by Stephen P. Huyler
How on earth did Stephen Huyler find himself pedaling a bicycle rickshaw through the Indian border on his twentieth birthday?
Intriguing stories like this define Huyler’s life and his metamorphosis into a leading documentarian of the cultures and peoples of India.
In the fifty-two years since his unusual first entry, Stephen has traversed the subcontinent dozens of times by a wide variety of transportation in order to conduct a detailed survey of India’s village and other subcultures.
His innate friendliness has always opened doors, while his skills as a writer and photographer have allowed him to create books and museum exhibitions of material never before recorded.
Transformed By India invites the reader to join Dr. Huyler as he navigates this remarkable nation. The chapters revolve around tributes to the individuals he has known from maharajahs to musicians, Dalits to Brahmins, politicians to potters. Tying all the many stories together is the innate strength and creative capacity for improvement expressed everywhere in the subcontinent.
Early in his career as an anthropologist and art historian, Stephen Huyler recognized that most of the world had little access to feeling the pulse of the peoples of South Asia.
Here is a message from Bharati Motwani, a writer based in Delhi, on hearing Dr Huyler’s talk at the India International Centre in Delhi, on February the 8th, 2025:
What an impression your talk last night made on me! Have been thinking about it ever since.
Two things mostly:
Firstly, about your astonishing capacity to love, your ability to drop natural defences.
Secondly, about the consciously ephemeral nature of so much of the Hindu art-craft-ritual you documented. about how people were putting so much of themselves into things that barely lasted a day. You put that into such a meaningful context. About letting go, not grasping, flowing with change. About how India is changing, and how good that is, and that India has always been changing. It left me feeling so hopeful about India’s future. And you are absolutely right about the explosion of creativity among our young people. The stuff I see on Instagram reels is incredible. Different but equally beautiful.
I think I see things so much more in context now.
Thank you.
Dr. Huyler’s seven previous books, and dozens of museum exhibitions, build bridges of communication between India and countries beyond its boundaries.
stephenhuyler.com & www.pipparannbooks.com
RECENT MEDIA APPEARANCE:
“Transformed by India: A Life isn’t just a memoir—it’s a deeply personal, immersive journey through five decades of life, love, and learning in India.
From cycle rickshaws to royal palaces, sacred rituals to handmade crafts, author and cultural anthropologist Stephen Huyler paints a vivid portrait of India through the eyes of someone who chose to listen, adapt, and belong.
With stories of spiritual insight, cultural exchange, and emotional connection, this book is a tribute to the untold and the unforgettable.
Catch Stephen in conversation with Mohua Chinappa on the latest episode of The Literature Lounge Podcast—streaming now on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.
Authors explore themes of identity (5 MARCH 2025) — We Are One Humanity
The book was launched with a 3-week tour of India in January-February 2025, during which Dr. Huyler was invited to speak, among other venues, at the following:
– Kolkata Literary Festival (Kalam)
– Hyderabad Literary Festival
– Bengaluru: Museum of Arts and Photography
– Mumbai: National Gallery of Modern Art
– Delhi: India International Centre.
The programme for the UK launch in the Summer, as well as the big launch in the USA in Fall 2025, are being prepared.
Drawn to India like a previous life ‘avatar,’ Stephen regales us with a revealing narrative of his transformative journey of rediscovery of a diverse land that has no parallel – a mesmerizing read.
Gaj Singh – Maharajah of Jodhpur
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Stephen Huyler’s work and insights are an inspiring, important introduction to India and Indians, and especially to women’s identity and creativity in India.
Paolo Gianturco. Author: Women Who Light The Dark
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This is a book of a life richly lived – adventurous, colourful, brave, compassionate. It is a life lived knitting cultures together. In a fragmented world, it can give hope of a shared humanity.
Mallika Sarabhai —Author, Classical Indian Dancer, Actress, and Teacher
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A captivating odyssey of self-discovery and cultural immersion
Chantal Jumel, freelance researcher, artist and writer specializing in Indian visual and performing arts.
Dr. Jyotindra Jain –
With an insider’s percipience and an outsider’s appraisal, Huyler tells the story of Indian folk arts and rituals, predominantly stemming from rural women’s worldview. Its soul-stirring anecdotal narrative takes the reader along on his journeys – and once you begin you cannot leave it halfway.
Dr. Jyotindra Jain, Author and Scholar, Former Director of the National Crafts Museum, New Delhi
George Dominic –
Here is an amazing walk down memory lane spanning half a century of Stephen Huyler’s unusual relationship with India. I know of no other Westerner who has traveled as extensively in my country to research art, culture, and history as Stephen. He has devoted his life to building bridges between India and the Western World, and his publications are as valuable to modern Indians as they are to those who live elsewhere.
George Dominic, Founder/Director of CGH Earth Boutique Hotels. Pioneer of large-scale sustainable eco-tourism
Dr. Andrew Topsfield –
As a leading authority on India’s rural crafts and popular Hindu sacred arts, Stephen Huyler has travelled throughout its regions for half a century, as at home in remote villages as in great cities. The story of his deep engagement with India is an absorbing one, and he tells it with warmth, insight and candour.
Dr. Andrew Topsfield —Author, Curator of South Asian Art, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Supriya Rai –
Stephen’s approach is a unique blend of academic rigour leavened with a heart of deep empathy and understanding. What we don’t often realise from Stephen’s immense body of work is his unflagging commitment over decades to the communities he has studied, remaining engaged in various capacities as friend, mentor, and a special family member. This memoir traces the journey of a spirited, sensitive young man and his extraordinary life experiences as he documents diverse Indian communities, to eventually become a renowned cultural anthropologist, art historian, curator and author.
Supriya Rai, Buddhist Scholar, Retired Director and Dean of the Faculty of Dharma Studies, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai
Rosemary Crill –
Stephen Huyler has spent a lifetime exploring the peoples and cultures of India’s marginalised societies. This engrossing book describes hair-raising accounts of his travels, encounters with village artists, generous mentors and one notably obstructive adversary, as well as the processes of putting together his many successful books and exhibitions and thoughtful reflections on his status as a ‘privileged white male’ in India.
Rosemary Crill — Author and Scholar, Former Senior Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Thomas L Kelly –
Stephen Huyler embraced his dream and followed it by a road rarely travelled. Arriving in India at a good time, he was able to acquaint himself with the length and breadth of India. Though he may not have realised it at the time, that was also a commitment to a personal journey which transformed his life. Whether you intend to read Transformed by India for your own pleasure, or approach this book primarily for illumination and instruction, you can also gain, here, keen insight into becoming a chronicler dedicated to sharing a life lived with passion backed up by intention, research, and skill. He has now shared his journey. And it is an incredible legacy.
Thomas L Kelly — Photographer specializing in the Himalayas and Their Cultures
Dr Heather Elgood –
This memoir is a brilliant tapestry of an adventurous life and the threads within it. Stephen’s narrative weaves his natural empathy with an ability to both listen deeply and to enhance the visual beauty he has witnessed with soulful and stirring descriptions of his many remarkable encounters in India.”
Dr Heather Elgood. MBE —Author and Art Historian of South Asian Art, Former Course Director of the Diploma in Asian Art, London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies
Sanjit (Bunker) Roy –
Stephen Huyler’s memoir can inspire young people all over the world to travel and look at India beyond its tourist propaganda — to learn about the rapidly vanishing, simple, and beautiful values of living so cherished by Gandhiji
Sanjit (Bunker) Roy, Social Activist and Educator, Founder of The Barefoot College, Tilonia, Rajasthan, and of Educational Initiatives to Empower Rural Communities Throughout South Asia and Developing Countries Throughout the World
Dr. Madan Meena –
Stephen’s new memoir effectively catalogues his lifetime of travel, field research, and writing about the less-documented aspects of India. As a member of the Meena tribe of Western Rajasthan, I recognize that his books are genuinely rooted in Indian cultural traditions. As a fellow cultural anthropologist, his words and photographs, capture the true essence of rural Indian life, especially the talented women of my country. Whereas tourist photographers have presented exotic views of India during the last century, reducing my country to images of Sadhus, snake charmers, forts, and palaces, Stephen presents and documents a realistic view of many of the art traditions.
Dr. Madan Meena, Honorary Director, Adivasi Academy, Gujarat
Chantal Jumel –
As an avid reader of Stephen Huyler’s previous books, I have always admired his expressive way of distilling stories of everyday life and events. In this memoir, Huyler masterfully reveals how a lifelong journey through India profoundly shaped his identity, scholarship, and worldview gained from truly listening to the voices and stories of others.
Chantal Jumel, freelance researcher, artist and writer specializing in Indian visual and performing arts.
Dr. Susan L. Huntington –
Huyler’s story is unique and brilliant. At the same time, it speaks for many of us who have also done exhaustive fieldwork in India over the past half-century. His memory of people, places, and events is prodigious, providing an unmatched record of his personal journey and an India that has changed dramatically over recent decades and yet, remarkably, remains much the same. This book will be a classic as are the diaries and journals of other perceptive and enchanted visitors to India over the centuries.
Dr. Susan L. Huntington, Distinguished University Professor, Emerita. The Ohio State University.
Minhazz Majumdar –
Open this book and discover in its pages an amazing story. American by birth yet Indian by heart and soul, Dr. Stephen Huyler’s extraordinary life has been full of beauty, purpose, and discovery. His memoir traces his amazing journey over decades across India, learning her secrets through a half-century of devotion to her living cultures. Transformed by India is precious both as a record of people and places and as a guide to living one’s life meaningfully.
Minhazz Majumdar —Author, Curator, and Art Activist
Dr. John Stratton Hawley –
This is a deeply American story of discovery and entrepreneurship. Stephen Huyler marvels at what he has done. But he also marvels at the people who have made it possible for him to do it, and these are almost entirely Indian. We meet celebrated pillars of the arts like Rukmini Devi Arundale, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Jyotindra Jain, N. T. Vakani, and Kaka Kelkar, along with brilliant young coworkers of all castes and both sexes. It’s a Bildungsroman that keeps on building, with a few hair-raising turns along the way.
Dr. John Stratton Hawley, Author, Scholar of Hinduism and the Religions of India, Professor of Religion, Barnard College Columbia University
Dr. Asok K Das –
Fascinating! I couldn’t put it down! Stephen Huyler is one ‘who has absorbed India unfiltered’. Through his series of reflections about his long relationship with India, one gets a first-hand view of life and craft, especially of villages hidden in remote forests and terrains.
Dr. Asok K Das — Art Historian, Former Director of the Maharajah Sawai II Museum, Jaipur
Rashmi Singh –
Transformed by India is a captivating glimpse into Indian life, taking readers on an entrancing journey into the heart of this country’s rich and complex soul. More than just an engaging read, it stands tall as a profound contribution to understanding the resilience and spirit of India’s people. Stephen’s writing is a testimony to his intimate relationship with India and a reflection of his own growth in the lap of this ancient civilization.
Rashmi Singh — Thakurani and Zila Pramukh of Pali District, Rajasthan
Dr. Pratapaditya Pal –
I was delighted and moved by reading this remarkable memoir of a fellow art historian, Stephen Huyler. This aptly titled book is indeed the most unusual memoir by an American scholar about my homeland that I have read in my long career of almost seventy years as a historian of traditional Indian art. I am sure this engaging, insightful and deeply empathetic account of his long and fascinating journey, laced with both pathos and humor, will become a literary classic about one of the oldest and most enigmatic of the world’s civilizations.
Dr. Pratapaditya Pal —Author, Scholar of South and Southeast Asian and Himalayan Art, Former Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts, Boston, and the Art Institute of Chicago
Komal GB Singh –
Transformed by India is wondrous! Highly acclaimed Indophile, Stephen Huyler, records in this book (as in all of his publications and photographs) details of our own culture that many of us Indians do not otherwise notice. Huyler’s devotion to India unravels so many splendid dimensions of the Indian ethos – cultural, artistic, philosophical, and beyond. His perceptions enrich our understanding of our own lives and those of our countrymen and women. Fascinating descriptions and experiences, both profound and humorous, make for delightful reading. Its amazing personal narrative and exceptional photography make Huyler’s latest book enticing.
Komal GB Singh, Television Commentator and Stage Compere; formerly English News Reader on Doordarshan; New Delhi, India
Mitchell Crites –
Dr. Stephen Huyler’s remarkable autobiography chronicles a life lived fully and richly. The author, a gifted scholar and keen observer of the human condition, weaves together, in Homeric detail, his visual journey, Transformed by India, filled with vibrant encounters with charismatic individuals from all walks of life, arcane rituals, and primordial creativity from village shrine to soaring palace. And the amazing thing is that Dr. Huyler’s adventures continue unabated today.
Mitchell Crites — Author and Art Historian Focused on the Revival of Traditional South Asian and Islamic Arts and Crafts