Monisha Rajesh
Monisha Rajesh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982 (age 43–44) |
| Occupation | Journalist and travel writer |
| Notable works | Around The World in 80 Trains |
| Website | |
| monisharajesh | |
Monisha Rajesh (born 1982)[1] is a British journalist and travel writer.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Rajesh was born in Norfolk, England, the child of two Indian doctors.[1] The family moved from Sheffield to Madras, India, in 1991. After two years they returned to England[2] and she made only occasional visits to India over the next twenty years: "little more than the occasional family wedding had succeeded in tempting me back".[3]: xiii She attended King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham, studied French at the University of Leeds, and has a postgraduate diploma in magazine journalism from the Department of Journalism, City University.[4][5]
Career
[edit | edit source]Rajesh has worked for The Week and written for The Guardian, The Times, The New York Times and Time.[6]
In 2010, she embarked on a four-month journey around India by train, using 80 train journeys to reach the furthest points of the Indian rail network, described in her 2012 book Around India in 80 Trains.[7][2][8] The book was named as one of The Independent's "Top ten books about India".[9]
She subsequently travelled around the world in another 80 train journeys, writing Around the World in 80 Trains (2019),[10][1] which The Independent listed in 2020 as one of "10 best travel books to satisfy your wanderlust in lockdown".[11] This book won the 2019 National Geographic Traveller Reader Award in the "Book worm (travel books)" category.[12][13]
Rajesh won the 2020 National Consumer Feature of the Year award of the Travel Media Awards for a piece in The Guardian about the Trans-Siberian Railway.[14]
She was one of the judges for the 2021 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year ,[15] after her Around the World in 80 Trains was shortlisted for the 2020 award.[16]
In mid-2021 Rajesh received racist abuse on social media as a result of her criticism of depictions of autism and of students of colour in Kate Clanchy's book Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me.[17] In November 2025, she appeared on a BBC podcast documentary speaking about the incident.
Selected publications
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References
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External links
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- 1982 births
- Living people
- Alumni of City, University of London
- Alumni of the University of Leeds
- British expatriates in India
- British women journalists
- British women travel writers
- British writers of Indian descent
- English people of Indian descent
- People educated at King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham
- Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands
- Writers from Norfolk
- Writers from Sheffield