historical and international names and events. Then the search takes an abrupt turn. Overall, this provocatively entertaining novel offers intercultural education by interweaving religion and mythology, folklore and literature, historical accounts and personal philosophy of fair human contact." With a light touch, a cheeky wit and a huge reservoir of information, Anoop Chandola, University of Arizona professor emeritus of East Asian studies, has launched on a career in fiction, offering his readers a look at the culture, mythology, philosophy, history, religions and rituals of his native India -- The Arizona Daily Star |
