Finding purpose, meaning, and a connection in life through travel

The Hindu

05-06-2025

There is little denying that the world is divided between different ways of understanding and interacting with reality. Whether we think deeply about it or not, we end up siding either with tradition or modernity, science or religion, superstition or reason, rationality or empiricism, logic or faith. In the process, we create a dynamic landscape where different beliefs, practices and values compete for recognition and influence.
Perhaps one of the best ways to become more aware and be able to expand the definitions of our thoughts and to fathom self-realisation, is to travel.
A majority of the people travel for fun, adventure, and relaxation. Writers, researchers, and seekers travel for solitude, exploration, and to rediscover themselves.
When writers go on yatras to understand what lies at the core of beliefs and devotion, there emerges an interesting genre of books that explores themes of finding purpose, meaning, and connection in life.
For Siddharth Kapila, the decision to quit a career in law and undertake a journey to sites important to the Hindu faith was driven by passion and curiosity in equal measure. Between 2015 and 2022, he revisited seven pilgrimage sites along the Ganges where he had been to as a reluctant adolescent with his devout mother in the 1990s.
Memoir of introspection
Meant to be a plain travel account, his notes seamlessly transition into an introspection and an interesting memoir. Tripping Down The Ganga: A Son's Exploration of Faith (published by Speaking Tiger, 2025) is about India today, what Hinduism means to believers in general, and sceptics like him.
Kapila's understanding of the Ganga tethered to the propaganda of religion today is not at loggerheads with the millions of superstitious, ritualistic and religious people including his mother, who worship the river. Faith is free and he does not criticise it. Rather, with a dash of humour he wonders about the contradictions that are visible in his journey from Kedarnath to Badrinath, Gangotri, Rishikesh, Allahabad, Banaras and Ganga Sagar and offers readers a relatable visual imagery through his words.
He talks about how rituals are used to manipulate people based on their class, status and caste. That a holy dip to purify the soul does not wash away discrimination, bigotry, patriarchy or orthodoxy. But more important how people who worship the river also make a mess of it. The author does not flaunt any specific idea but through anecdotes and what he observes, he uncovers peoples' attitudes on faith. He also throws light on the diversity of Hinduism and the resilience of people's devotion. The sacred, complex and magnetic Ganga mirrors society, he says, carrying the weight of an entire civilisation.
An old, living city
In 1982, Diana L. Eck, American scholar of religious studies, captured the soul of one of the oldest living cities in her book Banaras: City of Light. Documenting a huge amount of history, she introduced readers to elaborate and thriving rituals and the significance they hold for pilgrims and seekers who throng the city. The detailed book is often cited as a critical introduction of Banaras and Hindu religious traditions for a generation of scholars on India.
There are few places as sacred as Banaras that symbolises the whole of Hindu culture and imagines god in a thousand ways. Introducing the concept of sacred geography, she celebrates the city as a living, breathing and transforming symbol in the Hindu religious context.
Nandini Majundar also writes about the holy city in her book Banaras: Walks Through India's Sacred City (Roli Books/2014). It is a captivating perspective of her walks around the city wherein she captures the essence and character of Banaras through its ghats and the riot of colours and why it has become a major tourist attraction.
Another book, A Pilgrimage to Kashi: Banaras, Varanasi, Kashi, History, Mythology and Culture of the Most Fascinating City in India, by G. Gol published by Indica in 1999, is a fascinating depiction of Banaras in all its hues and imagery.
A river's history
In Ganga: The Many Pasts of a River (Penguin/Viking), historian Sudipta Sen chronicles a fascinating story of the world's third largest river from its first settlers, its myths of origin in Hinduism and its significance in Buddhism.
He traces the many Empires that shaped the river's history and the merchants who navigated the waters in his lavishly illustrated volume of work. Stitching the geography, ecology and religious history of the sacred and beloved lifeline of Indians, he remarkably portrays how and why the Ganga enjoys a special place in the hearts of the people.
Even as our political leaders make it a habit to visit religious sites as part of their campaigns in today's surcharged political atmosphere, for most people, religious travelogues are in pursuit of a meaningful life.
It is a philosophical debate as old as time and books lend a sense of wisdom and calm to the restless mind and the chaos outside.