With a foreward by Montek Singh Ahluwalia Beautiful Country is a journey towards understanding India. From the rarefied world of the Jalpaiguri tea estates to the crowded bylanes of Varanasi, from the pristine forests of Andamans to the seething valley of Manipur, from the scattered habitations of Ladakh to the flooded villages of Barmer - these are the roads less travelled.
A woman and a girl set out to see India, lugging along the baggage of their pasts. On the way, they meet: Maimunisa, the ancillary weaver from Banaras who has only been able to feed her three-year-old son 'sabudane ka paani' (tapioca water); young doctors from AIIMS who have left behind hefty pay packages and the comfort of city life to provide health care to tribals in the hinterlands of Chhattisgarh; village women who have been able to significantly reduce the number of infant deaths in the tribal peripheries of Maharashtra.
The duo chance upon the story of Bon Bibi and Shah Jangolee in the swamps of the Sundarbans, as also the natural, historical and cultural wonders that dot the Indian landscape. This book compels you to experience the hope and despair, misery and triumph, failures and innovations of 'real India' - an India that remains invisible to most Indians and does not make it to the front pages of newspapers, and has not been captured by the roving cameras of the 24x7 media channels.
Gunjan Veda is currently the CEO, INDIAreads.com, an online library-cum-bookstore. She began her career as a journalist with the Indian Express and given her specialization in conflict studies, worked with an NGO in north-east India. Before she started INDIA reads, she was officer on special duty with the Planning Commission. She enjoys travelling, writing and photography. Syeda Saiyidain Hameed is a member of the Planning Commission, Government of India. She has written fiction and non-fiction on women s issues, modern Indian history, South Asia and Urdu poetry. She is chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad and founder member of organizations which include Muslim Women s Forum, Women s Initiative for Peace in South Asia, South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), and Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation. She was member of the National Commission for Women, Government of India, and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007.
