The Sunday Haul- One Magazine

Those who subscribe to or buy Conde Nast Traveller, I am sure, do so with the intention of making at least one trip to the sort of places described in great detail in it. There are detailed write ups on destinations that are almost always picturesque beaches, palaces or beautiful cities in all the issues. Then there are also articles on the wonderful food and wines that such places offer to the visitors. It would require one to be earning in millions to be able to afford trips to such exotic destinations and to indulge in all that food and wine.

But I don’t have to worry about it since I am neither a subscriber nor a regular buyer of Conde Nast Traveller. I buy my copies second hand at Abids. This Sunday’s lone find was the June 2008 issue of ‘Conde Nast Traveller’ that I got for only ten rupees. It was a special issue on destinations in Europe like Paris, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and such places I’ll never get to visit as long as I continue to work for the state government which has sent me no farther than New Delhi. In these times of recession I have to be thankful the job pays me enough to be able to afford books and magazines even if they are second hand.

Almost in every issue, Conde Nast Traveller has something on books. In this issue I found a short piece by Julian Evans, biographer of the famous travel writer Norman Lewis, in which he says that Lewis made up some things in his travel books. What else does he expect writers to do?

A regular column about books in the magazine is ‘Shelf Improvement’ that has short write ups on books and travel writers. I read about Rory Maclean’s ‘Stalin’s Nose: Across the Face of Europe’ that has an introduction by Colin Thubron. I had recently read about this book in Lonely Planet’s ‘Travel Writing’ that I have. Another of his book mentioned is ‘Under the Dragon: Travels in Burma’ that I plan to look out for. This is how I go on adding titles to my list of ‘To Buy’ books.

Of course, the descriptions of the restaurants and the food served in it are what I love to read about though I am not much of a foodie. Almost always I come across new and interesting names of dishes. In this issue I read about ‘chorizo’ and ‘quenelle’ that, to my ears, sound like something no Hyderabadi would want to put in his mouth even if offered free.

The most interesting article in it was about the filming of ‘The Edge of Love’ which is about Dylan Thomas. The lovely Keira Knightley plays a role in it and I read that the scriptwriter, Sharman Macdonald, is none other than Keira’s mom. Keira’s picture in the magazine was a plus but the bonus was that of Laetitia Casta inside. I’m glad I found the magazine and gladder still that I got it for only ten rupees.