Around India In 80 Trains begins in England. Monisha stays with her family in Sheffield, when in 1991 they decide to head over to Madras. In an effort to make India their home, they leave at once. The next two years don’t exactly go according to plan. Troubled by rats and the creepy colonel across the road, Monisha’s family decide to move out and return to England for the better.
Twenty years later, Monisha reads an article while at work, which describes India’s booming domestic airline industry and how it could connect 80 cities. She begins reminiscing on her childhood and the time she spent in India. As time passes, she decides to leave to India. With a thirst for exploring India once again, and to clear the bitterness that has existed since the last two decades, Monisha sets out on a train journey across India, inspired by Jules Verne’s classic Around the World in 80 Days. The journey clocks 40,000 km across India in 80 trains.
Travelling in Indian trains gives Monisha the opportunity to meet a whole range of characters, each carrying a different story which adds color to her journey. Indian railways, being one of the largest civilian employers and containing various kinds of trains, including the crowded local trains of Mumbai and a hospital on wheels, provides a diverse and refreshing setting. How does she go around a country soaked in diverse religious colors, with a photographer who is a self-confessed militant atheist? Infused with wit and humor, Around India In 80 Trains is a tale of adventure and discovery.