4 THE WEEK • JULY 29, 2018
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
AS FRANCE CLINICALLY dismantled Croatia and
lifted the World Cup, it was heartening to see that Les
Bleus embodied the spirit of diversity. France had
18 players—78 per cent of the entire squad—who
were not fully ethnically French. Th e most exciting
talent of Russia 2018, Kylian Mbappe, was born to an
Algerian mother in Paris, and his father, Wilfried, had
travelled nearly 7,000km from his native Cameroon,
in search of better prospects.
Travel can mean diff erent things to diff erent
people. It could be a desperate attempt to stay alive,
as in the case of hundreds of thousands of refugees
who fl ee war zones like Syria. Th ere are economic
migrants who move abroad, or to another part of
their own country, for a living. Th ere are also people
who just love to travel. Th is issue of THE WEEK is a
tribute to them.
Our annual special issue on travel, anchored by
Principal Correspondent Anjuly Mathai, is a rich
collection of her travel experiences. Photo Editor
Sanjoy Ghosh and Deputy Photo Editors Bhanu
Prakash Chandra and Salil Bera accompanied her to
Jaipur, Dharamshala, Hampi and Varkala.
On her whirlwind tour across India, Anjuly said
she learnt that the people were as colourful as the
country. At the Samode Palace near Jaipur, a priest
who used to be an underwear salesman, introduced
her to a painting which he called the “Indian Mona
Lisa”. Complementing Anjuly’s opening essay, we
have articles on the exciting Ladakh, the charms
of Chettinadu, the velvety greens of Kabini, the
underwater thrills of the Andamans and the
grandeur of the Qutb Shahi tombs of Hyderabad.
Union Minister for Tourism Alphons
Kannanthanam has also contributed to this specialissue. He said 16.2 million tourists visited India
last year, and the country earned $27 billion from
tourism. Th e minister wants to make it $100 billion
in fi ve years. With better planning and execution,
India should be able to improve its numbers in this
perennially growing sector.
Moreover, it is not just about money. All my
travels have been about learning something new,
and gaining fresh perspectives. Two years ago,
while on a trip to the US, I decided to visit the Grand
Canyon in Arizona. As we started from Las Vegas, I
came to know that our chauff eur, Clarence ‘Bones’
Adams, was a former world boxing champion. It
was just after Donald Trump won the Republican
nomination for president, and we started talking
about the elections. Bones was remarkably
prescient. Although Democratic nominee Hillary
Clinton was the overwhelming favourite at the time,
Bones said Trump was likely to win. “I think Trump
has an opportunity, because America has become
like a circus. And, that’s all we have running for
president, clowns,” he said. I remember writing—
spurred by his strong views—that rage was a key
factor in the 2016 American elections.
In our World Cup package, we have a story by
Subeditor Reuben Joe Joseph, who just got back after
spending more than a month in Russia, covering the
event. Th ere is also a story by Malayala Manorama
Special Correspondent Antony John, who looks at
how multiculturalism has been one of the inspiring
themes of Russia 2018. Immigrants powered not just
champions France, but also prominent teams like
Belgium and England even as Europe continues to
devise strategies to keep immigrants out.
Even the young Th ai football team, which had
a miraculous escape from the Th am Luang cave,
had four immigrant players. Deputy News Editor
Mathew T. George and Bhanu Prakash Chandra
travelled to Th ailand to report the rescue mission.
After his cover story last week, we are carrying
Mathew’s follow up story from Chiang Rai in this
issue. Hopefully, Th ailand will grant citizenship to
the four brave players soon.
Mark Twain was spot on when he wrote, “Travel
is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-
mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely
on these accounts.”