This project, otherwise called a "book in motion", is both a novel experiment as well as a quirky blueprint for those travellers who have been waiting at the brink of making such a radical decision their entire lives. This book might just work as the tipping point, sending many such urban couples on a new quest to find themselves and test their resilience.
The brainchild of an intrepid young writer couple, Devapriya Roy (author of The Vague Woman’s Handbook and The Weight Loss Club: The Curious Experiments of Nancy Housing Cooperative) and Saurav Jha (a journalist specialising in energy and security matters and author of the book, The Upside Down Book of Nuclear Power) as well as publishers Harper Collins India, this book is the culmination of their travels across the country within very specific parameters. In fact their motive and intent is described on the project's Facebook page, "Here's the deal: India in a 100 days. A life-altering journey. On a tight budget. Make that, a v.v. tight budget.`500 a day as a matter of fact. For 2."
The participants of this curious journey are described as "a lapsed DINK couple who were about to acquire a few EMIs and come of age in the modern world, but then, didn't. They packed some stuff into two rucksacks and stepped out into the sun."
So while the travelling is done and the book is all set to be out very soon, it is advised that you definitely pick this one up as soon as possible to experience an India you rarely experienced through all its small town mohallas, all forms of public transport and gossip along the road. An India rendered through the stories and mishaps of two writers armed with adventurous spirits, great humour and a couple of rucksacks for company. With all the challenges that budget travel threw up apart from the travails of travelling through India through its not-so-glorious summer, The Heat and Dust Project is the perfect name for this book that kept evolving with each journey. The newly acquired subtitle, "The broke couple's guide to Bharat" seems suitably apt for this fresh and exciting travelogue.