Get Inspired Before You Go

INDIA

You can prepare for India, but you will never be prepared for India. That is it’s magic. India must be experienced, in all its sounds, smells, sights, and texture—which you can’t get from a travel guide. In my experience, the next best thing to actually being in India is engaging with its artistic works. So if you prepare for a vacation like I do—by reading books and watching films—then this is the guide for you. Below is a collection of gems to get you excited for your adventure and keep you inspired long after you’ve returned home.

books

films

There are so many great films set in India. This is only a small smattering of what I watched while preparing for my own visit to India in 2014. I also watched Darjeeling Limited, a Wes Anderson film I don’t recommend because I’m tired of watching grown men act like culturally-obtuse idiots, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, because Dev Patel is an enormous delight in everything he creates.

Art conveys so much about place. It can be evocative and tell us rich stories. But India is vast—geographically, culturally, linguistically—and cannot be absorbed in a single visit. Its northern and southern regions are practically different places altogether. As always, the more experiences you can embrace, the better, because a single travel guide will never do this vibrant and complex nation justice.

bonus

The Jungle Prince of Delhi in The New York Times

my experience

I went South, traveling to Bangalore for business and to Kerala alone. I wasn’t supposed to be alone; I was supposed to meet a colleague who lived locally, but he never showed. That’s a story for another time. Instead, I traveled the quaint coastal town of Kochi alone, walking through the art district, haggling for a string of raw rubies I wear and cherish to this day, and learning about India’s native spices on a backwater boat tour that was absolutely the highlight of my whole visit. 

🖤