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PRESS AND READERS' COMMENTS ON RAJASTHAN

Pauline van Lynden






The press on RAJASTHAN


  • Thuis bij de koning (At home with king Willem Alexander of the Netherlands), WA50, Portret van de Koning, Spring 2017
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  • Top 5 ‘Best Illustrated Books of the Year 2003’
    Snapshot of the mind, Sunday Times, London, 7 December 2003
    The sumptuous pictures in this evocative book reflect the colour and magnificence of even everyday life there.
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  • Rajasthan, An Interview with Pauline van Lynden, Roundabout, October 2003
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  • Rajasthan Revealed, Town & Country, November 2003
    'Rajasthan' is the rare travel book that leaves you both awed by what the author has seen and inspired to make the trip yourself.
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  • Le Monde, 6 December 2003
    Une déclaration d’amour originale à une contrée grandiose, ouvragée comme un caractère sanskrit.
    An original declaration of love to a grandiose country, tooled like a Sanskrit character.

     
  • Les secrets du Rajasthan (Rajasthan's secrets), L’Officiel Paris, November 2003
    Un ouvrage d’une beauté et d’une richesse rares.
    A book of rare beauty and richness.
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  • India's Colorful Culture, Women's Wear Daily, 3 December 2003
    Undoubtedly one of the most elegant and revealing books about India.
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  • Insight Books: Rajasthan, Elle Hong-Kong, October 2003
    Rajasthan' will not recommend itineraries or local sightseeing - the book itself is a colour journey... Each stroke, each photo records a traditional culture. Although 'Rajasthan' is a coffee-table book, the photographs reflect a modern person's enthusiasm about India
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  • An eclectic view of India seen through the eyes of a master, Millionaire, February 2004
     
  • Life in the land of colour and sand, Hinduism Today, January 2005
    Pauline’s approach is radical, even in the world of fine art, which is primarily defined by creative risks. It’s no surprise that Pauline is setting a new precedent in the world of book design. Rajasthan is her first book. She promises it will not be her last.
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  • Rajasthan, Geographical, Royal Geographical Society, January 2004
    This book will be a treat to savour, especially by a fireside on a drab winter’s day, where it will gorgeously evoke the luscious gaiety of Rajasthan.
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  • Rajasthan, Maisons Côté Sud, November 2003
    Elle signe ici son premier ouvrage, époustouflant et spectaculaire.
    She delivers here her first book, breathtakingly spectacular.
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  • Editors’ selection, Figaro Littéraire, 27 October 2003
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  • United colours of Rajasthan, Paris-Match, 4 December 2003
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  • Regard d’un photographe (A photographer's vision), Nouvelles de l’Inde, January 2004
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  • A Taste of India, Travelwise: what’s hot in books & events, www.healthcaretraveler.com, 1 April 2004
    Not only the personal account of an artist’s journeys in India’s second largest state, but also a veritable feast for the eyes, Rajasthan is an intimate look at a vibrant culture and its people through the experiences of writer and photographer Pauline van Lynden. By means of a magical, patchwork carpet fashioned from collages, photos, notes, and anecdotes, readers are virtually transported to the 'Land of Kings' and treated to minutiae frequently missed along the way.

    Ms.van Lynden’s love affair with this captivating locale began in 1988, during her initial excursion to India. Having returned to the area more than two dozen times in the past 15 years—with her camera, pad, and pen always at the ready—she has captured the beauty inherent to this corner of the planet. The subjects embraced in Rajasthan’s 14 chapters are as broad and varied as the quarter’s terrain itself and include the author’s first impressions, regional forts and cities, daily rhythms, textiles, seasonal fairs, and the world of women.

    A colorful, literary jewel, Rajasthan (ISBN:2-84323-446-8) is a coffee-table gem to treasure again and again. Published by Assouline Publishing, it can be purchased at most bookstores for $65.00.
     

  • L’India dei principi (India of the princes), Casa di abitare, June 2004
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  • Von der Veredelung der Welt (About the embellishment of the world), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 5 October 2006
    ...die Farbe dient der Fotografin, wie sie sagt, als Ariadnefaden durch das Labyrinth der Eindrücke. Ihre Bilder versteht sie so, als sei jedes für sich ein buntgefärbter Faden, der in den Alltag, zum Sozialen und zum Ritus in Rajasthan führt.
    ... the colours serve the photographer, in her own words, as Ariadne's thread through the labyrinth of her impressions. She regards each of her pictures as a brightly coloured strand leading her to the rites and customs of Rajasthan's everyday life.
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  • Maasnieuws, January 2008
    Het fotowerk is merkwaardig sprekend: het is bijna driedimensionaal en slokt je op.
    The photography is extraordinarily expressive: almost three-dimensional, it is captivating.

     
  • In Rajasthan krijgt het wonder kleur (Mystery has its own palette of colours in Rajasthan), Happinez, October 2003
    Pauline van Lynden heeft – met hart en ziel, dat zie je – een zeldzaam mooi boek gemaakt dat met niets anders is te vergelijken.
    Pauline van Lynden has visibly put her heart and her soul into making this extraordinarily beautiful and unique book; it cannot be compared to any other.
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  • Alle zintuigen gaan open (All the senses are triggered ), Vivant, October 2004
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Readers' comments on RAJASTHAN

  • .... Het is zo inspirerend, dat mensen die nog nooit in India zijn geweest direct besluiten om Rajasthan te bezoeken. Het boek heeft ons werkelijk gegrepen. De schitterende collages zijn een unieke nieuwe manier om een idee of gedachte weer te geven. Bravo!!! Wij hopen dat u geinspireerd blijft.
    It is so inspiring, that people who have never been to India immediately want to go there. The book really grabbed us. Your amazing collages uniquely convey ideas and thoughts. Bravo!!! We hope you will stay inspired
    Emile Crince Le Roy, former purchasing director for De Bijenkorf, The Netherlands

     
  • I was so blown away by your India book that I bought it the next day ... I treasure its magical glow. A brilliant & original achievement.
    Stafford Cliff, author and art director, London

     
  • It's a beautiful, wonderful book and I love the whole thing...the style, color and way you see the India that I love so much....I have given your book over and over to all my friends who have and have not traveled to Rajasthan.....Thank you so much for doing it!
    Denise Weinstein, CPShades, California

     
  • Ik heb heel veel boeken over India maar dit is het mooiste dat ik ooit heb gekregen. Het is zó modern. Prachtige collages. Het is India, ook nú, de facettes die ik op mijn reizen tegenkom, de contrasten tussen arm en rijk, zonder politieke boodschap. Het is met veel smaak gedaan, dat kom je maar heel weinig tegen.
    I have a lot of books about India but this is the most beautiful one I have ever received. It is so modern! Beautiful collages. It is India, and India as it is now, the facets I see on my journeys, the contrasts between rich and poor, without a political message. This book was made with a lot of taste, which is rare
    Gloria Kok, fashion industrialist, the Netherlands.

     
  • Interview with textile designer Davinder Madaher: Your favourite book? Rajasthan by Pauline van Lynden

     
  • Blog of JHillDesign, Currently Imagining: Jaipur, Boston, October 2007
    There will be a pattern based on the city of Jaipur released in a few weeks. It's all about kite racing and emeralds and blue + white pottery and the pink city. One big resource for this coming pattern was the book "Rajastan" by Pauline van Lynden. An absolutely beautiful book filled with amazing photos of texture, textiles, architecture and more. I first ordered the book I thought I'd take a look and send it back, it was $65 after all. But once I laid eyes on it I knew it was going to stay on my studio's bookshelf. On Pauline's website I see that she is working on a book about the South of India. I can't wait for that, I'm sure it will be just as great as "Rajastan".

     
  • Reviews on Amazon.com:

    1. Gorgeous! April 4, 2007
    When I was the in-house stylist for Style Guide I had this incredibly beautiful Indian girl with dark eyes for an intern. She wore the brightest colors to work everyday and spoke in this rich lilting voice. One day I finally asked her where she got it - "the clothes or the accent?" she asked, "Both", said I. Well, she said, the colors are from my mother's land and the accent is from my father's land. Turns out that my pretty intern's mom came from the desert state of Rajasthan, in the North Western part of India. I have since then browsed innumerable coffee table books on Rajasthan, but Pauline Van Lynden’s Rajasthan is certainly a notch above the rest. The photographs are lavish, the details touching, the effect spellbinding. Royals, artisans, dressmakers, housewives - Van Lynden gives us a breathtaking glimpse into these myriad lives. Another plus is Van Lynden’s tone - always inquisitive but never condescending. There might be other books which will give you a lot of information about Rajasthan but Van Lynden’s Rajasthan shall remain a front runner due to its evocative prose and dazzling photographs which seem to leap off the page. I recommend Van Lynden’s Rajasthan as an antidote for any colorless day.

    2. Beautiful! January 5, 2007
    Tons of fantastic pics, details of fabrics, places etc. If you like Rajastan style, you will fall head over heels for ths heavy "coffee table" book!

    3. Provokes your senses!!! February 23, 2008
    I am very pleased with this book. I have been to Rajasthan and this book does a wonderful job of incorporating the vast and colorful culture of that region of India. This book does a great job of detailing the miniture details that can be easily missed in an landscape that is overwhelming to the 5 senses. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Rajasthani culture and encourage them to visit there as well.

    4. Most Beautiful Book! July 19, 2010
    If you can appreciate the unbelievable richness of the art and culture of India, you will love this book. I spent a semester in college on a study abroad program mostly in Rajasthan and have never gotten it out of my system. I am an artist and ceramicist and I love the art of this part of the world, My art is influenced by not only the art I saw but on the whole of my experience there. This book is the most successful of all the books I have ever seen on capturing that wholeness, not only through the individual images of art, life and culture, but through the threading of them together in a beautifully intimate and visionary tableau of this special place. I love the way the author has organized her work into the themes that are experienced; textiles, gems, water, forts and cities, the world of women, festivals, etc. She captures them with a true artist's ability to see the unique and extraordinary all around her, and creates a personal picture of life that can be felt by the reader. Her beautiful photographic arrangements are all displayed in a vibrant collage of images over each two page spread; simply amazing and wonderful!

     
  • Book review on Eyrolles.com, Paris, by Catherine Pryen:
    Génial. Ce livre qui m'a été offert pour me consoler d'un voyage au Rajasthan reporté à plus tard. Il m'a encore plus que tous les guides ou documentaires sur cette région de l'Inde, donné envie d'y partir en voyage ! Il est tout simplement sublime et je le conseille à tous les amoureux de l'Inde ainsi qu'aux graphistes ou stylistes car c'est également une fabuleuse source d'inspiration. La mise en page est innovante, les photos sont magnifiques et les nombreux détails de tout l'artisanat du Rajasthan donnent envie d'y partir avec des sacs de voyage vides. En bref, achetez le !!!
    Brilliant. This book was given to me to console me for a trip to Rajasthan that had to be delayed. More than any guide or documentary about this part of India, it has given me an even greater desire to go there! It is simply sublime and I recommend it to all India lovers as well as to graphic designers and stylists, as it is also a fabulous source of inspiration. The layout is innovative, the photos are magnificent and the many details about all the crafts of Rajasthan make one long to travel there with empty travel cases. In short, buy it!

     


Radio and Television interviews

  • France Inter, La radio du livre, 'Livres d'exception' 3-11-2003
  • Radio France, 'Dépaysage', Philippe Bertrand, 20-1-2004
  • KRO, 'Dolce Vita', with Karin de Groot, Radio 747, 10 June 2005
  • Liberty TV, Belgium, 'Travel'in' 16-12-2004 p

Copyright © Pauline van Lynden. All rights reserved