About the Book
'I HAD LONG ADVOCATED TRAVEL OUTSIDE ONE'S COMFORT ZONE IN MY WRITINGS. NOW I WOULD WALK THE TALK.'
From her bookish childhood in 1980s India to her 2022 shock cancer diagnosis in Spain, Pallavi Aiyar has been a lifelong wayfarer. Journeying through decades, languages and continents, she has gathered a kaleidoscope of lenses through which to view the terrain without, and the self within.
Travels in the Other Place is an original and insightful collection of personal essays that takes a deep dive into themes of identity and belonging across varied landscapes, both physical and metaphorical. Blending memoir, philosophy and travel writing, these are eight discrete encounters with the author at different ages, in different locations.
A witty and humane meditation that excavates the personal-illness, passports, parenting, even hair-to reveal sharp universal truths about navigating life in a globalised, yet fractured, world.
About the Author
Pallavi Aiyar is a territorially polygamous foreign correspondent, columnist and author. She has spent over two decades reporting from China, Belgium, Japan, Indonesia and Spain. She is the author of eight books. Pallavi writes a weekly newsletter on global travel and culture on Substack: The Global Jigsaw. She is currently based in Beijing, China.
Review
‘Courageous and captivating. In sparkling prose, Travels in the Other Place: Pursuing the Self in Eight Acts spurs the reader to strive, seek, and never to yield. A “perpetual peripatetic”, Pallavi’s zest for life is undiminished, infectious and inspiring, obstacles be damned.’ — Shashi Tharoor
About the Author
Pallavi Aiyar is a territorially polygamous foreign correspondent, columnist and author. She has spent over two decades reporting from China, Belgium, Japan, Indonesia and Spain. She is the author of eight books. Pallavi writes a weekly newsletter on global travel and culture on Substack: The Global Jigsaw. She is currently based in Beijing, China.