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// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Monisha Rajesh a train expert? She's on the right track.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monisha Rajesh
Born1982 (age 43–44)
Norfolk, United Kingdom
OccupationJournalist and travel writer
Notable worksAround The World in 80 Trains
Website
monisharajesh.com

Monisha Rajesh (born 1982)[1] is a British journalist and travel writer.

Early life

[edit]

Rajesh was born in Norfolk, England, the child of two Indian doctors[1] with origins in Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad.[2] The family moved from Sheffield to Madras, India, in 1991. After two years they returned to England[3] 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".[4]: 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.[5][6]

Career

[edit]

Rajesh has worked for The Week and written for The Guardian, The Times, The New York Times and Time.[7]

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.[8][3][9] The book was named as one of The Independent's "Top ten books about India".[10]

She subsequently travelled around the world in another 80 train journeys, writing Around the World in 80 Trains (2019),[11][1] which The Independent listed in 2020 as one of "10 best travel books to satisfy your wanderlust in lockdown".[12] This book won the 2019 National Geographic Traveller Book of the Year.[13].[14][15]

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.[16]

She was one of the judges for the 2021 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year ,[17] after her Around the World in 80 Trains was shortlisted for the 2020 award.[18]

In December 2025 Rajesh's most recent book Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train, documenting the resurgence in European sleeper trains, was shortlisted for the 2026 Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year.[19]

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.[20] In November 2025, she appeared on a BBC podcast documentary speaking about the incident.

Selected publications

[edit]
  • Rajesh, Monisha (2012). Around India in 80 Trains. Nicholas Brealey. ISBN 978-1-85788-595-8.
  • Rajesh, Monisha (2019). Around the World in 80 Trains. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1408869758.
  • Rajesh, Monisha (2022). Epic Train Journeys. Gestalten. ISBN 978-3967040203.
  • Rajesh, Monisha (2025). Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-526644-121.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 Kerr, Michael (30 January 2019). "Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh, review: a triumphant ode to long distance train travel". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  2. ↑ Rajesh, Monisha (29 September 2022). "Around India in 80 trains: Why the country's railways are vital to understanding local life". Flash Pack. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Go trotting around India in 80 trains, says book by Monisha Rajesh". The Hindu Business Line. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  4. ↑ Rajesh, Monisha (2012). Around India in 80 trains. Nicholas Brealy. ISBN 978-1-85788-595-8.
  5. ↑ "Monisha Rajesh". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "Monisha Rajesh". Roli. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Monisha Rajesh". Hodder & Stoughton. Retrieved 13 March 2019.[dead link]
  8. ↑ Duff, Andrew (7 December 2012). "Around India in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh: review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  9. ↑ Walia, Nora. "Around India in 80 Trains (interview)". Times of India. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "Monisha Rajesh". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  11. ↑ Smith, P. D. (26 January 2019). "Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh review – the romance of rail travel". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  12. ↑ Smith, Stacey (3 June 2020). "10 best travel books to satisfy your wanderlust in lockdown". The Independent. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  13. ↑ https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/around-the-world-in-80-trains-9781408869772/
  14. ↑ "Winners of the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Reader Awards 2019, in association with Audley Travel, announced". aplmedia.co.uk. APL Media. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "Monisha Rajesh wins National Geographic Traveller Reader Award". DGA. 5 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Monisha Rajesh on travel writing, trains and the Travel Media Awards". Travel Media Awards 2021. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
    Rajesh, Monisha (12 January 2020). "'The Godfather of trains': the Trans-Mongolian from Moscow to Beijing". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year in Association with the Authors' Club 2021". edwardstanfordawards. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award". edwardstanfordawards. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2026 | Stanfords". www.stanfords.co.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  20. ↑ Campbell, Lucy (10 August 2021). "Kate Clanchy to rewrite memoir amid criticism of 'racist and ableist tropes'". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
[edit]
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