The Imperial Way: By Rail from Peshawar to Chittagong

by Paul Theroux, Steve McCurry (Photographer)

Chronicles an illustrated railway journey through India, from Peshawar, full of Afghan refugees, through Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, to flooded Chittagong on the Bay of Bengal

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, India, Photography, History, Asia

143 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Paul Edward Theroux is an American travel writer and novelist, whose best known work is The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), a travelogue about a trip he made by train from Great Britain through Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, through South Asia, then South-East Asia, up through East Asia, as far east as Japan, and then back across Russia to his point of origin. Although perhaps best known as a travelogue writer, Theroux has also published numerous works of fiction, some of which were made into feature films. He was awarded the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel The Mosquito Coast.

He is the father of Marcel and Louis Theroux, and the brother of Alexander and Peter. Justin Theroux is his nephew.

Reviews

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A What a fantastic book! Theroux writes of his train journey from Peshawar, Pakistan, through India, ending at Bangledesh. He has such an aware eye and sees travel, people, and the experiences in such an interesting manner. I love all his travel books. The first 25 or 30 pages are him writing about this trip; the latter portion of the book is comprised of photographs by Steve Curry of people and places scene on a train journey like this. Fascinating. Highly recommended for travelers, fans of India, Bangledesh, and Pakistan, and photography lovers.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that was mostly pictures but in the few pages of writing, Theroux paints a real sense of the trains and people he encountered on his journey. Made me want to read more of his stuff. Always a good sign.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is made up of about 30 pages of very engaging writing by Paul Theroux and about 100 or so pages of wonderful photographs by Steve McCurry. It's dated (published in 1985) to some extent--especially the writing; photographs by nature tend to be more timeless I think--but I think much of rural India hasn't changed a whole lot in the last 30 years (unlike the large cities). The book also covers Pakistan and Bangladesh to some degree.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful picture book about trains and train lines in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The best feature of the book are the wondrous photographs. Paul's written bit is only 31 pages long and provides bare minimum information about the various journeys undertaken. Still the whole book makes a lovely addition to my library.

[Gurpreet Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as riveting as Paul Theroux other books but the journey and pictures accompanying add to it's lustre .
Unfortunately the journey made from Peshawar to Chittagong can not be made by Indians anymore so a well written book is the only realm they can conjure to experience the travel.Which is what I did .

[Avesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right so this was published in 1985 and the extreme density of the Indian population was clear and tangible. I can't, no matter how hard I try, imagine what 2025 India is - if McCurry/Theroux were to recreate each shot in the same location... it would be quite disturbing, frankly.

Theroux/McCurry capture rural life, and what I find fascinating is the learned helplessness attitude, if not a sheer delusion for functionality present - why improve your surroundings when you can just say "I'll make do, whatever", as you sit in filth and disrepair? Absolute nonsense - and the fact that it's clearly a staple, a norm... you can understand the rather distasteful stereotypes and take a mathematically certain gamble that - with some of these locations - these stereotypes are not construed as stereotypes. Why is there no shift to improve the surroundings when the population is so dense? Is the herd mentality really that powerful?

That's the thing that is quite well captured. A consistent look of resignation, explicitly written as well. It's so interesting to see.

All this effectively puts me off visiting the region - it would drive me insane. If anyone's reading this - I encourage you to look up % of the Indian population not connected to the internet. Depressing statistics.

[sweet orange books · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars for the photographs, 1 star for the text.

McCurry reveals his incredible talent for portraits. Theroux is a euro-centrist writer who thinks that "one can fully understand India by traveling on its train", meaning as a white tourist crossing three countries in a few days while never going beyond the train stations.

[Steve Majerus-Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

An account of a train voyage from the Khyber Pass across Pakistan and northern India, with many beautiful photographs to illustrate it. Theroux is a brilliant writer but this work is trite and dumb, concentrating on the minute and the inane while failing to give much flavor of the area. The pictures, however, make the book worth looking at.

[Łukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theroux + McCurry + trains, obviously I had to have this book. It feels a little disjointed and comments in the “photo” part are definitely on decline with every page, but still it’s nice to feel transported into Indian trains, even more so to trains as they were decades ago

[Galicius · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photography which makes up the bulk of the book was more interesting than Theroux's writing in this one.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully evocative, very quick, read. Having travelled many of the lines myself, little seems to have changed over the last 40 years!

[Tim Poston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful photographs: creepy text. I hope Theroux has become less condescending since 1985, but I have no plans to read his more recent stuff and find out.

[Wes F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this older travel picture book from the mid-1980s, by favorite travel writer, Paul Theroux, and photographer, Steve McCurry. This was a trip they took via trains from the Af-Pak border (Landi Kotal) over to Bangladesh, with some shorter side trips in India. Good background info & some classic pictures. I would have liked a little more writing from Theroux to fill in the travelogue.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not worth seeking out or anything, but if you ever come across it, take a look ... it's got some great photos and a short but good train story by Paul Theroux about riding the several train lines in India that the pictures are based around.

[Jane Angle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a picture book with short, brilliant commentary from Theroux. I'd like to read a full book on Bangladesh.