Journalist-novelist Naipaul tells of an India gone wrong, filled with economic and political corruption. Much has changed since his 1962 trip: violence between conflicting religions and a greedy society obsessed with self-interest has smashed the idealism and hope of Nehru's developing secular India, as percolating ideas of freedom shake loose the old moral ethos rooted in caste and class. This kaleidoscopic travelogue concentrates on urban life while ignoring the rural villages where the majority of India's people live. Includes dozens of first-person stories, ranging from a wealthy young stockbroker to anti-religionists to a publisher of women's magazines. Despite what he terms regional, religious and sectarian excesses, Naipaul sees possibilities for regeneration in the new freedoms.