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Guided by instinct

Photo: Raju V.

In pursuit of spontaneity Kate James

She has managed to keep away from the genre that gets caught up in the monotony of daily grind, and in the bargain, she has gained advantage of not losing track of what keeps life fresh, fun and interesting.

Kate James, a writer from Melbourne in Australia is joie de vivre personified. Having lived in India for eight years in the 1980s until she was 15, and her parents working as teachers at Hebron School, an international school in Ooty, Kate has had ample scope to savour quite a slice of the delicious India. “Holidays meant travelling far and wide. Memories of one specific trip to a tiny village bordering Andhra Pradesh and Orissa are fresh in my mind even today. I was a child and I vividly remember the fun we had climbing the tamarind trees and chasing monkeys and navigating the river in a canoe. Ooty was a lovely place to live and study and it still feels like my second home. During my visits, I love to take the beautiful hill train ride from Ooty to Mettapalayam.”

When she returned to Australia, she pursued journalism and worked for different papers. “Whenever I had enough time and money I would travel back to India bringing friends with me. I barely realized that I had become a bit of a tour guide.”

For Kate, Singapore is the happiest place in the world. Prey why? “It is the place where I change my plane, between India and Australia. So, no matter which direction I am going, I am on my way home,” she chuckles.

A few years ago, the 36-year-old Australian opted for a career change and became Editor for Lonely Planet, a Melbourne-based company that produces travel guides to almost every place in the world. “It was then that I wrote my first book Women of the Gobi which talks about my journey through northwest China in 2005 in the footsteps of three English women who crossed the Gobi dessert in the 1920s.

Kate was so fascinated by the tale of the trio that she decided to re-visit the places and blend her own experiences with that of theirs in her book. “China was a fascinating place to visit. I had prepared myself to confront a very authoritarian society. But in many ways, it felt similar to other parts of Asia. Rapid technological changes and people opening up to the idea of welcoming foreigners came as pleasant surprises,” she recounts.

Referring to the Chinese stories of the Monkey King, which she had seen in television in Australia, she says: “I was happy to find pictures and statues of the Monkey King and other characters from the stories. It reminded me of Hanuman of the Indian mythology.”

As a guide writer to the West Bengal and Orissa chapters of Lonely Planet’s guide to India, Kate travelled across the length and breadth of the two states checking out hotels and restaurants and bus stations and tourist sights. When she was in Kolkata, she received an email from Australian Council, a government agency, informing that it was ready to fund her research and she could also write her own book about her travels in India. “I am already on the job. I’ll touch upon a lot of subjects and the book will be based on my personal experiences.”

Toss a suggestion to extend her horizons and she is quick to answer: “I can be more honest while dealing with my own emotions rather than pretending to be an authority on the stupendous and rich India.”

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