The Tree Within - by Indranil Chakravarty (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Tree Within tells the enchanting story of Octavio Paz's passionate love affair with India during his years as Mexico's ambassador in the 1960s. Immersing himself in the country's rich cultural life and contemplative traditions, Paz traveled widely, formed deep friendships with some of India's most brilliant minds, and created several of his most inspired poems and essays.

It was in India that he met the love of his life and experienced what he would later call his "second birth."

Drawing on multilingual archives, declassified diplomatic files, personal letters, and intimate interviews, Indranil Chakravarty reconstructs the poet's inner journey with sensitivity and depth. Blending biography, cultural history, and literary criticism, The Tree Within offers a luminous portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest writers--and a testament to the enduring cultural alchemy between India and the wider world.

About the Author

Indranil Chakravarty has taught film history and screenwriting for more than two decades at film institutes in India and abroad, and has also directed several documentaries. He studied at Presidency College in Calcutta and at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV (EICTV) in Havana, and later earned a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

Chakravarty has published extensively in international research journals on biopics, literary biography, and cosmopolitanism. His previous books include The New Latin American Cinema, India's Audiovisual Market, and Redescubriendo a Tagore, published in Spanish.