Travel, Identity, and Everyday India: Reading Arjit Harisinghani’s The Living Road and Bishwanath Ghosh’s Chai, Chai

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between travel, identity, and the representation of everyday life in Arjit Harisinghani’s The Living Road and Bishwanath Ghosh’s Chai, Chai. While Harisinghani’s travelogue focuses on Bhutan and its cultural landscape, Ghosh’s narrative explores the everyday rhythms of Indian life through journeys across railway networks and tea stalls. Despite their different geographical and thematic orientations, both texts foreground the role of travel in shaping identity and understanding the ordinary. The study argues that travel writing reveals identity as dynamic and relational, constructed through encounters with people, spaces, and everyday practices. Through comparative analysis, the paper highlights how both authors transform ordinary experiences into meaningful reflections on culture and selfhood.