What do you think?
Rate this book
Borderlands: Travels Across India's Boundaries
For most residents of India’s bustling metros and big towns, nationality and citizenship are privileges that are often taken for granted. The country’s periphery, however, is dotted with sleepy towns and desolate villages whose people, simply by having more in common with citizens of neighbouring nations than with their own, have to prove their Indian identity every day.
It is these specks on the country’s map that Pradeep Damodaran rediscovers as he travels across India’s borders for a little more than a year, experiencing life in far-flung areas that rarely feature in mainstream conversations.
In Borderlands, he recounts his encounters with the war-weary fishermen of Dhanushkodi at the southernmost tip of Tamil Nadu, who live in fear both of the Indian Coast Guard and the Sri Lankan navy; farmers in Hussainiwala, a village on Punjab’s border with Pakistan, who are unwilling to build concrete houses for fear of them being destroyed in an ever looming war; Tamil traders of Moreh, a town straddling the Manipur–Myanmar border, who pay bribes to at least ten different militant organizations so they can safely conduct their business; and ex-servicemen in Campbell Bay who were resettled there three generations ago and have long been forgotten by the mainland.
From Minicoy in Lakshadweep to Taki in West Bengal, Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to Raxaul in Bihar, Damodaran’s compelling narrative reinforces the idea that, in India, a land of contrasts and contradictions, beauty and diversity, conflict comes in many forms.
It is these specks on the country’s map that Pradeep Damodaran rediscovers as he travels across India’s borders for a little more than a year, experiencing life in far-flung areas that rarely feature in mainstream conversations.
In Borderlands, he recounts his encounters with the war-weary fishermen of Dhanushkodi at the southernmost tip of Tamil Nadu, who live in fear both of the Indian Coast Guard and the Sri Lankan navy; farmers in Hussainiwala, a village on Punjab’s border with Pakistan, who are unwilling to build concrete houses for fear of them being destroyed in an ever looming war; Tamil traders of Moreh, a town straddling the Manipur–Myanmar border, who pay bribes to at least ten different militant organizations so they can safely conduct their business; and ex-servicemen in Campbell Bay who were resettled there three generations ago and have long been forgotten by the mainland.
From Minicoy in Lakshadweep to Taki in West Bengal, Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to Raxaul in Bihar, Damodaran’s compelling narrative reinforces the idea that, in India, a land of contrasts and contradictions, beauty and diversity, conflict comes in many forms.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published February 1, 2017
31 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 13, 2019
Before this book,I had read 'Gazing at neighbours' by Biswanath Ghosh and I can easily deduce that Damodaran's work is far superior.This book,like Ghosh's book, is about border towns which are more or less either forgotten or too far away for any government to care for (though Bangladesh and Pakistan border are exceptions).The research work of the author is commendable,as,unlike Ghosh, he has acknowledged the fact that India,including its martime borders,is a neighbour to ten countries.
The choice of words is good but the editing is not that sharp.Further,the author has not included a single photograph in the book.
The common thing between Ghosh and Damodaran is the love for alcohol.
Its a very good book but doesn't answer one question-why do Indian authors of 'travel-genre' crave for alcohol so much?
The choice of words is good but the editing is not that sharp.Further,the author has not included a single photograph in the book.
The common thing between Ghosh and Damodaran is the love for alcohol.
Its a very good book but doesn't answer one question-why do Indian authors of 'travel-genre' crave for alcohol so much?
July 29, 2020
The town's of India which we rarely visits : The border towns
---------------------------------------------------------------
Borderlands, travels across India's boundaries is a travelogue, and it is written in a very beautiful way by the author, and he started his journey from the town of Dhanushkodi ( only 18 nautical miles away from Sri Lanka ), in Tamil Nadu, and he ended his journey in Campbell bay, in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
The Border town's which he explored are as follows - Dhanushkodi ( Tamil Nadu ), Minicoy ( Lakshadweep), hussainiwala ( Punjab, near Ferozepur), Raxaul (Bihar ), Gangtok ( Sikkim ), Jaigaon ( West Bengal ), Tawang ( Arunachal Pradesh ), Moreh ( manipur ), The Indo- Bangladesh border and Campbell bay ( Andaman and Nicobar islands )
Other than the history, geography and local traditions & cultures of these Border towns which the Author talked about in this Book, the one thing which is common in all these border towns is the lack of infrastructure, poor health care facilities, and the neglect of the town by the successive Indian government, and also by the mainland Indians, who knew very little about them and their problems. And this is one of the main reason that the smuggling of contraband items take place in these Border town's.
This book is written in a very simple language, and after reading this I can surely say that the readers can go for this wonderful book, but one thing which is Missing in this book is the absence of photographs which the author clicked while exploring these towns. And I will also give thumbs up to the designer of the outer cover of this book, that after reading this book, you can recall the summary by just looking at the outer cover. Great work indeed.
My Ratings : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ( 4/5 )
I hope you like the review, thanks for reading, Jai Hind.
For more information You can visit - https://dontbignorant.in/
---------------------------------------------------------------
Borderlands, travels across India's boundaries is a travelogue, and it is written in a very beautiful way by the author, and he started his journey from the town of Dhanushkodi ( only 18 nautical miles away from Sri Lanka ), in Tamil Nadu, and he ended his journey in Campbell bay, in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
The Border town's which he explored are as follows - Dhanushkodi ( Tamil Nadu ), Minicoy ( Lakshadweep), hussainiwala ( Punjab, near Ferozepur), Raxaul (Bihar ), Gangtok ( Sikkim ), Jaigaon ( West Bengal ), Tawang ( Arunachal Pradesh ), Moreh ( manipur ), The Indo- Bangladesh border and Campbell bay ( Andaman and Nicobar islands )
Other than the history, geography and local traditions & cultures of these Border towns which the Author talked about in this Book, the one thing which is common in all these border towns is the lack of infrastructure, poor health care facilities, and the neglect of the town by the successive Indian government, and also by the mainland Indians, who knew very little about them and their problems. And this is one of the main reason that the smuggling of contraband items take place in these Border town's.
This book is written in a very simple language, and after reading this I can surely say that the readers can go for this wonderful book, but one thing which is Missing in this book is the absence of photographs which the author clicked while exploring these towns. And I will also give thumbs up to the designer of the outer cover of this book, that after reading this book, you can recall the summary by just looking at the outer cover. Great work indeed.
My Ratings : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ( 4/5 )
I hope you like the review, thanks for reading, Jai Hind.
For more information You can visit - https://dontbignorant.in/
December 31, 2023
Book is about the people who live in the borders of India. You get to see how life is tough for them when their citizenship is questioned, intentions are questioned, and also becomes a playground for illegal activities, be it human traffic or smuggling items as well as cows. One chapter that really intrigued me is how no one cared about them till they become part of Cooch behar constituency along the border. When their collective votes can decide who can hold the constituency, people started caring about them. It tells the importance of vote. Book has motivated me to plan my bhutan trip, When I visited Jaigon/Pheuntsoling, you see the stark difference how borderlans are managed. While Bhutan side is much cleaner , the indian side is full of dust and people smoking freely, stark difference when they both are just seperated by a gate and newly constructed wall.
October 22, 2021
Borderlands - Travels across India's Boundaries.
Pradeep Damodaran
Rating 4/5
Brilliant book!
The author took 18 months off his monontonous work in order to travel across the border places of our country and document some of the stuffs which are indeed interesting. Firstly let me tell, you will connect with the book very well, if you have been to any of the places mentioned over here. I was in luck, Moreh, Jaigaon, Wagah, Gangtok, well I have been and I enjoyed everything the author has mentioned over here about the places.
What I was impressed by the book was the author's interest lie in, not just telling about the places he vistited, but also the lives of the people, interconnected with history with culture, he went to meet the people who settled in and around each such town, how they earned their living, a moderate history of the place. These are very fascinating things which leads us to loads of thought process. All this lead me wanting to read more about all the places, for ex - The Burmese rule under General, torture of Indian refugees by Bhutan army, more on LTTE and their struggle.
There are so many sad instances where people have been unable to find their identities, yet they seem to have adjusted with whatever minimal resources they have. The book teaches us a lot in terms of what we are ignoring when we take certain things for granted.
The book also describes the minimalistic lives of people in Minicoy, CampbellBay. Also insurgency in North East finds a mention. Plus plight of people in Sikkim where native indegenous people are provided preference over settlers. This book has many such interesting stories.
Loads of places covered, indeed very interesting, such a pleasure to read, we come from such a diverse country. There is so much to learn from the book.
What I did not really like, which made me rate 0.25 less is a bit of random ranting, descriptions on liquor and people including women, which were rather highly distasteful, though the book captures so much, these random things make it a tad dull. Never the less, writing in easy understandable language is always welcome and appreciated!
Missing few pictures and a good bibliography because the book covers so many struggles, partition, Indo Chinese conflict, history of insurgency, LTTE related, its pretty evident that the author has referred few additional books too..
Cheers
Pradeep Damodaran
Rating 4/5
Brilliant book!
The author took 18 months off his monontonous work in order to travel across the border places of our country and document some of the stuffs which are indeed interesting. Firstly let me tell, you will connect with the book very well, if you have been to any of the places mentioned over here. I was in luck, Moreh, Jaigaon, Wagah, Gangtok, well I have been and I enjoyed everything the author has mentioned over here about the places.
What I was impressed by the book was the author's interest lie in, not just telling about the places he vistited, but also the lives of the people, interconnected with history with culture, he went to meet the people who settled in and around each such town, how they earned their living, a moderate history of the place. These are very fascinating things which leads us to loads of thought process. All this lead me wanting to read more about all the places, for ex - The Burmese rule under General, torture of Indian refugees by Bhutan army, more on LTTE and their struggle.
There are so many sad instances where people have been unable to find their identities, yet they seem to have adjusted with whatever minimal resources they have. The book teaches us a lot in terms of what we are ignoring when we take certain things for granted.
The book also describes the minimalistic lives of people in Minicoy, CampbellBay. Also insurgency in North East finds a mention. Plus plight of people in Sikkim where native indegenous people are provided preference over settlers. This book has many such interesting stories.
Loads of places covered, indeed very interesting, such a pleasure to read, we come from such a diverse country. There is so much to learn from the book.
What I did not really like, which made me rate 0.25 less is a bit of random ranting, descriptions on liquor and people including women, which were rather highly distasteful, though the book captures so much, these random things make it a tad dull. Never the less, writing in easy understandable language is always welcome and appreciated!
Missing few pictures and a good bibliography because the book covers so many struggles, partition, Indo Chinese conflict, history of insurgency, LTTE related, its pretty evident that the author has referred few additional books too..
Cheers
December 19, 2017
The first 2 chapters were interesting and I liked the concept of the book. However, the chapters on Hussainiwala and Raxaul have become more whiney and less literature that I want to read to describe a place. It's more like diary entries of what happened to the author rather than the descriptions of the places he visited. I'd still complete it someday since I'm interested in the places even if not the book.
February 21, 2018
So the concept of the book is excellent and very revealing. He talks about areas in the country that one has never heard of and some interesting insights. But the whole effect was spoilt by his sexism that comes out subtly in places. I wouldn't recommend this book honestly. I was put off after a point and then only skimmed through the rest of it.
March 13, 2019
An important book for sure, with specific chapters/cities that are compellingly written. Other times the writing comes across as unconsciously biased and women in the book are described as curvy, flirtatious, solicitious or wearing “tight tops”. Made the act of reading quite jarring for me, but if you can make your peace with that, it’s quite a decent read.
February 23, 2018
To really read this book you need to just look at the facts he talks about and shove aside his subtle opinions. For a journalist he sure does let his bias colour a lot of his writing! Nevertheless, informative and interesting.
September 2, 2021
I have had a fascination with the ways in which geopolitical boundaries intersect everyday lives since I was a kid – in junior high I wrote an article for the travel section of my local newspaper about visiting state borders, which proudly featured a grainy picture of me, with sunburned cheeks and baseball cap pulled down over my eyes, seated on the Four Corners Monument. As an adult, that fascination hasn’t completely waned. My Facebook feed still features pictures of the family in front of various “Welcome” signs and border markers, and on a half-day trip to continental Europe on the way home from London a couple years ago, I visited no fewer than three international tripoints. So, this book about India’s borders and the people who live along them was a fascinating read for me.
In this travelogue, Pradeep Damodaran travels to the far corners of India, where the people he meets don’t always resemble what we think of as “Indians” and sometimes speak neither English nor Hindi. India shares land borders with Pakistan, China (in three separate sections), Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It also shares maritime boundaries with Sri Lanka, Indonesia (Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea) and the Maldives (Minicoy in the Indian Ocean). Damodaran travels to each of these regions and along the six land borders, manages to cross into five other countries (the heavily fortified Chinese border being the impenetrable one, though technically this is also possible). He witnesses a bizarre flag ceremony on the India/Pakistan line replete with soldiers from both sides and jeering crowds, wanders by foot into Bhutan at Phuentsholing (a town he describes as much cleaner and surprisingly more modern than what is found on the Indian side of the border) and hires a boat to cross the Padma River into Bangladesh (Rongling You Connor we tried the same from the Bangladeshi side along the muddy banks of the river in Rajshahi twenty years ago).
This books opens up a whole new and refreshing view of India. When visiting border regions, we often discover that while practical things like currency and telephone service are cut precisely at the whim of the map, things such as culture, language and topography are much more fluid. Indeed, many of the areas described in this book will remind us more of other places than of India. But those places, too, have a touch of India. This book would be even better if it had been more carefully edited and if the author spent a bit less time getting drunk in local bars and flirting with local women (behavior that somehow seems acceptable in novels, but leaves a bad taste when recorded in a travelogue). Nevertheless, a worthwhile read.
In this travelogue, Pradeep Damodaran travels to the far corners of India, where the people he meets don’t always resemble what we think of as “Indians” and sometimes speak neither English nor Hindi. India shares land borders with Pakistan, China (in three separate sections), Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It also shares maritime boundaries with Sri Lanka, Indonesia (Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea) and the Maldives (Minicoy in the Indian Ocean). Damodaran travels to each of these regions and along the six land borders, manages to cross into five other countries (the heavily fortified Chinese border being the impenetrable one, though technically this is also possible). He witnesses a bizarre flag ceremony on the India/Pakistan line replete with soldiers from both sides and jeering crowds, wanders by foot into Bhutan at Phuentsholing (a town he describes as much cleaner and surprisingly more modern than what is found on the Indian side of the border) and hires a boat to cross the Padma River into Bangladesh (Rongling You Connor we tried the same from the Bangladeshi side along the muddy banks of the river in Rajshahi twenty years ago).
This books opens up a whole new and refreshing view of India. When visiting border regions, we often discover that while practical things like currency and telephone service are cut precisely at the whim of the map, things such as culture, language and topography are much more fluid. Indeed, many of the areas described in this book will remind us more of other places than of India. But those places, too, have a touch of India. This book would be even better if it had been more carefully edited and if the author spent a bit less time getting drunk in local bars and flirting with local women (behavior that somehow seems acceptable in novels, but leaves a bad taste when recorded in a travelogue). Nevertheless, a worthwhile read.
April 20, 2019
For detailed review please press this link
The concept of this book is interesting. It is a journey of a journalist from Tamil Nadu to travel to lesser known towns or islands of India which share borders with different countries. India is in a unique place which shares borders with 7 countries on land and couple of other countries on sea. This is the author’s attempt to become the voice of those people who live in those borders.
It is amazing to notice that few borders are peaceful and few are not. Villages around Pakistan and China border are in the fear of war, Borders around Bangladesh are in the fear of human trafficking, Islands at Nicobar are in the fear of natural calamities. Most popular cities and towns close to the border gets all the attention while other villages across the border are left to rot for themselves.
What I liked are the aspirations of the youth living here are simple and different with each border. They struggle each day to make their ends meet. Yet they did not loose hope and work hard for better future for their next generations. Many of them are educated or atleast sent their children to mainland for education.
Youth in Minicoy wanted to be a sailor and work for a merchant navy company. Youth in India-Bangladesh enclaves just wanted to be recognized as citizens of either of the countries. Few wanted to live at the borders for rest of their lives and liked the peace it brings to them. Few wanted to shift to mainland and wanted the government to help them. But many of them echoed that they hated the city culture which is congested with people, traffic and pollution.
Racial discrimination of people from North East in Rest of India was evident from their experiences. This has been a major deterrent for them to not move to cities of India. It is also shown how hard it is to even reach these places. Travelling to these places is a huge challenge and people living here are left stranded even if there is any emergency.
Overall it must have been an incredible journey for the author and a nice read for any travel enthusiast. What put me off the most from this book is the description of woman in many of the places in the book. I felt that they were being objectified slightly.
The concept of this book is interesting. It is a journey of a journalist from Tamil Nadu to travel to lesser known towns or islands of India which share borders with different countries. India is in a unique place which shares borders with 7 countries on land and couple of other countries on sea. This is the author’s attempt to become the voice of those people who live in those borders.
It is amazing to notice that few borders are peaceful and few are not. Villages around Pakistan and China border are in the fear of war, Borders around Bangladesh are in the fear of human trafficking, Islands at Nicobar are in the fear of natural calamities. Most popular cities and towns close to the border gets all the attention while other villages across the border are left to rot for themselves.
What I liked are the aspirations of the youth living here are simple and different with each border. They struggle each day to make their ends meet. Yet they did not loose hope and work hard for better future for their next generations. Many of them are educated or atleast sent their children to mainland for education.
Youth in Minicoy wanted to be a sailor and work for a merchant navy company. Youth in India-Bangladesh enclaves just wanted to be recognized as citizens of either of the countries. Few wanted to live at the borders for rest of their lives and liked the peace it brings to them. Few wanted to shift to mainland and wanted the government to help them. But many of them echoed that they hated the city culture which is congested with people, traffic and pollution.
Racial discrimination of people from North East in Rest of India was evident from their experiences. This has been a major deterrent for them to not move to cities of India. It is also shown how hard it is to even reach these places. Travelling to these places is a huge challenge and people living here are left stranded even if there is any emergency.
Overall it must have been an incredible journey for the author and a nice read for any travel enthusiast. What put me off the most from this book is the description of woman in many of the places in the book. I felt that they were being objectified slightly.
June 18, 2017
Okay, so you love to travel but haven’t been able to travel much. However, if you would love to derive vicarious pleasure from travels of others then you ought to read this book. I picked up this book just for fun and fun it was. However, it was only when I finished it that I realized that this book isn’t just fun but a substantially informative piece on life’s of places and people, living literally, on the fringes of this country. It is about experiences of people who despite being citizens of India do not have all the luxuries and privileges that we in mainland take for granted. And yes, this book really helps you understand the meaning of “mainland” – what really constitutes mainland India and what does not. Borderlands also reminds you or perhaps forces you to acknowledge that international territorial boundaries are works of human mischief and not a phenomenon ordained by providence. To people like us, living in deep comforts of India’s mainland, Borders may represent the limit or end of what we call homeland. However, to people living in towns and villages that lie on the periphery of these boundaries, they are just artificial blockade or more so irritants, hampering their everyday life. The lives of people in border towns extend much beyond the barbed wires and military check posts. Their businesses, relatives and friends, memories of childhood and soul of their ancestors thrive on unhindered continuum of land and bonds formed by people across borders (much of which are older than the borders) on the foundation of love and mutual benefit and they naturally do not or cannot recognize the legitimacy of artificial fences set up by people sitting in faraway cities for benefit and security of people like us living in faraway mainland.
Borderlands is a must read not just for travel junkies but for anyone who believes human connections and bonds are far more powerful than artificial metallic wire that attempts to hold them back.
Borderlands is a must read not just for travel junkies but for anyone who believes human connections and bonds are far more powerful than artificial metallic wire that attempts to hold them back.
October 6, 2025
4 for execution - 5 for the concept and the travels.
What a lovely book. Through the eyes of Pradeep Damodaran, I got to visit the Borderlands of India - Dhanushkodi with Srilanka, Hussainiwala with Pakistan, Moreh with Burma, Cambell Bay with Indonesia, Raxaul with Nepal, Tawang and Gangtok with China , Jaigon with Bhutan, Taki with Bangladesh and Minicoy with Mali.
What I liked about the book was it's enthusiasm to learn and understand life in the borders through conversations and observations. In some cases, Pradeep has actually put in an insane amount of effort to reach the places. Across places, a common theme is the government's inadequate investment in developing these places and in Many cases a stark comparison with the cities on the other side. Some places were outright depressing. Moreh, Tawang and Campbell bay seem like anachronisms/ lost causes. The porosity of borders for someone living inland was a tad bit alarming, yet, compared to what I read about the IPKF in Brotherless Night, the PLA's incursion in Tawang was relieving ( respectful).
But beyond all, the book is also a whole lot of fun. It was funny when Pradeep got called out for bathing in the seas in Lakshwadeep islands shirtless ( irony!l), the smuggling racket in Hussainwala, the bizzare hotel in Raxaul, Bihar where he gets intimidated by political goons, bring called uncle when he thinks he senses vibes in Bhutan in his sashays across the border, or getting a earful for taking photos of Buddhist female monks.
Would have preferred him to be less of a drunkard
What a lovely book. Through the eyes of Pradeep Damodaran, I got to visit the Borderlands of India - Dhanushkodi with Srilanka, Hussainiwala with Pakistan, Moreh with Burma, Cambell Bay with Indonesia, Raxaul with Nepal, Tawang and Gangtok with China , Jaigon with Bhutan, Taki with Bangladesh and Minicoy with Mali.
What I liked about the book was it's enthusiasm to learn and understand life in the borders through conversations and observations. In some cases, Pradeep has actually put in an insane amount of effort to reach the places. Across places, a common theme is the government's inadequate investment in developing these places and in Many cases a stark comparison with the cities on the other side. Some places were outright depressing. Moreh, Tawang and Campbell bay seem like anachronisms/ lost causes. The porosity of borders for someone living inland was a tad bit alarming, yet, compared to what I read about the IPKF in Brotherless Night, the PLA's incursion in Tawang was relieving ( respectful).
But beyond all, the book is also a whole lot of fun. It was funny when Pradeep got called out for bathing in the seas in Lakshwadeep islands shirtless ( irony!l), the smuggling racket in Hussainwala, the bizzare hotel in Raxaul, Bihar where he gets intimidated by political goons, bring called uncle when he thinks he senses vibes in Bhutan in his sashays across the border, or getting a earful for taking photos of Buddhist female monks.
Would have preferred him to be less of a drunkard
September 25, 2020
The author of this book travels for 18 months to cover all the land and sea borders of India, from Minicoy island in the Lakshadweep set of islands off the western coast of India in the Indian ocean, Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh right at the border to China, Moreh in Manipur bordering Myanmar, Jaigaon in West Bengal bordering Bhutan, all the way to Campbell Bay at the end of Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay Of Bengal. The author comes across all kinds of people, some happy with their life and some greatly disappointed, although the sense of identity at all the places is still Indian. My best reads were Minicoy and Campbell Bay, both islands being cut off from the mainland and only a few ships throughout the week travel there during the week. Although there is an airport at Agatti island in Lakshadweep and a helicopter service to Campbell Bay, both are steeply priced for the locals. With such few travel options available, the locals mostly spend their time on their respective islands and do not worry about what is happening on the mainland. This book is a keeper and you can read about it again and hope you that get to travel there someday.
March 26, 2020
It was a great concept, I myself have always been fascinated to the borders. I liked how the book started with the borderlands that many of us don't even know about. I really liked the story of Minicoy and this one was quite engaging. Getting to know how it was for the local people there was really fascinating. However, as the book proceeded, I found it to be losing the purpose for the sake of finishing it. I was expecting more details on Husseiniwala and other places after this chapter. I found some repetition also on the same points and lack of cultural knowledge that was expected out of the book.
Writing was fine and clearly understandable, though . However, I was expecting a detailed study and a bit more of visualisation in writing. It could be just 2 or 3 places and series of travel books but in details.
Writing was fine and clearly understandable, though . However, I was expecting a detailed study and a bit more of visualisation in writing. It could be just 2 or 3 places and series of travel books but in details.
January 21, 2018
A great insight into the lives of the people living at the brinks of India. Life for them is more about survival than aiming to live in comforts. Some of them are far from the reach of any amenity, others flung at desolated lands and yet others who are devoid of national identity itself!!
Despite the daily struggles that they have to go through, these people have managed to forge cordial relations with the ones living on the other sides of the border, even when the countries they belong to
may still be on aggressive fronts!!
Despite the daily struggles that they have to go through, these people have managed to forge cordial relations with the ones living on the other sides of the border, even when the countries they belong to
may still be on aggressive fronts!!
June 15, 2020
The author, Chief of Bureau of Deccan Chronicle at Chennai, travels through the country’s periphery dotted with sleepy towns and desolate villages whose people, simply by having more in common with citizens of neighbouring countries than with their own, have to prove their Indian identity every day.
I enjoyed reading this book covering the author’s travels to Dhanushkodi, Minicoy, Hussainiwala, Raxaul, Gangtok, Jaigaon, Tawang, Moreh, Taki and Cooch Behar in Bengal and Campbell Bay. I would like to undertake a similar travel at some point of time in the near future.
I enjoyed reading this book covering the author’s travels to Dhanushkodi, Minicoy, Hussainiwala, Raxaul, Gangtok, Jaigaon, Tawang, Moreh, Taki and Cooch Behar in Bengal and Campbell Bay. I would like to undertake a similar travel at some point of time in the near future.
June 24, 2023
Such a beautiful experience reading through the ten chapters of the book, as the author takes us through the landscape, people and their lives of the border territories of our country.
Another perk is one need not read it at a stretch, it is completely possible to pick up the book after a gap and still enjoy it guilt free
Another perk is one need not read it at a stretch, it is completely possible to pick up the book after a gap and still enjoy it guilt free
August 4, 2018
What a journey! This extremely interesting book on the Borderlands of India is a very interesting take on India's border towns and life there. The writer gives an extremely balanced account of his travels!
June 25, 2017
Must read for Indians with a frail understanding of life on India's borders.
August 26, 2018
A wonderful journey through the border villages of India. Truly an eye opener.
January 11, 2019
A 3.5 rather.
February 17, 2020
Interesting concept but the writing does not impress. The books does not reflect enough on the stories from the lives of people living at the borders.. left wanting more.
May 6, 2020
Boozing experience of the writer is most boring part
August 6, 2020
Before reading the book, I thought I'd knew 10% of India. While reading it, I realized that I don't even know 1% of it.
August 15, 2020
Amazing effort by the author. One can know about all the border posts more by reading than visiting as a tourist. Chapters on Campbell Bay and Minicoy Island were captivating.
January 23, 2021
Well written on a very important topic. A must read that takes you to places both literally and figuratively. Missed pictures though, would have made for a complete experience.
September 30, 2022
Needs formatting. Content is good. This is what happening with me lately, picking a not so popular book and being disappointed at its editing and formatting :)
January 11, 2025
This is a one of a kind book. Immensely rich and I had a splendid time reading about borderlands. One of my best purchases.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews