DISCOVER MY SOUL, SAYS THE COUNTRY

By SHAGORIKA EASWAR

In the question, “Are you going home this summer?”, home refers to any one of the several countries we come from.

Even though many of us have been in Canada long enough for this to be home. And even though, at least among my circle of friends, the kids are all grown up and therefore their parental units are not restricted by summer vacations. We are free to travel at will, and I would rather bask in our brief burst of summer here and escape during winter. But that question is hard-wired in us.

So, are you going home this summer?

With extended family scattered all cross India, our trips back are a Bharat darshan, covering Bombay, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Delhi and Bangalore with pit stops along the way. On each trip, we also explore a new destination with cousins. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jodhpur or Goa, etc., but the list of places I still want to visit is long.

Thus I picked up India with excitement. What wonders would it reveal?

Strangely, I found myself turning to the pages on the cities I am familiar with first, instead of checking out new ones.

Inspire, plan, discover, experience, says the line on the cover. While that would draw tourists and first-time visitors to the land, you might wonder, as I did, if the book held any surprises for a desi born and raised in India and who has visited frequently since making a home in Canada.

I “tested” it by checking out the sections on some of the cities I know well. Perhaps it was a way of determining how right they get the places I know before taking their word on unknown destinations.

They do...I was happy to see that they have covered all of my favourite spots in the cities, and then some. It is not often that one reacts with delight to being shown that they did not, in fact, know everything about a place they thought they know like the back of their hand, but that was my response at going through this comprehensive guide.

With so much to see and do in India, it can be hard to know where to start.

For first timers, the book is conveniently divided into easily navigable chapters, detailed itineraries and expert local knowledge.

Others like me, can dig in, and rediscover India, because on my next trip, India is going with me!