Around India in 80 Trains

by Monisha Rajesh

Overview

"Crackles and sparks with life like an exploding box of Diwali fireworks." — William Dalrymple

In 1991, Monisha Rajesh's family uprooted from Sheffield to Madras in the hope of making India their home. Two years later, fed up with soap-eating rats, severed human heads and the creepy colonel across the road, they returned to England with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Two decades on, she turns to a map of the Indian Railways and takes a page out of Jules Verne's classic tale, embarking on an adventure around India in 80 trains, covering 40,000 km - the circumference of the Earth. She hopes that 80 train journeys up, down and across India will lift the veil on a country that has become a stranger to her.

Along the way, Monisha discovers that the Indian Railways - featuring luxury trains, toy trains, Mumbai's infamous commuter trains, and even a hospital on wheels - have more than a few stories to tell, not to mention a colourful cast of characters. And with a self-confessed "militant devout atheist" in tow, her personal journey around a country built on religion isn't quite what she bargained for...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781857886443
Publisher:	Mobius
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Monisha Rajesh is a British journalist at The Week UK. After graduating with a postgraduate diploma from City University's journalism school she has worked as an arts and travel writer.

In 2006 she was nominated for the PTC New Consumer Monthly Journalist of the Year and has written for the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Times, the New York Times and TIME magazine.

Table of Contents

Prologue xiii

1 All Aboard the Insomnia Express 1

2 Guantanamo Chic and the Perils of Wearing Shoes 12

3 A Royal Affair 24

4 'Excuse Me Darling, I Have a Message for You' 36

5 Hindus Only Allowed 47

6 Super-dense Crush Load 60

7 Sexual Healing 70

8 The Crazy White Man in the Cupboard 82

9 Sunburn and Spasms 93

10 Oh My Dog! 104

11 The Venus Flytrap of Insanity 118

12 Toy Trains and Afternoon Tea 127

13 City of Gins 141

14 Monty Python at the Wagah Border 152

15 Silk Sheets and a Wad of Human Hair 166

16 God Bless the NHS! 178

17 A Taste of Rocky Road Ice Cream 190

18 Bullets over Brahmaputra 203

19 The Temple of Doom 213

20 Losing My Religion 222

21 Answered Prayers 233

Snakes and Ladders 241

Glossary 243

Acknowledgements 247

About the Author 249

What People are Saying About This

Tim Parks

One can only envy Monisha Rajesh as she embarks on this epic journey through the vast tangle and bewildering extension of India's railways. The ticketing bureaucracy is mad, the travelling companions infinitely varied, the pleasure, discomforts and revelations such that she is guaranteed what even the wriest and most sceptical traveller yearns for: some deeper knowledge of oneself. —Tim Parks, travel writer and Booker Prize nominee

William Dalrymple

One of 2012's Books of the Year: "A wonderfully wry and witty debut. Crackles and sparks with life like an exploding box of Diwali fireworks. —William Dalrymple, author of The Last Mughal

Editorial Reviews

A great big lovely shambling train ride of a book, offering wonderful views, hilarious interludes, all sorts of dodgy characters and some very peculiar smells, all for the one ticket.—Giles Coren, bestselling author and Times columnist

A promising debut from a writer to watch. I am stung with jealousy, not just for the epic journey she makes rediscovering her Indian heritage on ordinary trains, luxury trains, Mumbai's packed commuter trains, even a toy train but just for the talismanic power of such a ticket: the idea that you could have one in your hand tomorrow and just go!—Condé Nast Traveller

A rollicking account of Modern India at express pace: from the good sprawling temples and scrapping tigers to the bad groping passengers, churning stomachs and officious ticket inspectors. Rajesh's quick-fire writing is unflinchingly frank, with details packed in as tightly as passengers on Mumbai's commuter trains. A lively read.—Lonely Planet Magazine

A wonderfully wry and witty debut. Crackles and sparks with life like an exploding box of Diwali fireworks.—William Dalrymple

This beautifully written book is a witty and insightful traveller's-eye view of the country from inside its rail network. It is also an account of a life-shaping journey. An assortment of mustachioed maharajas, wicked wedding-crashers, pinstriped Sikhs, indignant inspectors, spotty know-it-alls in Che Guevara T-shirts and crafty rickshaw drivers bursts from the pages... all of this is done with the lightest of touches and a dry wit. There are laugh-out-loud moments at which seasoned and fresh Indian travellers will cringe with recognition: male snoring on the trains; the drastic effects of the Imodium pill; 87 very good reasons why you should never eat Indian bacon. This excellent debut will stand the test of time. Just like India's railways.—Sunday Telegraph

I love train trips and I love travelling around India. If you do too, then this book is a wonderful companion.—Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting

One can only envy Monisha Rajesh as she embarks on this epic journey through the vast tangle and bewildering extension of India's railways. The ticketing bureaucracy is mad, the travelling companions infinitely varied, the pleasure, discomforts and revelations such that she is guaranteed what even the wriest and most sceptical traveller yearns for: some deeper knowledge of oneself.—Tim Parks, travel writer and Booker Prize nominee

Remember Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited, about train journeys in India? Here's the book version. You'll be booking a flight by the final page.—Company

Amusing and thoughtful by turns, Rajesh has sidestepped the navel-gazing pitfall common to many wannabe travel writers and piped up with an informative, yet fresh and engaging voice that we will surely be hearing more of. Rating: 9/10—The Press Association

From the Publisher

"A great big lovely shambling train ride of a book, offering wonderful views, hilarious interludes, all sorts of dodgy characters and some very peculiar smells, all for one ticket.” -Giles Coren, bestselling author and The Times columnist

Giles Coren

"A promising debut from a writer to watch.I am stung with jealousy, not just for the epic journey she makes rediscovering her Indian heritage – on ordinary trains, luxury trains, Mumbai's packed commuter trains, even a toy train – but just for the talismanic power of such a ticket: the idea that you could have one in your hand tomorrow and just go!" - Giles Foden, Condé Nast Traveller

Giles Foden

This beautifully written book, a witty and insightful traveller's-eye view of the country from inside its rail network. It is also an account of a life-shaping journey. An assortment of mustachioed maharajas, wicked wedding-crashers, pinstriped sikhs, indignant inspectors, spotty know-it-alls in Che Guevara T-shirts and crafty rickshaw drivers bursts from the pages... all of this is done with the lightest of touches and a dry wit...This excellent debut will stand the test of time. Just like India's railways.

The Sunday Telegraph