The Road East to India

This is the memoir, written in 1975 and 1976, of a 22 year old girl travelling alone overland from England to India.

It is a spiritual search, a journey which starts in Amsterdam where she boards The Magic Bus, as it is called in that era. She travels on it as far as Iran and then leaves the bus, continuing alone on local transport through Afghanistan and Pakistan on her way to India.

Devika records her many adventures as she travels through famous places, meeting the local people and fellow travellers on her journey. She takes many risks and experiences some frightening situations which are recorded in this diary.

Finally, travelling up the west coast of India, she unexpectedly discovers an ashram and finds herself sitting at the feet of a spiritual master. She listens to his beautiful discourses on all world religions and philosophies, and learns new, joyful meditation techniques, full of dance and celebration of life. It is everything she has ever longed for.

The Monsoon and its floods bring more dangers. In spite of the fact that she nearly dies at the end, Devika writes in her diary that the whole wonderful journey and spiritual search has been absolutely worth it; she has found what she was searching for In India. She concludes at the end of her diary, ‘In India I have found my soul.’