Author(s): Linda-Marie De Vel

Non-Fiction

An artistâÃÂÃÂs journey through Rajasthan, Agra and Varanasi. Paintbox and easel in hand, professional artist Gaston de Vel and his freelance journalist wife Linda travel widely in search of subjects for his work. In this vivid, beautifully observed account Linda describes their journey by hired car through the Indian regions of Rajasthan, Agra and Varanasi. Always deeply interested in what is happening around her, and with her keen sense of humour ever alert for absurdities, she creates a colourful and engrossing picture of IndiaâÃÂÃÂs challenging contrasts âÃÂàarchitectural grandeur alongside appalling poverty, empty deserts and teeming towns âÃÂàand of its fascinating past. Linda De Vel is no armchair tourist: she is keen to meet people and talk to them about their lives, their religion, their politics. Sacred cows, travelling by tuk-tuk, fancifully named beer, finding affordable accommodation, the horrors of Indian driving, the glories of the Taj Mahal and Mehrangarh Fort, buying and wearing a sari: all this and much more makes A Brush with India a marvellous mosaic of a book, perfect for those who have visited this extraordinary country and those who still long to go.