In this unique Indian response to Kipling's writings and view of the Anglo-Indian world, a distinguished Indian scholar points up the influences that colored Kip­ling's imagination and pervaded his ma­ture writings. In addition, he gives a particularly full examination of the in­tellectual atmosphere of the late-Victorian age and its writers who helped shape Kipling's mode of expression.

Of particular value to English-speaking readers is Professor Shahane's discussion of Kipling's idiolect, which is marked by preponderant use of Hindustani words and a peculiar mixture of Hindu syntax and English grammatical structure.