If It’s Monday It Must Be Madurai: A Conducted Tour of India

• The book follows the author's experiences on organized tours, including journeys through the Thar Desert, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and the North-East. Along the way, he encounters camel rides, pilgrimages, music, living root bridges and many other memorable experiences.

  More than a collection of travel stories, the book examines the modern tourism industry and the ways in which people experience places through packaged tours, sightseeing schedules and tourist economies. Perur's sharp observations and understated humour turn ordinary travel situations into entertaining reflections on India and its people.

• Srinath Perur is a writer and translator who writes about science, travel and books. He translates from Kannada to English and is also known for translating This Life at Play and Ghachar Ghochar. If It’s Monday It Must Be Madurai is his travelogue about conducted tours in India.

If It’s Monday It Must Be Madurai takes readers on ten conducted tours and uses these journeys to explore both the attractions of India and the behaviour of the people who visit them.

From hanging on to a camel in the Thar to following the trail of Kabir, joining an ancient pilgrimage in Maharashtra and crossing the living root bridges of Cherrapunji, Perur records the experiences with wit and curiosity.

The author also considers what happens when travel becomes a packaged experience. He observes the creation of temporary tourist communities, the economics of tourism and the often-comical rituals of sightseeing. The result is an entertaining travelogue that is as much about understanding people and contemporary India as it is about visiting places.