here and there
stories from a rainy coastal city, a conversation with a book club, new writing, warding off evil, and thought-provoking reads
Dear Reader,
Thank you for being here.
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After staying near Mangalore’s Pilikula Biological Park for three nights (about which I wrote in the last letter), my partner Sagar and I went to a homestay in town. It was a two-room house with a little mossy terrace, a kitchen, two small bedrooms, and a hall. We stayed there for two weeks while the rain clouds opened themselves up.
At the end of the first week, we thought the time to move on had perhaps come. The hosts, an elderly couple, weren’t used to having guests for a long period of time. They were sort of unprepared to accommodate us, as we had just booked for one night initially. Busy themselves, though they were retired and their children were big and living on their own in faraway cities, they were occupied in self-care. Uncle would go out for yoga at 5:30 am in a neighbor’s car, and Aunty said she also woke up at 4:30 and meditated. Sometimes, she went out to meditate.
We still hadn’t seen so much. Been on the road for longer than four years, my partner and I travel and work. I might write until the afternoon, and he might be on calls. One day we may wander along the streets, only to work from morning 9 to 10 at night the next day.
Mangalore, the dreamy rainy coastal city, was special. We didn’t want to leave it so soon or shift into another guesthouse. The couple was sweet and generous. Aunty brought us soft idlis or tangy fish curry sometimes, thinking we poor kids had nothing to eat. There was more work to be done and more to be seen. Also, as it had been raining, pouring down really, sometimes we couldn’t step out. There were days when we stayed indoors, and eventually, I would walk out on the roof for a breath of fresh air, carrying an umbrella, slipping (but not falling) a few times even as I walked carefully. We were enjoying a kind of Dakshin Kannada holiday cum staycation. Dakshin Kannada because Mangalore is in the South (Dakshin) of Karnataka state.
We requested another week’s stay, and it was granted.
For the first two days, we only walked out for a dinner and lunch. As we had a gas stove, though a dirty, greasy kitchen, we made a few meals.
Only on the third day did we go to the centre of the city. We ate a highly recommended fish lunch meal at a popular old eatery, explored the streets around, gobbled local snacks, and admired a church covered in bright hand-painted frescoes. The weather had opened up that day, and we had enjoyed ourselves without getting soaked.
The next day, the rain kept us inside, letting us go out for a walk only. Within thirty minutes, my partner returned home to be on a call, and I strolled further ahead. On the way back, I bought fried snacks special to the city.
Then, suddenly on Friday at 1:30 pm or so, my partner asked if I would like to go to the beach. “Yes,” I said instantly. I had been working, had been on calls, messages, emailing or whatever, and he asked if I would like to go to the beach. After I said yes, I thought it would be a good outing, and we could always wrap up work after we returned home. The kind host took the keys from us for cleaning, and we left.
We hadn’t booked an auto or cab, so we walked. With an umbrella, a water bottle, tissues, money, a book, and so on in our bag. The host had told us about the bus we could take to the Pennambur beach, the one closest to the house. On the main road, the third bus agreed to take us (the other two weren’t headed there, in case you were thinking). I sat down up front, and Sagar was at the back. He paid thirty rupees or so, and we got down at a highway from where the beach was a ten-minute walk.
If Uncle hadn’t suggested the bus, we might have taken an auto rickshaw. Sagar always prefers private transport, while I am happier with public options. You can just hail down a bus, while three-wheelers or cabs have to be pre-booked unless you want to haggle on the road. Smaller modes of commute are rash, with the driver rushing through the roads, letting the vehicle spring at every speed breaker and pothole. The same sort of thing would happen on the bus on our return journey, but being on a larger vehicle with others and not being at the mercy of the autowallah was comforting.
Our ride was short, and I enjoyed looking out all the way.
We also wore shoes out of habit, and that wasn’t to be done on a beach. You will know why in the next letter. I have been told that long letters are hard to finish on a Sunday with so much else to do.
If you would have liked to read the rest of the beachy story today itself, reply to this email and let me know. Also write to me if you are happy with the narrative ending here and have something to look forward to for the next time.
For now, I will leave you with a couple of pictures of the Arabian sea.
Do you enjoy the rain?
Last week I had a very heartening conversation with a lovely book club.
The kind members of the 7-year-old book club had chosen my travel memoir as their Book of the Month, had read it completely, wanted to speak to me, and so we got together online. Forever grateful for such gracious words from readers. My heart sings when a reader tells me how they related with my story, how they themselves struggle with the conditioning within the society, and how they are slowly stepping out of their homes, even alone, facing their fears. Or how they are far from being out in the world solo, but after reading my book, they look forward to exploring it, that it is not such a bad place. That my perspective, choices, and stories inspire them to take their own decisions, ignoring the voices in their heads, and also help them in dealing with other challenges in their lives.
Someone read a line from the book, and another reader, a 50-year-old, have never taken a solo trip but would like to go on one soon. They said the book was more conversational rather than a narration. That it was a very honest telling of my journey. Was I scared while traveling alone and how I faced my fears? They asked. How did my adventures and explorations shaped my relationships and me? That what stuck with them was how I stopped being afraid of being afraid and a steep hill became a representation of my fear and how I overcame it.
So many more questions were asked and answered. One main thing that remained with me is that how we are all on our own solo journeys, accompanied by our loved ones. As I told the group, I haven’t overcome my fears, but I try to not let them stop me. I had a lot of moments of sheer joy, laughter, and at times, I was so overwhelmed that tears filled my eyes. Hopefully the group didn’t see me all welled up.
The incredible women said they loved the book cover and the title, and I felt the months of hard work finalizing the title and designing the book cover with my friend, the incredible Mrinalini, were all worth it. We know how many pictures we went through and how many designing iterations we survived on these multiple hour calls starting from August 2024 to almost the end of the year. Can’t thank you enough, Mrin jaan.
How much joy has this one book brought me! The lovely honest, and affectionate readers thanked me for writing the book, and that day, even I thanked myself for writing it. The adventures have now become stories that have taught me a thing or two, they have connected me with the world, and every day they give me so much to be thankful for.
My 1st book, a travel memoir, Journeys Beyond and Within… is out in the bookstores and on Amazon, guys. I’d love for you to read it and tell me what I did right, or wrong. To those who tell me they don’t read travel memoirs or self-published books, all I want to say is Journeys is not only a travel memoir, it’s my true account of making my own path despite all the odds. It is a self-published book because I didn’t accept the publisher’s offer. If you like to read non-fiction, give the book a chance.
I am grateful and ever inspired to keep writing and sharing.
For those who are new here, please let me reintroduce myself: I’m Priyanka, a Computer Science Engineer from IIT Delhi, a prestigious engineering institute of India. Nine years ago, at 28, I left the corporate career behind to write. Since then I’ve been traveling the world and sharing my experiences. Generally, I write on my personal growth and travel blog On My Canvas, I send this newsletter about twice a month to some 1400+ readers, and Journeys is my 1st book.
Here’s the 59-sec book trailer:
My travel memoir is available in bookstores around India, and also on Amazon around the world in ebook, paperback, and hardcover. All Amazon links are here, or search for the title on your Amazon.
Sharing some links here as well,
Amazon India — Amazon USA — Amazon UK
Amazon Germany — Amazon Australia — Amazon Canada
Some independent bookshops ship the book pan-India and internationally. Many have signed copies, too, if that’s your thing.
Check out these two online stores (and support an independent book store on the way),
Pune’s Pagdandi book shop and cafe and The Midland store in Delhi
I’m sending signed copies within and outside India too. I sign the book (or not), pack it up, and post to your doorstep through the glorious Indian post offices. Let me know if you want to order one :)
To those in India, If you can’t find my memoir at your favorite store, let me know. I’ll make sure it reaches there!
Pssst: There’s a special gift story too. Email me your order details to claim it. Happy reading :)
And those who aren’t sure, you can find more reviews of the book on Amazon, Goodreads, The Telegraph Online, Sikkim Express, and so on.
For this week’s letter,
Some of my past and new writing,
quotes I love,
things to read,
and
things to watch.
Writing the First Draft of My Travel Memoir, Journeys Beyond and Within…, While Traveling
The challenges and joys of writing the first draft of my first book, a travel memoir, Journeys Beyond and Within..., on the road: in Pondicherry, Siliguri, and Kolkata.
This post on writing the first draft is the second one in my larger effort to share the entire process of writing the book. I would suggest to first read: How I Started Writing My Travelogue, Journeys Beyond and Within….
Grab the essay now. Or Pocket it for a slow read.
My Best Travel Books of All Time
Reading and writing about travel for eight years, and these are some of my best travel books of all time.
Solo walking memoirs, mountaineering on horseback in Persia, tales of a lone woman biker and tramp, on the art of travel, and even travel novels are on the list. Some travelogues as old as 1794 while many are younger.
Enjoy!
Get to the soul-stirring travelogues now. Or Pocket them for later.
Quotes I Love
“Do you realise how few ever really understand how fortunate they are in their circumstances?”
R K Narayan
“Work as a way to ward off evil — When one labours at difficult work and strives for good results, one fights the good fight, the reward of which, surely, is already this: that one is preserved from much that is evil.”
Vincent van Gogh.
“We can do anything, or almost, but how balanced, magnanimous, and modest one has to be to do anything! And also how patient. It is as true in the arts as anywhere else.”
May Sarton
“Either do the thing, or worry. Choose one.”
Yours Truly
What I’ve Been Reading
I’ve been reading short stories, books, articles, and so much more. I can’t possibly list all what I have read in the past weeks so I’m putting down the things I found most relevant and worthwhile.
1. Nourish and Cherish by Saumya Balasubramanian: A blog I have just discovered and that I've been enjoying reading for two weeks now. Mostly about the simplest things of life, every post, is a pleasure.
2. The Chartreuse by Mona Awad [Fiction] — I will have to reread this story a few times to fully understand it but will I be able to read it again? I don’t entirely want to share this story but I also don’t want to keep it from you. Let me know what you think about it? I can’t put it in a particular genre as of now.
3. Fireflies’ by Kavitha Yaga Buggana [Fiction] — A hopeful, or hopeless, depends on how you look at it, tale of a family, dreams, and life.
“They were laughing at diapers that cost the earth when all they did was catch baby poo. And baby clothes – the less cloth they used, the more they cost. And money, those rectangles of printed paper, coloured paper, paper with words and numbers and faces of important men. Paper that you could burn or tear or use as toilet paper. They were all jokes: she and her mother, fighting over ghosts. And Dan. Her Dan, little Dan, big Dan, trying, failing and always trying again. All this was a joke, a joke was this. Rukmini grew dizzy with laughter.”
What I’ve Been Watching/Listening
that’s worth mentioning
I have been watching the Netflix series A Suitable Boy, an adaptation of Vikram Seth’s popular eponymous novel. Will be able to comment on it in the next newsletter when I have, hopefully, finished it.
And for all adventure lovers!
I think the pictures I have shared above are enough for today.
Thank you for reading! I hope you have a lovely Sunday and an even lovelier week.
If you loved the newsletter, please forward it to someone you know. Have a friend who might like my book? Please send them this letter right away.
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Let me know what you think about this letter. Press reply.
Yours,
Priyanka
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Two weeks!!! I am jealous... and, thanks for the travel book recos. BTW, have you read Pico Iyer? I love his style, his life and the places he's been to.