India Archives - Books And Travel

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How does a childhood spent in the Himalayas of Nepal and India shape a life and a love for the mountains of Scotland? How can fiction help us understand the complex, painful history of India’s Partition? I discuss all this and more with the award-winning author, Merryn Glover.

Merryn’s nomadic “third culture kid” upbringing with missionary parents in Nepal and India
The experience of attending an international boarding school in a North Indian hill station.
The history of Indian Hill Stations like Mussoorie, from their origins in the British Raj to modern-day holiday destinations.
Weaving the complex history of India’s Independence and Partition into her novel, A House Called Askival.
The perspective of writing about India as both an insider to the international community and an outsider to the wider culture.
How her childhood in the Himalayas influenced her love for her current home in the mountains of Scotland.
Recommended travel books

You can find Merryn at MerrynGlover.com

Untethered. A Woman’s Search For Self On The Edge Of India With C.L. Stambush

Podcast

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How can we adopt an untethered attitude to life, especially when it comes to expectations of travel? C.L. Stambush talks about how her experience of motor-cycling around India taught her more about herself, and how she brings that to her daily life. We also talk about connecting with people across cultural and language barriers, when taking risks is worth it, and how we need to keep pushing the boundaries of our comfort zone to live a more expansive life.

C.L. Stambush is an award-winning writer, journalist, editor and author of Untethered: A Woman’s Search for Self on the Edge of India.

Show notes

Taking risks and discovering that life improves because of it
Riding alone on a motorcycle around India
Breaking down barriers when we travel to different cultures
Getting over our fears around traveling
If we are not pushing forward, are we sliding backward?
Cultivating an untethered state of mind
Recommended travel books

You can find C.L. Stambush at clstambush.com

Header and shareable image generated by Jo Frances Penn on Midjourney and edited on DALL-E.

Bhel Puri On The Beach, The Gateway To India, And Bollywood. Mumbai With Vikram Chandra

Unusual Places

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Mumbai is a fascinating city with diversity in religion and architecture, and in this interview, Vikram Chandra talks about the colonial impact of the Portuguese and British, as well as the Zoroastrian, Muslim, Hindu and Christian holy places in the city.

It’s also a feast for the senses, as Vikram evokes the taste of seafood from the harbor and the chaat street food on the beaches, the clang of ships in the dock, as well as the action spectacle of Bollywood films, and the multi-lingual speech of Hindi, Punjabi, English and Bombay slang.

We discuss how Vikram feels at home both in Mumbai where he grew up and in the Bay area, California, where he now lives and teaches, and he gives some book recommendations if you want to read more about the city.

Vikram Chandra is the multi-award-winning author of Red Earth and Pouring Rain, which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for best first book as well as Love and Longing in Bombay and Sacred Games, adapted into a successful Netflix series set in Mumbai, which has just been listed on ‘The New York Times’ list of the 30 best international TV shows of the decade.

Show notes

On the cultural history of the name Mumbai — and why some still call the city, Bombay.
Impact of colonial history — Portuguese and British — on the architecture of Mumbai
Religious diversity
Bollywood and modern Indian films
Influence of the coastal environment
Food and restaurant recommendations
Tips for getting around the city
The challenge of representing the multilingual nature of India in fiction
Recommended books set in Mumbai

You can find Vikram Chandra at VikramChandra.com.

13 Of The Most Mysterious Places In India

Unusual Places

India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, as well as having a deep cultural history with Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It is a country of ancient faith, with a rich mythology that mingles with marvelous architecture and incredible food!

I’ve been to India twice – on a cultural tour of the ‘golden triangle’ in the north, from Delhi to Varanasi and back through Agra; and then cycling through the southwest through Karnataka and Kerala. Both times I have longed to return and it’s one of those countries I feel at home in.

The burning ghats of Varanasi feature in the opening scene of ARKANE thriller, Stone of Fire, and I returned to India for Destroyer of Worlds, a story that centers around the Brahmastra, a Hindu relic with the power of a nuclear weapon.

With so many religions rubbing shoulders, India is both a mystical and an unusual place to visit, so I’ve compiled a list of 13 of the most mysterious places in India.

India

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