Around India in 80 Trains

Around India in 80 Trains
Author: Monisha Rajesh
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2012-11-08
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1473644518

"Crackles and sparks with life like an exploding box of Diwali fireworks." -- William Dalrymple In 1991, Monisha Rajesh's family uprooted from Sheffield to Madras in the hope of making India their home. Two years later, fed up with soap-eating rats, severed human heads and the creepy colonel across the road, they returned to England with a bitter taste in their mouths. Two decades on, she 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 40,000 km - the circumference of the Earth. She hopes that 80 train journeys up, down and across India will lift the veil on a country that has become a stranger to her. Along the way, Monisha discovers that the Indian Railways - featuring luxury trains, toy trains, Mumbai's infamous commuter trains, and even a hospital on wheels - have more than a few stories to tell, not to mention a colourful cast of characters. And with a self-confessed "militant devout atheist" in tow, her personal journey around a country built on religion isn't quite what she bargained for...

Halt Station India

Halt Station India
Author: Rajendra B. Aklekar
Publisher:
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2014
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9788129134974

Avantika Singh, better known as General Gosling, was born aboard a Boeing 747 somewhere over the Arabian Sea. Gosling and her siblings - Duckling and the twins Dingaling and Dumpling - have been brought up at Shadow House by their grandfather, the crazy, zany Nana and his lovely partner Shabby Aunty. Nana, an ex-army surgeon, is completely whacko and life at Shadow House is exasperating, funny and unforgettable, what with Nana's fixation for his ten Classic and Vintage cars, Duckling's collections of virtually everything 'collectible' and the twins' notorious business swindles. But then when it becomes clear that Nana is slowly falling prey to dementia and Alzheimer's, his daughter makes diabolical plans for him-and for the children's future. Plans that Gosling and the others are determined to thwart, without foreseeing how terribly things could go wrong for everyone. Will dear nutcase Nana survive all this and return to his beloved Shadow House and Shabby Aunty? At once funny and heart-breaking, Our Nana Was a Nutcase is a delightfully touching story about growing up, growing old and loving your grandparent no matter how nutty he may seem. A Children's Bookshelf Selection: Each month our editor's pick the best books for children and young adults by age to be a part of the children's bookshelf. These are editorial recommendations made by our team of experts. Our monthly reading list includes a mix of bestsellers and top new releases and evergreen books that will help enhance a child's reading life.

SHORT HISTORY OF INDIAN RAILWAYS

SHORT HISTORY OF INDIAN RAILWAYS
Author: Rajendra B. Aklekar
Publisher:
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2019-05-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9789353332877

His stories instruct and entertain, bringing the past of Indian Railways alive in the present. Did you know that India's first steam engine never ran on tracks and was actually used to run driving mills in a factory? That the maximum speed of the first commercial train in India was 4.5 miles/hour?

Railways and The Raj

Railways and The Raj
Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 407
Release: 2017-11-02
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1782397663

The epic story of the British construction of the railways in India, as told by Britain's bestselling transport historian. 'Christian Wolmar is Britain's foremost railway historian.' The Times 'Our leading writer on the railways' Guardian 'Christian Wolmar is in love with railways... He is their wisest, most detailed historian' Observer India joined the railway age late: the first line was not completed until 1853 but, by 1929, 41,000 miles of track served the country. However, the creation of this vast network was not intended to modernize India for the sake of its people but rather was a means for the colonial power to govern the huge country under its control, serving its British economic and military interests. Despite the dubious intentions behind the construction of the network, the Indian people quickly took to the railways, as the trains allowed them to travel easily for the first time. The Indian Railways network remains one of the largest in the world, serving over 25 million passengers each day. In this expertly told history, Christian Wolmar reveals the full story of India's railways, from its very beginnings to the present day, and examines the chequered role they have played in Indian history and the creation of today's modern state.

Around the World in 80 Trains

Around the World in 80 Trains
Author: Monisha Rajesh
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2019-01-24
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1408869780

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER AWARD FOR BEST TRAVEL BOOK SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 'Monisha Rajesh has chosen one of the best ways of seeing the world. Never too fast, never too slow, her journey does what trains do best. Getting to the heart of things. Prepare for a very fine ride' Michael Palin From the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet's Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Around the World in 80 Trains is a celebration of the glory of train travel and a witty and irreverent look at the world. Packing up her rucksack – and her fiancé, Jem – Monisha Rajesh embarks on an unforgettable adventure that takes her from London's St Pancras station to the vast expanses of Russia and Mongolia, North Korea, Canada, Kazakhstan, and beyond. The journey is one of constant movement and mayhem, as the pair strike up friendships and swap stories with the hilarious, irksome and ultimately endearing travellers they meet on board, all while taking in some of the earth's most breathtaking views.

The Great Railway Bazaar

The Great Railway Bazaar
Author: Paul Theroux
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2006-06-01
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 054752515X

The acclaimed author recounts his epic journey across Europe and Asia in this international bestselling classic of travel literature: “Compulsive reading” (Graham Greene). In 1973, Paul Theroux embarked on a four-month journey by train from the United Kingdom through Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. In The Great Railway Bazaar, he records in vivid detail and penetrating insight the many fascinating incidents, adventures, and encounters of his grand, intercontinental tour. Asia's fabled trains—the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local, the Frontier Mail, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Mandalay Express, the Trans-Siberian Express—are the stars of a journey that takes Theroux on a loop eastbound from London's Victoria Station to Tokyo Central, then back from Japan on the Trans-Siberian. Brimming with Theroux's signature humor and wry observations, this engrossing chronicle is essential reading for both the ardent adventurer and the armchair traveler.

Indian Railways

Indian Railways
Author: Bibek Debroy
Publisher: Random House India
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2017-02-10
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0143439723

The fascinating story of the network that made modern India The railways brought modernity to India. Its vast network connected the far corners of the subcontinent, making travel, communication and commerce simpler than ever before. Even more importantly, the railways played a large part in the making of the nation: by connecting historically and geographically disparate regions and people, it forever changed the way Indians lived and thought, and eventually made a national identity possible. This engagingly written, anecdotally told history captures the immense power of a business behemoth as well as the romance of train travel; tracing the growth of the railways from the 1830s (when the first plans were made) to Independence, Bibek Debroy and his co-authors recount how the railway network was built in India and how it grew to become a lifeline that still weaves the nation together. This latest volume in The Story of Indian Business series will delight anyone interested in finding out more about the Indian Railways.