The idea of trotting across India via train journeys full of excitement, interactions, activities and much more is an experience which cannot be felt in any of the railway networks across the world, says Monisha Rajesh who has penned down her '80 journeys in Indian trains'.
’Around India in 80 Trains’ published by Roli Books is based on an array of train journeys undertaken by Monisha Rajesh in the quest of exploring the diversities of India’s lifeline-the railway network.
Monisha Rajesh, is an Indian origin London-based journalist whose family wanted to shift to India because of the emotional bonding and respect they had for the country but they had parted their ways with India on bad terms.
“In 1991, my family uprooted from Sheffield to Madras in the hope of making India our home. Two years later, fed up with soap eating rats, stolen human hearts and creepy colonel across the road, we returned to England with a bitter taste in our mouths” Monisha said in an interview during the just concluded Kovalam Literature Festival.
She added, “Though we decided not to settle there but with the kind of curiosity I had for the country it wasn’t difficult for me to pack my bags and simply leave for crisscrossing the country in 2010 using the two-track transport line.”
According to Monisha, travelling a distance equivalent to the circumference of the earth, she lifted the veil on a country that had become a stranger to her.
“As one of the largest civilian employers in the world-featuring luxury trains, toy trains, Mumbai’s infamous commuter trains and even a hospital on wheels-Indian railways had more than a few stories to tell” said Monisha.
“Seeking inspiration from Jules Verne’s classic tale, Around the world in 80 days I embarked on a 40,000 km adventure around India in 80 trains,” says Monisha, however according to her the idea first struck her while she came across an article detailing how India’s domestic airlines could now reach 80 cities.