Around India In 80 Trains: One Of the Independent's Top 10 Books about India

One can only envy Monisha Rajesh as she embarks on this epic journey -Tim Parks

When she was a child, Monisha Rajesh s family uprooted to Madras in the hope of making India their home, but soon returned to England with a bitter taste in their mouths. Two decades on, Monisha 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 40,000km - the circumference of the Earth.

Her journey takes her on toy trains, luxury trains, Mumbai s infamous commuter trains and even a hospital on wheels. Along the way she meets a kaleidoscope of characters and discovers why the railways are considered the lifeline that keeps the country s heart beating. Most of all, she hopes that these 80 train journeys will lift the veil on a country that has become a stranger to her.