India: brass bells resounding, yellow butterflies swinging through the humid air, banyan trees with long beards, festival eruptions, monsoon rains, crammed trains, pilgrims, forts, traffic jams, distinct stench and delicious food. For a story-collector, it is hard to resist the 1.3 billion people of India, and the intricate tapestry that is woven from the threads of their lives. In 2010, I succumbed to the temptation to see and feel the chaos and colour of this unique country. Within hours of arriving, I described it as 'a wild, desperate, beautiful catastrophe.'



The photographs you will find in this book were taken as I wandered throughout cities, marketplaces, temples, villages, mountains, countrysides and slums. It is a limited account of what was an immense experience. These images are simulacra of moments I shared with strangers. I have no vainglorious assumptions of what they may mean to you. To me, they are reminders of what a holy and beautiful world we live in, and of how many fellow-travellers I share it with. Likewise, the words I have written - mostly gleaned from my notebook - are fragments of infinity. Most of all, I hope it unlocks the longing to live inside you; may you feel the urge to live as wildly, desperately and beautifully as you can.