AustLit
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Geographical isolation and innate curiosity have long motivated Australians to leave their shores and travel far and wide to broaden their horizons and experience cultural and social differences with countries established long before explorers began to map Australia. As well as responding to the touristic impulse, there is also the patriotic one of planting Australia’s name abroad, particularly in times of war. This essay looks at the writings of some of the travellers who converged on India, long before the hippy trail of the 1970s, through a historical lens, and compares these writings with a sample of those written later in the 20th century and the shifts in their perceptions and social and cultural awareness which evolved in modern times. India, which had long been purely a brief stopover on the P&O route for Australians, became a desirable place in its own right in the late 20th century, a mysterious subcontinent that signified high adventure and the exoticism of the other.' (Introduction)
Notes
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Part of this revised paper appears with the title 'Glimpses of India: A Military Dekko', in Sarangi, Jaydeep and Bino Mishra (eds), Explorations in Australian Literature (Sarup & Sons, New Delhi, 2006).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
- Tucker Sees India 1937 single work novel
- Mrs James Greene 1948 single work short story
- A Democrat on the Ganges 1957 single work short story
- The Strange Business at Bombay and Madras 1979 single work short story
- Across the Sea Wall 1965 single work novel
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cIndia,cSouth Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
- 1900-1999