The book Postcards from India by Sinjana Ghosh is a collection of postcards or letters written by different parts of India about themselves. The book has been Amazon Bestseller No.1 in two categories: Travel & Tourism, and Essays.
Details of Postcards from India by Sinjana Ghosh
| Book Details | |
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| Title | Postcards from India |
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| Subtitle | India’s Hidden Gems tell their stories |
| Author | Sinjana Ghosh |
| Genre | Travel |
| Sub-genre | Travel literature |
| Print Length | 69 pages |
| Format | Kindle |
| Available at | Amazon |
About the Author
Sinjana Ghosh, the author of Postcards from India, loves to read and travel. She mostly reads non-fiction and explores places within India. She calls herself a rookie homemaker. She works full-time as a business management professional.
She believes in Mark Twain’s words that travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry & narrow-mindedness and is in awe of her country, India, and its diversity.
Her love for writing and travelling could be felt in her blog Backpack & Explore.
About the Book
Postcards from India is about Places writing open letters for inviting tourists to explore those places. The idea itself is interesting that Puri is writing a letter and telling must-do things for anyone who is visiting Puri for the first time, and the places are also introduced in an exciting way.
It is neither a travel guide, nor a travelogue. It is an unconventional anthology of stories from obscure parts of the country that will help you know India a little better and convince you to explore off-the-beaten path.
The places that are dealt in the book are shown in the map below.
Conversation with Sinjana Ghosh, Author of Postcards from India
What is it that you so badly wanted to tell that you wrote this book and whom do you want to tell it?
I wanted to say that India is a lot more than Taj Mahal and Khajuraho, and Goa. India is a mini-world. Most Indians consider foreign travel aspirational and save a lot of money for foreign trips. We ignore the breathtaking beaches of Andaman for Thailand and Maldives, even though the former is so much cheaper.
I feel domestic tourism industry needs a boost right now, and not just the famous places, but the under-explored ones too. Our existing gems are undervalued both by the government and the people. That is why, instead of spending money on preservation of our exceptional natural and man-made heritage sites, government spends crores on building new tourist attractions.
So, I always try to tell people stories of offbeat places. I want to make an impact there through this book.
How do you get the idea of writing this book?
In April 2020, when a mysterious disease engulfed the world, India came under “lockdown” along with most other countries. When social distancing became a norm, leisure travel became a far-fetched dream. Stuck home indefinitely now, the wanderer in me wondered – “what if some remote corners of the country started telling their own stories to travelers through picture-postcards?” And that became the premise of this book.
What’s your inspiration behind the book?
I was inspired to write this book when I selected the theme during Blogchatter A2Z blogging challenge of April 2020.But when I wrote the book, I didn’t include all the 26 blog posts I wrote, neither did I maintain the A2Z theme. I wanted it to be like a virtual train journey from the north to west to south ending in the extreme east.
Why do you choose this particular theme for your book?
I love exploring offbeat destinations in India. While I believe the offbeat travel to be an enriching experience, there is a social aspect too. Over-tourism in famous disturbs the harmony of people living there, and often disrupts the eco-balance in beautiful regions.
On the other hand, many hidden gems remain unexplored, where the locals could get some earning opportunity through tourism. So, I chose to write about not-so-famous places in India in this book.
How would your target audience relate with you?
The target audience of my book is anyone who is curious about India. I feel children will enjoy the book a lot because of the narrative style. As each chapter is a letter from a not-so-famous place in India, in its own voice. It will be good for their general knowledge as well. But I believe it will be enriching for adults just as much.
Why do you think that people read you or take your message seriously?
As I said, I have explored India a lot and I love to stray off-the-beaten-path. So, I read a lot about the offbeat places in India, the interesting facets about their geography, history, and culture.
In my blog, I write my honest and detailed guides about the places I travel to. If I hike to a place called “Kaigal falls” which some big-shot travel website claims to have a perennial waterfall, only to find that it’s completely dry – I will say that in my blog. I won’t use photoshopped images, and paint unrealistic picture of the places.
If I missed a place because I didn’t know about the permits, I will mention that on my blog. I would also approach the authorities and note the exact terms and conditions so that I can communicate the same to my readers. Perhaps this extra effort that I take is what makes my writings valuable.
What difficulties do you face during writing the book, and how you do you overcome them?
Finding so many unique places from different parts of India, which will stay true to the theme of offbeat travel was challenging. Especially so because I started writing this anthology as a part of Blogchatter A2Z challenge, and I wanted to cover all 26 alphabets. Finding places starting with X, Y, and Z was most difficult.
The second and the more difficult challenge was to imagine myself as the place itself, while writing the letters in first person.
Some Quotes from the Book
I am so proud of my people. The suffered, they believed, they struggled, and they came out victorious in their battle of survival.. Thanks to their perseverance, I am no longer a ghost town.
Culturally I am as modern and liberal as you can get, but I’m also deeply rooted thanks to the tribals living here for centuries. The Apatani tribe who built a settlement here long ago defines me to the globe, and I define them.
A walking tour here is like time-travel to the medieval era. Besides palaces, you will come across the ancient stepwells, horse stables, ceremonial gates, temples, and Havelis
Excerpts from Some Reviews
Do read Sinjana’s Book and share your views with her. You can find her at @backpacknxplore on Social Media.