William McKay Aitken is a British-born Indian travel writer and mountain lover from Scotland.[1][2] He is the author of a number of books about India, its mountains, rivers and its steam trains.[3]
Born in Tullibody in Clackmannanshire, Scotland in 1934, Aitken attended Handsworth Grammar School in Birmingham, and completed his M.A in comparative religion at the University of Leeds. In 1959, he hitchhiked overland to India and taught for a year at Hindi HighSchool in Calcutta. From 1960 to 1972, he lived in Himalayan ashrams at Kausani and Mirtola. In 1972, he became a naturalized Indian citizen.[4] With their Guru's blessings he joined Prithwi Bir Kaur, the dowager Maharani of the erstwhile Sikh Princely state of Jind as companion. Based in Delhi and Mussoorie, Aitken travelled widely in India, covering the religious landscape in a dozen travel books. Bill Aitken's writings are characterized by a free-wheeling description of his travels, interspersed with intimate details of the land and its people, and their religious beliefs. He has been President of the Friends of the National Rail Museum in New Delhi and hon. Librarian of the Himalayan Club.
Since the 1970s, he has lived in the hill station of Mussoorie in the Lower Western Himalaya. The surrounding region, especially the Garhwal Hills, has provided much of the material for his writings. With the passing of Prithwi Bir Kaur in 2010, he was appointed a trustee of the Maharani Prithwi Jind Memorial Trust till 2014.
^"Written Forever: The Best of Civil Lines". Rukun Advani. 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
Further readingedit
Review of Footloose in the Himalaya By Bill Aitken, The Telegraph (India), April 11, 2003 |
Maneesh Pandey. Rail tourism needs to be put on track. The Times of India, 28 Jul 2001. Quotes Aitken as a travel writer.
"Silhouettes. Brief review of Sri Sathya Sai Baba: A Life". The Statesman (India). 13 December 2004. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
External linksedit
Shelfari – Bill Aitken
Souljourns interview - An Interview With Bill Aitken About Sathya Sai Baba
January 01, 1970
bill, aitken, writer, editor, performed, search, found, that, sufficient, sources, exist, establish, subject, notability, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, bill,. An editor has performed a search and found that sufficient sources exist to establish the subject s notability Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bill Aitken writer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message William McKay Aitken is a British born Indian travel writer and mountain lover from Scotland 1 2 He is the author of a number of books about India its mountains rivers and its steam trains 3 Bill AitkenBill Aitken at his Mussoorie home 2012Born1934Tullibody ScotlandOccupationTraveller writerNationalityBritish 1934 1972 Indian 1972 present Period1975 present Contents 1 Life and career 2 Works 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksLife and career editBorn in Tullibody in Clackmannanshire Scotland in 1934 Aitken attended Handsworth Grammar School in Birmingham and completed his M A in comparative religion at the University of Leeds In 1959 he hitchhiked overland to India and taught for a year at Hindi HighSchool in Calcutta From 1960 to 1972 he lived in Himalayan ashrams at Kausani and Mirtola In 1972 he became a naturalized Indian citizen 4 With their Guru s blessings he joined Prithwi Bir Kaur the dowager Maharani of the erstwhile Sikh Princely state of Jind as companion Based in Delhi and Mussoorie Aitken travelled widely in India covering the religious landscape in a dozen travel books Bill Aitken s writings are characterized by a free wheeling description of his travels interspersed with intimate details of the land and its people and their religious beliefs He has been President of the Friends of the National Rail Museum in New Delhi and hon Librarian of the Himalayan Club Since the 1970s he has lived in the hill station of Mussoorie in the Lower Western Himalaya The surrounding region especially the Garhwal Hills has provided much of the material for his writings With the passing of Prithwi Bir Kaur in 2010 he was appointed a trustee of the Maharani Prithwi Jind Memorial Trust till 2014 Works editSeven Sacred Rivers 1992 Penguin Books India ISBN 0 14 015473 6 Divining the Deccan A Motorbike to the Heart of India Oxford 1999 ISBN 0 19 564 7114 Footloose in the Himalaya Delhi Permanent Black 2003 ISBN 81 7824 052 1 The Nanda Devi Affair 1994 Penguin Books India ISBN 0 14 024045 4 Touching Upon the Himalaya Excursions and Enquiries 2004 Indus Books New Delhi 2004 ISBN 81 7387 169 8 Exploring Indian Railways Oxford University Press New Delhi 1994 ISBN 0 19 563109 9 Branch Line to Eternity 2001 Penguin Books India ISBN 0 14 100537 8 Sri Sathya Sai Baba A Life 2004 Viking Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd ISBN 0 670 05807 6 Literary Trails 1996 HarperCollins ISBN 81 7223 240 3 Riding the Ranges Travels on my Motorcycle 1997 Penguin Books India ISBN 0 14 026804 9 Mountain Delight English Book Depot Dehradun 1994 ISBN 81 85567 16 6 Tavels By a Lesser Line HarperCollins 1993 ISBN 81 7223 086 9 Zanskar 1999 Rupa Classic India ISBN 81 7167 199 3 1000 Himalayan Quiz 1995 Rupa ISBN 81 7167 290 6 References edit Bill Aitken Mussoorie Writers 16 April 2015 Archived from the original on 16 April 2015 Pandey Maneesh 28 July 2001 Rail tourism needs to be put on track The Times of India Retrieved 16 July 2008 The Accidental Expatriate Written Forever The Best of Civil Lines Rukun Advani 2014 Retrieved 16 March 2024 Further reading editReview of Footloose in the Himalaya By Bill Aitken The Telegraph India April 11 2003 Maneesh Pandey Rail tourism needs to be put on track The Times of India 28 Jul 2001 Quotes Aitken as a travel writer Silhouettes Brief review of Sri Sathya Sai Baba A Life The Statesman India 13 December 2004 Retrieved 16 July 2008 External links editShelfari Bill Aitken Souljourns interview An Interview With Bill Aitken About Sathya Sai Baba Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill Aitken writer amp oldid 1215160517, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
