Indian Summer

About the Book

Under the shadow of the turbulent 1960s, this is my story of a journey through village India as an American Peace Corp Volunteer. I graduated college in 1966 with no idea of what I wanted to do in life. I asked the Peace Corps to send me to a place that was more different than anything I had ever known. I got what I asked for. India unfolded into a kaleidoscope of fascinating people and unforgettable scenes in a culture that never failed to amaze me. The sights, smells, and sounds of village India offer the backdrop of what happened, some stories quite incredible, but all true. After two years, I was infused with the spiritual and mystical quality that was, and still is, India--something that is almost beyond explaining. It cannot be found by touring India or even visiting an ashram, but only by living there, learning the local language, and being with Indians in their homes and work. Forty-four years after leaving the Peace Corps I returned to village India. Surprisingly, very little had changed. All of the profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Vishwa Bharati non-profit village school in Anavatti, India; and to the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, to support students and faculty in visiting India.

About the Author

Arthur J. Frankel, MSW, PhD, is currently a professor of social work at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. The two years he spent in India as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1966–68 was a story he felt had to be told to celebrate the people of India and the American Peace Corps. All profits from the sale of this book will be used to support the non-profit school in Anavatti, and to send American university students and faculty to this village to experience India.