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Synopsis The book you now hold is, in many ways, a new journey even for us.  The latest Outlook Traveller Getaways guide is the 12th in a successful series that have charted subjects as diverse as metropolitan weekend breaks and adventurous trekking expeditions.  With 101 Pilgrimages, we have embarked upon yatras: journeys that are increasingly relevant in themanic and stressful world of materialistic pursuits, journeys that we undertake with our children and elders and, sometimes, within ourselves.  The size of this book is bout a reflection of the vast and magnificent nature of its subjects. Our destinations dot the Indian map with tremendous diversity, crossing its northern boundary in some places, logging miles into the country’s lofty mountains, to the shores of the great seas, to the banks of holy lakes and rivers, to the rural heart of a teeming nation, to ever-expanding cities that have grown around ancient temples. Thought geographically and topographically disparate, all the destinations are unified by that singular element, which often transcends the limits of human ability: faith.  In as much as this book is a journey into an India that is greatly visited but little seen, it is also a revealing introduction into the histories, cultures and traditions that weave the babric of our secular nation.  As we retrace the determined steps of ancient Indian, often from times that remain beyond documented evidence, we also find great spiritual fulfillment in shrines that are visited by people of all faiths. And after every heartfelt prayer, although we return home from where gods live, there is a part of us that never leaves.