Two Wheels In The Dust
From Kathmandu to Kandy
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
India is no place for the faint-hearted cyclist. The streets are jammed with cars, busses, rickshaws, animals, fortune-tellers, barbers, beggars and people sleeping or cooking.
Following the success of her two previous outings, A Bike Ride and Lone Traveller, adventuresome ex-headmistress Anne Mustoe donned the cycle helmet once more and set out on an exhilarating journey round the Indian subcontinent. Beginning in Kathmandu in Nepal and ending in the tranquil hill town of Kandy in Sri Lanka, Anne's amazing journey is told with keen observation and the relish of the open road.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Who better than a redoubtable English headmistress to teach Americans about The Ramayana, a venerable hallmark text of Hinduism that still animates contemporary Indian culture? And from the seat of a bike, to boot. Mustoe, a 60-something "pensioner" (retiree) whose legs and lungs must be as enviably developed as her sense of adventure, follows by bicycle the route across India taken by the fabled prince Rama, hero of the ancient Hindu epic poem. Mustoe, who has chronicled her global bicycle voyages in Lone Traveller and A Bike Ride, descends from the mountains of Nepal, birthplace of Rama's wife Sita, and meanders her way (occasionally by local train or plane) across the subcontinent to Sri Lanka, where the virtuous Rama and his 10-headed opponent, Ravana, fought their decisive battle. Mustoe's travel narrative parallels her exposition of the Hindu saga. The stories together comprise a vivid travelogue of India from the perspective of a sympathetic outsider who observes how the nation's deeply rooted faith and social practices make it a unique paradox of ancient and modern. Black-and-white pictures and a map are helpful. Readers interested in travel may appreciate bike and luggage specifications; those curious about Hinduism may long, however, for a glossary to keep the Hindu pantheon and Ramayana characters straight.