When I first traveled in India 10 years ago the country seemed to me an exotic land of ubiquitous monkeys and holy men. Last year when I arrived in Delhi I was immediately surprised-the Indira Gandhi airport was free from hawkers and self-appointed luggage men who, regardless of my wish, used to vie for my suitcases. On the way from the airport to Gurgaon, a high-tech enclave on the outskirts of Delhi, one couldn't help noticing a proliferation of construction sites, glitzy malls, shiny offices of multinational corporations and five-star hotels. The city center had more lush greenery and less soot as its auto rickshaws began switching to natural gas a few years ago. Delhi's state-of-the-art metro system was shockingly clean and efficient, and its Apollo-style clinics could compete with European hospitals.India's rate of growth has made it a country in flux, everyday sprouting up cyber enclaves, innovation parks, new universities and TV channels. Recently, it even spawned a faster-paced version of cricket. Changes in India are the result of many factors, some more tangible or visible than others-oftentimes having much to do with the persistence of the past and fragility of the future, about modest victories and difficult challenges. This is what Shashi Tharoor has attempted to capture in his eclectic, whimsical compilation of "reflections on India." The volume spans the topics of history, culture, society and sports, with occasional thoughts on economy and business.

The book is divided into six parts, each of which focuses on a very broad theme. However, in spite of this focus, each chapter covers subjects at times unrelated to one another. For instance, in his chapter "India at Work and Play" Mr. Tharoor writes about Gandhi, democracy, Indian holidays, his Bombay childhood, the sari, police, literacy, renaming of Indian cities and India's urban heritage. In other chapters he tackles both serious and light topics: Hinduism and nationalism, cricket, Bollywood and politicians, poverty, relations with Pakistan, Indian Muslims, Indian women, finishing up with a glossary, "A to Z of Being Indian."

All the essays, however, fall roughly into one of the three categories: memoirs, essays on development and international relations, and pieces on idiosyncratic subjects, like the decline in the popularity of the sari, Indian police, name spelling and superstitions, Indian intelligence services, etc. Essays in the latter category make for an interesting read, not least because they are less familiar and rare to come across in the press. However, when Mr. Tharoor-perhaps as a result of his background as a former senior United Nations official-delves into international relations theory, or topics widely covered by the media, the tone becomes somewhat dry and brings to mind a policy memo. These few didactic chapters aside, the author's knowledge of Indian history and domestic politics, reinforced by his profound concern for the country, personal experiences and literary skill, makes for an engaging read.

"Indians Who Made My India" is perhaps my favorite chapter, thanks to the Mr. Tharoor's compassionate and moving account of the lives of India's prominent personages as well as the people dear to him, including his family and friends. The author dusts off the portraits of frequently forgotten or misunderstood political and cultural icons-Krishna Menon, Srinivasa Ramanujan, M.F. Husain, Amartya Sen and a few others. In this chapter, he also candidly writes about his friends' accomplishments and their tragedies, rendering a more intimate picture of his country's global citizens.

Judging from the book's subtitle, Mr. Tharoor's selected topics are supposed to illustrate aspects of India's changing position as a power to be contended with on the global stage. On one level, most economic indicators-the Indian economy has grown at the average rate of 7% in the past few years and poverty dropped by 10% between 1991 and 2001-may give credence to the author's optimistic outlook of India turning into another Asian tiger. But on another level, a portrayal of India as an emerging power is too premature. Although the author mentions India's many political, economic and social challenges in the "Dangers to India's Future" chapter, he glosses over the gravity of certain problems. He understates the Herculean effort required from the government, civil society and the aam admi, the common man, to meet the challenges that India faces on its way to creating broad-based economic prosperity and a tolerant society.

Problems such as demographic pressures, communal violence, sectarianism, a weak judiciary, absence of civic culture and overall apathy, are just a few of the daunting challenges India's government and its people have to overcome. If these issues aren't tackled, the inequity gap and sectarianism may tear India apart, and Mr. Tharoor's scenario of the rising India might be rewritten by India's desperate masses taking things into their own hands. The Naxalite movement, its supra-state status and its resort to spontaneous tribunals in search of justice, doesn't make this scenario that implausible.

The author, however, rightly points out that in order to leverage India's soft power-its attractiveness to the outside world-Indians "must ensure that [they] do enough to keep [their] people healthy, well-fed, and secure not just from jihadi terrorism but from the daily terror of poverty, hunger, and ill health." Moreover, in Mr. Tharoor's opinion, the cultural pluralism and tolerance, at the core of the notion of Indianness, is a remarkable "civilizational asset" that may contribute eventually to a building up of its hard power.

Those who are unfamiliar with Indian history, culture or current affairs won't get much out of the book in terms of either a comprehensive introduction to Indian society, or an in-depth understanding of its problems. Mr. Tharoor himself notes that the "book is not a survey of modern Indian history or politics," and refers readers in search of this to his India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond. I would also recommend a short and engaging account of India's modern history by Sunil Khilnani, The Idea of India; or for a better understanding of Indian society and developments in its economy, India Unbound by Gurcharan Das.

Ms. Bakunina is a member at the Cambridge University department of social anthropology. Based in Delhi, she is currently working on a cultural study of entrepreneurship in India.