Journeys Through Rajasthan: From The 16th To 21st Centuries

Rajasthan has been romanticized through the centuries as the land of kings and warriors, forts and palaces, daredevil Rajputs sporting brilliantly coloured turbans, the place where more fairs and festivals are celebrated than there are days in the year.

But it is also a harsh, hostile and merciless land where the hot winds blow, where creeping sands, shifting sand dunes, devastating droughts have repeatedly altered the destiny of its people.

How does one travel through such a collage of contradictory images? Journeys through Rajasthan shows you Rajasthan through the eyes and imaginative universe of some of India's most talented writers and feted travelers including poets, journalists, novelists, explorers, historians, a wildlife enthusiast, a photographer, a foodie, a naturalist, a bird lover and a princess. Their stories, each located in a different part of Rajasthan, are informative, sensitive, humourous, even dark, and at times deeply moving.

Journeys through Rajasthan is an invaluable companion for both the wandering traveler and the armchair one interested in the imaginings, memories, dreams and discoveries that emerged from the skilled pens of those who chose to look beyond familiar picture-postcard images of a fabled land.

Contributors include: Aman Nath, Amrita Kumar, Annie Zaidi, Bittu Sahgal, Gayatri Devi, James Tod, Jug Suraiya, Nilanjana S Roy, Pierre Loti, Pradip Krishen, Prem Shankar Jha, Rajesh Mishra, Royina Grewal, Rudyard Kipling, Sanjay Singh Badnor, William Dalrymple