A poetic account of a 1970s
overland journey to India and back,
with other poems and a story
related to the journey.
From London, through Europe, travel through
Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, insights into the
‘grooming gang’ mentality in Pakistan, first sight
of India in Amritsar, Tibetan exiles in Dharamsala,
hitchhiking on the Grand Trunk Road,
by the river Ganges in Varanasi, Himalayan trekking
in Nepal, down South to Madras and Goa,
a return journey and readjustment to a
changed country after the oil crisis of 1973.
Recommended by the late great critic, teacher,
Booker Prize Chair and poetry analyst
and champion John Carey.
Plus poems on the journey’s aftermath,
including on The Beatles’ ashram in India,
Omar Khayyam, Osama Bin Laden, the
contrasting Moghul Emperors Akbar and Aurangzeb
– and concluding with a daft but cheery children’s story
about a heroic mouse who lives in Chennai station.
Listen to extracts here
Order from bookshops
or buy the ebook or the paperback online
ISBN number: 978-1-0683328-38
