Someone like us

A high school graduate from Britain is doing what we did. Except, his is a global venture.

And that’s that…

Dear Readers,

We have returned to Mumbai after an exhilarating tour of 21 states over 5 months. Adjusting to a normal, static life after an extraordinary, nomadic one is not easy especially when we are trying to internalize all that we experienced as part of our incredible journey.

theindialog has developed into a receptacle of stories and ideas that, we think, merit your consideration. Therefore, we will continue to give you a piece of our minds as at least 2 of the 3 loggers (Mihir & Naman) will travel (frequently, hopefully) as part of a common professional endeavor.

Over the past 150-odd days, we’ve tried to reproduce our encounters with different parts and people of India.With your regularity and encouragement, you often compelled us to take a closer look and make better sense of our surroundings. We sincerely hope that you enjoyed following us as much as we enjoyed writing for you.

Yours truly,

Loggers

P.S.: Continue to check this space as we hope to post brief notes on our macro-impressions of the country soon.

Closure

One of the many reasons that compelled us to travel the country was the fact that we had not seen, or heard, enough of India and her people. Our understanding of the country was limited to theory, which just about begins to define this nation. Every destination we have covered and every conversation we have had has contributed to a more practical perception of India. Often, there have been moments of contentment as predetermined mandates have been fulfilled. Doing the Kashmir to Kanyakumari length was one such mission.

While in Kanyakumari, we watched the sun go down (picture). About 140 days ago we were in Kashmir, the northern frontier of India. We’ve already done Jamnagar, Gujarat — Namdhapa, Arunachal Pradesh. Having covered the length and breadth of the country, we are experiencing a certain sense of closure.

This is a memorable moment as we enter the last 10 days of our adventure!

Leg 3b – South India

Dear Readers,

Over the past 135 days, we’ve covered 19 states; all that remains of this trip is a fortnight in the southern part of the country. Through this blog we’ve given you a chance to travel vicariously. There is much that we have shared but there is so much more that we are still internalizing. For the remainder of this month we will upload posts from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. At this point, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to our readers who have incentivized this form of documentation of our travels. As demanding as this exercise has been, we’ve enjoyed the process thoroughly.

Do stay tuned for exciting tales from down south!

Yours truly,

Loggers

Leg 3a – Maharashtra/Madhya Pradesh

Dear Readers,

Sorry for the lull. After a 10 day hiatus in Mumbai we are back on the road, currently in eastern Maharashtra. In addition to some outstanding posts on Uttar Pradesh, we have some interesting stories to share from this leg already. We will post them up as soon as possible. In the interim, check the updated Maps and Itinerary pages.

Yours truly,

Loggers

Dear Readers,

Very sorry for the lull. We’ve been in the northeastern part of the country for the past week and have lots of stories to share. Though connectivity has been poor, we will post as soon as possible. Stay tuned…

Yours truly,

Loggers

Maps Page

We have added a Maps page for you to keep track of our locations

Leg 2 — East/Northeast

Dear Readers,

Very sorry for the lull. We’ve been in the northeastern part of the country for the past week and have lots of stories to share. Though connectivity has been poor, we will post as soon as possible. Stay tuned…

Yours truly,

Loggers

theindialog on Batchbuzz

Our story is being covered by a user-generated online lifestyle magazine called batchbuzz.com.

Welcome

Welcome to theindialog.

In 20 days we depart for Srinagar and begin our exploration of India. We started drawing out an ambitious (yet hopefully feasible) itinerary last year, with the goal of applying our interest in economics and politics into a more accurate, relevant reading of the country.

Our plan has been broken down into 3 legs; July 24^th onwards we will be touring 6 states of India (Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh, northern Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat) for a period of 1 month. In September we hit the South and in October the East and Northeast regions. We will be traveling by rail/roadways and we plan to accommodate ourselves in hotels, dharamshalas and, where possible, the residences of family and friends.

During the yatra, our intention is to build our knowledge bank and write as much as possible. We will be researching national themes we are naturally curious about, such as farm to non-farm labor movements in rural India and growth prospects of freight corridors, as well as a number of regional issues such as the Separatist movement in Kashmir and the IIT training industry in Kota. We will be logging in throughout the trip to upload thoughts, interviews and anecdotes. We’re each carrying the gadgets required to visually document conversations and sceneries, so net speed permitting, pictures and videos will find their way here on a regular basis.

Our project has evoked reactions ranging from encouragement to envy. We look forward to sharing our observations, and hearing from our followers through comments on theindialog. To our mentors, thank you.

Welcome to the “in” thing.