News from Jupiter
From My Notebooks In 1977: Bodhgaya and Delhi
June 1, 2025
I arrive in Bodhgaya looking for somewhere to rest and write. Bodhgaya, Monday February 21st Tent in grounds of Tourist Bungalow. Not a very peaceful place. Meet Jacques Martin and his girlfriend/wife. They tell me the Burmese Vihar might be better. After two nights I move across, so – Wednesday 23rd to Wednesday March 9th at Burmese Vihar [All the most important Buddhist national […]
From My Notebooks In 1977: A Wedding on the Way to Bodhgaya
May 25, 2025
From Patna I’m on my way to the religious heart of India but suffer a most felicitous interruption – dancing girls included. Sunday 20th February After a haircut (very short) and breakfast with Jha I leave for Bodhgaya anxious to settle down to my piece [I was planning an article on the election for the Sunday Times] and unsure whether this will be the […]
From My Notebooks In 1977: Predators in Patna
May 18, 2025
Still Saturday 19th, February [Following an afternoon spent gliding above Patna among birds of prey, I’m invited by my pilot, Jha Prakash, to join a different class of predator.] In the evening, Jha absorbs me into a party at his brother-in-law’s room at the DAK bungalow. A mild US couple also arrived previous night, and they too have been invited. I assume that virtually […]
From My Notebooks In 1977: From Assam to Patna by Mistake
May 11, 2025
I took Carol to the Bangladeshi border as we’d agreed and returned to Gauhati thinking I would need to renew my permit before leaving Assam. I called on Dr. Das, the academic, who invited me to dinner. Tuesday, February 15th Dinner with Das. Wife rather self-conscious about food and I’m sure she’s made it blander than usual. But it’s nice and we have […]
From My Notebooks In 1977: Monobarie Tea Estate in Assam
April 27, 2025
[We are guests at the Monobarie Tea Estate after crossing the Bramaputra.] Monday 7th February Lazy day, although I get all my addresses transcribed into a small book indexed by country. The evening is reserved for a cultural program in aid of local high school. Don’t give it much thought and don’t wear much clothing. Arrive to find a big tent like a […]
From My Notebooks In 1977: Still travelling with Carol on the East bank of the Brahmaputra
April 19, 2025
[We are on our way to Dibrugarh, upriver in Assam, expecting to spend the night in a DAK bungalow, one of the many rest houses built for travellers in British India. We already had invitations for the following days to visit first the oil town at Duliajan, about 50 kms East of Dibrugarh, and then on to a British tea estate at Margherita another […]
From My Notebooks In 1977: At the Kaziranga Animal Reserve in Assam
April 12, 2025
Monday January 24th We planned to leave and had breakfast (duck egg omelette). Then Carol began to feel really sick. She notes that several times, when it’s time to move on, she’s got ill and she suggests it’s her homing instinct. We decide to stay another day. People are most solicitous. Vijay Vikram Singh in particular. He also remembers my suggestion of the previous night […]
From My Notebooks In 1977: Brahmaputra by Elephant
April 6, 2025
Still stuck in Gauhati doing battle with the police and the bureaucracy. January 18th On Tuesday morning we sought out the District Commissioner. who expressed impatience with red tape and authorised us to make an application which I wrote out in his office, very comprehensively. So far so good. All he needed he said was a note from the police that they had no […]
From My Notebooks In 1977: Gauhati, Assam
March 30, 2025
The morning after a night of frenzied dancing outside the Barpeta Road police station. Friday January 14th Morning, uneasiness persisted. It seemed even less likely that we would get our passports back so easily – although there was no real fear of anything unpleasant happening. Deb Roy came in and heard our account. We went to market, bought eggs, tomatoes. I ate two eggs. […]
Travel Far and Learn About Living (from The Sunday Times in 1978)
March 23, 2025
I just came across an article I wrote for The Sunday Times after I had returned from my first long journey, in 1978. I think it makes for an interesting read today. They gave it a rather corny title, but I can’t think of a better one. TRAVEL FAR AND LEARN ABOUT LIVING The twin track of molten tyre rubber began halfway round the […]